Published: May 02, 2015, 10:21 PM (IST)
Edited: May 02, 2015, 10:21 PM (IST)
Barbados: West Indies slumped to 37 for three in reply to England’s first innings total of 257 all out at lunch on the second day of the third Test at Kensington Oval on Saturday.
James Anderson, the last man out as England’s final three wickets added only 17 more runs to their overnight total, was again the tormentor of the Caribbean top-order. He dispensed with both openers before adding the important scalp of second Test centurion Marlon Samuels in an outstanding opening spell of bowling.
It could have been even worse for the West Indies had Alastair Cook, England’s captain and batting centurion on the opening day, held on to straightforward chance at first slip offered by Darren Bravo before he had scored off Stuart Broad. Bravo and fellow left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul will resume the battle for home side in the afternoon on a pitch that appears to have much to assist England’s varied attack of seam and spin.
In getting the wicket of Cook for 105 off the last ball of day one, the West Indies carried that momentum with them into the second morning. Jerome Taylor, wicketless on Friday, polished off the tail to finish with three for 36. First he had all-rounder Chris Jordan, playing in his native Barbados, caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin and then bowled Broad and Anderson off successive deliveries to leave himself on a hat-trick when he bowls his first ball of the second innings.
Left with just over an hour to the lunch interval, West Indies started poorly with the local opening pair of Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope departing quickly to the despair of the home fans packed into the stands.
Anderson’s second ball of the innings was a perfect outswinger that peeled off Brathwaite’s bat for Jordan to take the catch at second slip before he had scored. In his first Test innings, Hope edged his first delivery through the slips for a boundary. But the debutant was unable to cope with the wiles of Anderson, edging low to Cook who made no mistake in coming up with the catch millimetres from the ground. His hands were less sure in the next over that granted Bravo the reprieve off the exasperated Broad, although Anderson needed no assistance in removing Samuels.
The classy right-hander, fed a succession of outswingers by England’s record Test wicket-taker, failed to pick an inswinger which trapped him leg-before for nine. England lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the second Test in Grenada by nine wickets while the opening game in Antigua was drawn.
Brief scores:
England 257 (Alastair Cook 105, Moeen Ali 58; Jerome Taylor 3 for 36) lead West Indies 37 for 3 (Darren Bravo 9*, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 9*; James Anderson 3 for 4) by 220 runs.
