West Indies v England: second Test, day three – as it happened
|
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2015/apr/23/west-indies-england-second-test-live Version 0 of 1. 10.40pm BST22:40 Summing up So England have the upper hand, undoubtedly, although there were some moments when the West Indies attack had them tied up and frustrated. Bishoo in particular bowled with persistence and intelligence. The man of the day, however, was undoubtedly Joe Root, whose exquisite, beautifully paced hundred was the defining contribution of the day. The significance of Cook’s and Trott’s knocks will be much chewed over, but in the context of this game, they and most of England’s front-line batsmen have performed here. Whether this is all enough to set up a result we shall find out tomorrow and Saturday. And one more email before we go, from Ian Forth on a matter of grave import: “Bishoo bowling to Buttler has the feel of a rebel test match where the players are forced to change their names by one letter to circumvent some obscure legal impediment. Or is it just me?” It might be just you, Ian, but that’s why we love our OBO audience. Thanks for your emails and tweets, and for reading. Bye. Updated at 10.43pm BST 10.34pm BST22:34 Stumps, England 373-6, lead by 74 124th over: England 373-6 (Root 118, Buttler 4) The final over of the day is bowled by Samuels. Root pushes through the legside and capitalises on a smidgeon of hesitancy in the field to steal a single. Samuels goes round the wicket at Buttler, who plays out the over. And that’s that for the day. Root receives congratulations and handshakes from West Indies fielders as he ambles off – and how well deserved they are, for his first overseas ton, no less. 10.30pm BST22:30 123rd over: England 372-6 (Root 117, Buttler 4) Root cuts Bishoo past point for one before Buttler reads the bowler’s leg-break well, rocking onto the back foot to cut behind square for two. It’s another good over from the spinner though – he’s performed admirably today. That will be his last of it. Only one to go now. Updated at 10.30pm BST 10.27pm BST22:27 122nd over: England 369-6 (Root 116, Buttler 2) West Indies have done well to regain a bit of control and composure in the last half-hour or so, it should be acknowledged. The boundaries have dried up, and neither of these two slow bowlers are offering the batsmen too much. Root drives Samuels down the ground for one. The field is then brought in for the new man Buttler, which would often be a bit of a risk with the Lancashire man, but he’s watchful on this occasion. A cap is brought out for Root, going a bit old-school with no quick bowlers on at the moment. 10.23pm BST22:23 121st over: England 368-6 (Root 115, Buttler 2) Root adds another single before Buttler gets off the mark with a neat drive through the offside for two. He cuts aggressively at the final ball of the over, but only finds the fielder at gully. 10.21pm BST22:21 120th over: England 365-6 (Root 114, Buttler 0) “Stop your silly England’s last five wickets batting until tea tomorrow,” implores Alex Brown. “Far better they get out cheaply, and the West Indians are caught between two stools. How do they go about batting out two days? ps Well done young Stokes!! Make them bat early and bowl them out...” There’s a certain logic to that, to be honest. Root takes one solitary single from Samuels. Without looking remotely troubled. Updated at 10.22pm BST 10.19pm BST22:19 119th over: England 364-6 (Root 113, Buttler 0) Hypothetical discussions about declarations might be taken out of our hands now. Buttler comes to the crease and watchfully plays out Bishoo’s over. Slo-mo sledge-cam shows Stokes giving a bit of verbals back to Samuels. Someone will say “all part of the game” in a minute. Updated at 10.54pm BST 10.15pm BST22:15 Wicket! Stokes c Blackwood b Bishoo 8, England 364-6 Not much of a surprise this – Stokes holes out to deep midwicket, where Blackwood pouches the catch gleefully. Samuels gives him some colourful salutations on his way back. Updated at 10.26pm BST 10.14pm BST22:14 118th over: England 364-5 (Root 113, Stokes 8) Samuels continues, and he’s clearly enjoying trying to toy with Stokes by fiddling with his field settings and generally delaying things before bowling to him. Three singles from the over, the last off a misfield. 10.10pm BST22:10 117th over: England 361-5 (Root 112, Stokes 6) A pair of singles to each batsman here, though played with contrasting levels of elegance. Root takes a smartly-run one from an on-drive, but Stokes isn’t quite middling it at the moment and miscues a sort-of switch-hit, which is in the air but safe. And brings him one. Root isn’t mis-hitting much that’s short though, and pulls Bishoo away for one more confidently. Stokes then again mis-times an attempted big shot, bottom-edging an on-drive swipe but getting a single. He may not hang around here. 10.06pm BST22:06 116th over: England 357-5 (Root 110, Stokes 4) Let’s tee up tomorrow’s discussions today: at what point should England declare, should they have the luxury of being able to do so? You’d think at least four sessions would be needed to bowl out West Indies. Root and Stokes trade singles before Samuels has a half-shout for lbw against the latter, who misses a sweep that thuds into his pads, and goes away on the legside for one, though it’s given as runs. It’s outside the line though, for lbw purposes. 