Zack Crowley’s undefeated second Test century and captain Joe Root’s 84 not out helped England score 217 for one in their second innings on a rain-free fourth day of the First Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday. What happened.
After trailing by 64 runs at the start of the innings, the tourists ended the day with 153 and nine wickets in hand. They may entertain the idea of trying to force a win on the final day, although the gentle nature of the pitch suggests that a similar draw is almost inevitable.
Crowley’s unbeaten 117 at the top of the order was of undeniable quality, whatever the circumstances.
Honest and elegant, the right-hander’s first three-figure Test innings in nearly two years came in exactly 200 balls and was studded with 16 fours.
His second wicket partnership with Root has realized 193 runs so far and the captain seems completely comfortable without getting overly aggressive.
He is destined to add to his tally of 23 Test centuries through an innings that has come off 158 balls so far in which he has hit six fours.
Crowley said, “Root’s mind is so calm. He was just telling me to focus because he was bowling really well at times. He is such a calm person and I took a lot from him during the day.”
Despite the nature of the pitch and the anticipation of the final day’s standoff, Crowley is hopeful of some unexpected play.
“It’s definitely still a good wicket. It didn’t break as much as we thought,” he admitted.
“But we are still hoping that it will break down enough tomorrow and give us a good chance to get them out.”
When Crowley lost opening partner Alex Lee cheaply to Kemar Roach before lunch for the second time in the match, the tourists must have been uneasy given the weaknesses of the top order exposed in the first innings.
quiet pitch
Roach thought he had removed Crowley for a duck before Lee died after umpire Gregory Brathwaite refused a full-length delivery to the opener leg-before. However, the batsman immediately reviewed the decision and television replays found that the ball was missing from some distance from the stumps.
Whether newcomer Liege gets another chance in the second Test in Barbados in five days’ time remains to be seen, but the left-hander certainly has obvious technical shortcomings, especially for Roach’s attack.
However, the arrival of Root changed the color of the innings from a vulnerability to a growing assurance.
Nothing epitomized the calm playing surface more than Roach, who is usually a fiery fast-medium at his best, asking wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva to stand up to the stumps during a spell in mid-afternoon , when the batsmen were moving on the pitch. ,
Even Nkrumah Bonner was given a chance to toss some of his part-time wrist-spinners before the final heavy shower likely paid off in the final session of the day.
Fielding a full day on the third day by West Indies, who extended their first innings lead of 171 runs in 90.1 overs, England needed just three balls to claim the final wicket on the fourth morning.
Last man Jaden Seals was leg-out by Jack Leach as the left-arm spinner took the second wicket of the innings after a hard work of 43.3 overs.
West Indies’ first innings total of 375 represented an excellent recovery to recover from a difficult 127 for four in the second afternoon and was largely due to Bonner’s second Test century, a patient scoring 123. Earlier, he had held the crease for more than nine hours. The ninth wicket fell late on the third day.
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