ST GEORGE’S – England were 43 for four in their second innings at tea on the third day of the deciding third Test against West Indies on Saturday at the National Cricket Stadium in the Spice Isle of Grenada, trailing by 50.
At the break, left-handed opener Alex Lees was not out on 11 and Jonny Bairstow was not out on three, after pacer Kyle Mayers grabbed 3-7 from seven overs to undermine the English top-order batting.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite turned to Mayers after eight overs, and the ambidextrous Barbados Pride all-rounder delivered in each of his first two overs.
Mayers got the prized scalp of Joe Root with his third ball when the England captain drove loosely off the back-foot at a rising delivery outside the off-stump and was caught at first slip for five.
The right-arm pacer struck again in his second over when Dan Lawrence offered no stroke to an in-swinging delivery and was bowled for a sixth-ball duck.
Mayers then had Ben Stokes caught behind by substitute wicketkeeper Shamarh Brooks for four in his fifth over when the talismanic England left-hander failed to pull his bat out of the line of a rising delivery and the ball took the toe of the bat.
Brooks was forced into duties behind the stumps when regular ‘keeeper Joshua da Silva left the field after aggravating a finger injury he got when batting during play before lunch.
Pacer Jayden Seales had started the rout when England started their second innings after lunch.
He got Zak Crawley for the third time in the series when the England opener drove loosely at a well-pitched delivery that swerved away and was caught at second slip for eight in the fourth over.
The three-Test series for the newly-minted Vivian Richards and Ian Botham Trophy is level at 0-0 after the first two Tests in the series – at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and Kensington Oval in Barbados – were drawn.
Summarised scores:
ENGLAND 204 (Saqib Mahmood 49, Jack Leach 41, Alex Lees 31, Chris Woakes 25, Craig Overton 14; Jayden Seales 3-40, Kyle Mayers 2-13, Alzarri Joseph 2-33, Kemar Roach 2-41) and 43 for four (Alex Lees 11; Kyle Mayers 3-7)
WEST INDIES 297 (Joshua da Silva 100 not out, John Campbell 35, Kyle Mayers 28, Alzarri Joseph 28, Kemar Roach 25 not out, Jermaine Blackwood 18, Kraigg Brathwaite 17, Shamarh Brooks 13, Jayden Seales 13; Chris Woakes 3-59, Saqib Mahmood 2-45, Be Stokes 2-4, Craig Overton 2-81).
(AR)