10.03pm BST22:03 115th over: England 353-5 (Root 108, Stokes 2) It looks as if we may get all our allotted overs in today – a scheduled 10 more are due to be bowled – as Bishoo hurries through another one. Root goes for a big slog-sweep that has more height on it than distance but it lands just beyond Holder and bobbles along a bit without reaching the boundary; they take two. A classier two follows. 10.00pm BST22:00 114th over: England 349-5 (Root 104, Stokes 2) Stokes takes a hurried/well-run single from Samuels, Root takes a languidly-run one on the legside. Stokes looks as if he wants to attack Samuels here – as well you might given the overall match situation, apart from anything else – but he can’t beat the in-field and then makes a bit of a mess of an attempted reverse-sweep, missing it altogether. 9.57pm BST21:57 113th over: England 347-5 (Root 103, Stokes 1) Bishoo isn’t out of the attack for long, returning from the other end. Root takes a single, and Stokes is off the mark with a back-foot flick through the legside. It’s a mostly accurate, unremarkable over. 9.54pm BST21:54 112th over: England 345-5 (Root 102, Stokes 0) Root pushes down the ground for one, bringing Stokes on strike to face his good mucker Samuels, who gives Stokes an elongated glare after his first ball at him, which the batsman hacks away from his feet for none. Samuels also hurls a ball eagerly back past Stokes to the keeper after fielding an orthodox forward defensive later in the over. The word “banter” is used by Gower in the commentary box. Updated at 9.55pm BST 9.50pm BST21:50 111th over: England 344-5 (Root 101, Stokes 0) Root pushes Roach effortlessly through the vacant second slip area along the ground for four and then cuts him past backward point for four more to BRING UP HIS HUNDRED. And a nigh-on flawless, fluent and wonderful innings it has been. Updated at 10.01pm BST 9.44pm BST21:44 Wicket! Ali run out 0, England 325-5 110th over: England 335-5 (Root 92) What a daft, nervy run-out to end the over. Moeen nudges the ball round the corner to leg, sets off for a run that was never on, and it’s swiftly returned to the keeper with the new man comfortably out of his ground. At the start of the over, Root, having been anxious to retain the strike with that risky single off Roach, justified his possession of it by straight driving the first ball of Samuels’ over straight down the ground for four, before adding a single. Updated at 10.03pm BST 9.42pm BST21:42 109th over: England 330-4 (Root 87, Ali 0) Roach continues, and gets a hearty round of applause from his keeper and slip cordon just for keeping Root honest with a shorter one that jabs quickly into the batsman, who pushes it away with a backward defensive. There’s better variety and accuracy in this over than we’ve seen from Roach for a while, which might explain why Root takes a rather panicky single off the last ball of the over with a push through the covers that would have had Moeen run out had there been a direct hit. 9.35pm BST21:35 Wicket! Ballance b Samuels 77, England 329-4 108th over: England 329-4 (Root 86, Ali 0) The heavily burdened Bishoo is removed from the attack, to be replaced by Samuels. Root flicks him away for one, before Ballance is bowled, getting his judgment and footwork all wrong. He hacks and inside-edges at a fairly straight, full one slanted in at him and the stumps clatter. Thus is a fine, pretty defining partnership brought to an ugly end, and the returning Moeen Ali brought to the crease. Another John Starbuck email: You’re riding the vibe all right tonight (101st over). The Proms line-up was announced today on Radio 3. Riding vibes, surfing zeitgeists etc, is who I am, and what I do. Updated at 9.48pm BST 9.31pm BST21:31 107th over: England 328-3 (Ballance 77, Root 85) Roach returns to the attack as Ramdin looks for something, anything, to pep up a West Indies side that at the moment look devoid of energy, though at least their supporters are in the ascendancy, noise-wise, again in the stands. It’s a decent enough accurate over, and a maiden, though it doesn’t cause Root any bother either. “The trouble with using the hashtag staypigheadedandarrogant in cricket,” John Starbuck points out, “is the vast number of people it can apply to. You’d need something more precise to stand out.” 9.27pm BST21:27 106th over: England 328-3 (Ballance 77, Root 85) Bishoo brings mid-off in shorter for Root, who responds to an offside-heavy field by swiping against the spin with considerable panache for a glorious six over long-on. A single follows, as does another for Ballance before Root cuts for two. Updated at 9.27pm BST 9.23pm BST21:23 105th over: England 318-3 (Ballance 76, Root 76) Holder continues and fails to trouble Ballance with his first three deliveries before the batsmen mistimes a cut-shot in a manner that has echoes of Cook’s earlier dismissal but it’s chopped down into the ground rather than onto stumps. An over of outside off-stump probes is a maiden. Some more stern words for the Trott-Cook axis, this time from Timothy Jones: I accept they had to lay a foundation, but then