Second Test, Barbados (day four): |
England 507-9 dec & 40-0: Crawley 21*, Lees 18* |
West Indies 411: Brathwaite 160, Blackwood 102; Leach 3-118 |
England lead by 136 runs |
Scorecard |
England had a chance to win the second Test against the West Indies if they took a lead of 136 into the final day.
After dismissing the West Indies for 411, England's Alex Lees and Zak Crawley reached 400-0 at the end of 15 overs.
The tourists will look for quick runs in the morning before declaring victory and trying to bowl out their opponents in time for victory.
The difficulties they will face are shown by the struggle England had ending the West Indies.
The captain of the West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite, took 11 hours and 16 minutes to go from not being out overnight to 160 in a single day.
England's bowlers toiled until they took the 10th West Indies wickets in the evening session on a turgid pitch.
If this Test ends in the same result as the opener in Antigua, the series will be level at zero going into the final match in Grenada.
This series is becoming a theme of slow, difficult-to-watch cricket.
England struggled to create openings because they weren't helped by the surface. They will have to bowl better than their first effort to have any chance of winning, even if they get to a position to declare.
Their toil began when nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph cut to Ben Stokes for 19 from 75 balls.
The tourists would have been in a much stronger position if there had been a clatter of wickets. There was a period of one run in 51 balls before lunch.
After lunch, Saqib Mahmood was the first Test cricketer to be dismissed, when he skied a catch to mid-on to be followed by Joshua da Silva's 33 from 112 balls.
It was the most overs by an England bowler since Phil Tufnell against New Zealand in 1992. His return on a day four pitch was disappointing.
The ineffectiveness of the seamers and the number of overs taken by left-arm spinner Jack Leach raises questions about England's selection, with uncapped Matt Parkinson an unused member of the squad.
This is a poor pitch for Test cricket, just like the one in Antigua.
On the second day, Brathwaite began his knock and was an example of resilience and patience.
Brathwaite faced 30 dot balls in a row in the spell before lunch. Brian Lara is the only other West Indies legend who has done so twice.
It took a fine ball from Leach, which hit the top of off, to dismiss him. There were a lot of such deliveries in England.
The West Indies effort was admirable but the fact that they only scored 2.18 runs per over meant they still had a large deficit.
England were not able to make a fast start in building their advantage because of the late bowling by the hosts.
The decision to overturn the decision on review was made because the ball missed the leg stump.
It was a tough job. It wasn't a great deal. The boys were at their disciplines. You get a ball that stays down or pops, but then for 10 overs you don't see it again.
We will definitely try to make something out of this game and have another crack at them tomorrow.
England will need to bat a bit longer than they did in Antigua, but there is more to this pitch for the spinners than there was.
It could be an interesting final day because England's bowlers will be tired.