West Indies cut England’s lead in the second Test to 219 runs by stumps on day three as Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood scored centuries; Blackwood saved by England without a review at nil and by Saqib Mahmood without a ball in 65 as the home team close out 288-4 at Kensington Oval
Kraigg Brathwaite scored a century as the West Indies thwarted England on day three in Barbados
England had to repent of a costly review miss, as the West Indies cut their second Test arrears to 219 runs on day three thanks to centuries from captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood.
Blackwood (102 from 215 balls) would be fired for nothing, and the West Indies would be down to 101-4, had England called for DRS when Ben Stokes covered the batsman at the bag during the morning session in Barbados.
Blackwood was also pardoned at 65: Saqib Mahmood denied a first test ground after going overboard while breaking stumps with a wet yorker, as the West Indies closed out 288-4 in response to England’s 507-9 bid.
Blackwood fell before the stumps, caught lbw by part-time spinner Dan Lawrence as his fourth-wicket partnership with undefeated Brathwaite (109th of 337) ended with a regular 183 of 411 deliveries.
Brathwaite scored his 10th Test century, third against England and first on home soil during an inning of immense concentration, with Blackwood sealing his 102nd Test third against Root’s men, against whom he is now averaging close to 46.
There were some slight positives for England with Jack Leach taking an appreciable turn at times, as well as bowling more erratically and non-threateningly at other stages: Matthew Fisher showed control and pulled out the rebound, and Mahmood found the reverse swing with the aged ball
But bowling was largely harmless, Chris Woakes in particular, on a soft pitch, raising the question of whether tourists have the tools at their disposal to take 20 wickets and whether Matt Parkinson, the capless bowler It would have been a valuable asset.
He also highlighted the void left by the loss of the team’s fastest bowler, Mark Wood, who now faces an extended spell on the sidelines with a right elbow problem – the 32-year-old out of next week’s third Test. and also from the IPL.
The morning session, which began with the West Indies 71-1 and trailing 436, was led by two so-called lbw.
England’s lack of review against Blackwood followed Nkrumah Bonner (9) being controversial by the TV referee despite UltraEdge suggesting an inside edge just as Stokes’ ball hit his bag.
Bonner reviewed his ejection on the field, but Gregory Brathwaite decided there was inconclusive evidence the Jamaican had dented the ball, thus upholding Nigel Duguid’s original verdict.
England benefited from that controversial decision to win their second wicket of the day: Leach had earlier dismissed Shamarh Brooks (39), caught on point, but the visitors regretted not using DRS in Stokes’ subsequent over, with the whole – Rounder’s nip-backer crashed into Blackwood’s leg stump after nailing the back pad.
Blackwood made the most of his break, playing in a disciplined manner, something that cannot always be said of him, with the Jamaican perhaps inspired by the determination shown by captain Brathwaite.
Brathwaite’s headstrong hitting included him scoring his slowest Test fifty, from 167 deliveries, a week after he had scored his fastest, from 62 balls.
The 29-year-old, who has now scored the last 10 Test centuries with a West Indies opener, has been on the pitch for the entire game, England’s 150.5 opening innings overs and now for the 117 of the West Indies. ‘.
Brathwaite hit triple figures of 278 deliveries about an hour into the final session, with Blackwood passing the 207-ball milestone with half an hour left in the day.
Blackwood’s entrances were restricted by their levels, and the saucier part was a spirited exchange with Stokes.
However, the pitch offers little spice: England’s efforts may not be questioned, but their potency may be, and this test now looks likely to end in a draw before the final game in Granada from 24 March.
West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood speaking on BT Sport: “I have a lot of half centuries, Coach Phil Simmons always stresses that to me, so there was a lot of pressure to go and score a hundred.
“This was a really special inning for me because the last game I didn’t really score any runs. I love playing Stokes, to be honest. He’s a lot of fun to play against. I love jokes. They push me around.”
West Indies and England will resume the second Test at 2pm UK time on Saturday. Follow the text commentary one after another from 1:45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