they just got bogged down and couldn’t move through the gears when we needed to accelerate. Thank [insert personal reference to higher figure delete as appropriate Geoffrey’s mum/an almighty/A N Other] for Root...he’s been the catalyst of acceleration in both matches so far (but we must not forget Bell’s great knock to recover the first innings position last time out). The balance of the top 3 is all wrong in my #stayhumble opinion. Well perhaps, but once the decision had been made to keep (or restore) faith in Cook and Trott, then letting them tentatively dab their way back into run-scoring form would appear to be the best option for the start of this tour at least. England had a pretty one-paced top three back in the apparent glory days of 2010/11 too, though it’s true that those days weren’t built to last forever. If England can get a win under their belts here, I’d like to see a bit of experimentation for Barbados. More importantly, why is #stayhumble a hashtag? Is it in a Twitter battle with #staypigheadedandarrogant? 9.16pm BST21:16 104th over: England 318-3 (Ballance 76, Root 76) Root’s back seems still to be causing him some discomfort – he’ll be grateful for the looming drinks break, which comes at the end of an over that yields three singles. Ballance sweeps Bishoo behind square for one. Root toe-ends a full toss away for another, and his partner flicks away a similar delivery for another single. The mid-session refreshments follow. Updated at 9.39pm BST 9.13pm BST21:13 103rd over: England 315-3 (Ballance 74, Root 75) Root gets on top of a shorter one outside off stump from Holder, and smoothly cuts it away behind backward point for four. Excellent batting. He ushers Ballance through for another hurried single with an offside dab, though he’s wincing at his back-knack as a result. Ballance then meets a fuller delivery with a nice cover drive for three, and Root digs out an attempted yorker – also a no-ball – with a flick past square leg for one to bring up the 150 partnership. Which becomes 151 with a trademark offside push from Ballance. 9.07pm BST21:07 102nd over: England 304-3 (Ballance 70, Root 69) Bishoo bowls his 33rd over – almost a third of the overall innings. Root can’t work him away, but he’s trying intelligently to work it into different areas, going for an attempted slog-sweep at one point straight to the fielder at midwicket. Only one from the over But they’ve changed tack this over, at least bringing us into the 20th century now with Karma Chameleon and what sounds like Last Christmas. And is this Gershwin’s Summertime? Impressive eclecticism if so. 9.02pm BST21:02 101st over: England 303-3 (Ballance 70, Root 68) At last, a decent ball – Holder hits the deck a little harder and sends a rasping seam-up outswinger past Ballance’s outside edge. It’s the highlight of a decent, now-rare maiden over. It’s all gone a bit Last Night of the Proms in the stands - Land of Hope and Glory, There’ll Always be an England and the likes. Updated at 9.03pm BST 8.59pm BST20:59 100th over: England 303-3 (Ballance 70, Root 68) Ballance and Root milk Bishoo for singles, two to the former, one to the latter. The leg-spinner’s field is right out now, the pressure of earlier having dissipated. The Barmy Army, outsung earlier, belt out Jerusalem. 8.56pm BST20:56 99th over: England 300-3 (Ballance 68, Root 67) “Why don’t they use Holder more,” wonders Nasser Hussain in the commentary box. And lo, Ramdin uses Holder, bringing him on for Gabriel. Ballance drives square-ish on the offside, one of his favourite areas, for one. Four byes, after a static Ramdin lets a slanting in-swinger zoom past him, bring up the 300. “I know he’s the very definition of click-bait,” complains Paul Turp, “but can’t we have ONE day without any snide comments in the Guardian? This whole ‘against Second Division attacks’ qualification is tiresome bitchiness and more to be expected in the wind-up drivel going back and forth BTL. Kindest regards, Paul” How do you know I wasn’t talking about Sam Northeast? But yeah, point taken. England have a functioning Test middle-order, is all. 8.50pm BST20:50 98th over: England 295-3 (Ballance 67, Root 67) Ballance works Bishoo away neatly off his legs for one. The leg-spinner shows more control in this over, but Root still drives confidently at an airier delivery and gets two down the ground. “As a doctor,” asserts Ian Copestake, “I feel qualified to opine about the cause of Joe Root’s back problems. It might not be a physical problem at all but one related to stress caused by excessive responsibility or (if you followed the plight of Pussy in the Sopranos) of the weight of a secret. I think Joe Root’s back pain is caused by carrying this England side. As a doctor of philosophy I feel qualified to doubt the verity of anything I just wrote.” Well four of the top five have got scores here, but who am I, a layman, to quibble? 8.46pm BST20:46 97th over: England 292-3 (Ballance 66, Root 65) West Indies are looking a bit tired in the field here: Holder lets a dab from Ballance go through his fingers in the gully area. Just singles from the over, and England are eight short of a first-innings lead. A lead of around 150 by the close could be done? 8.41pm BST20:41 96th over: England 289-3 (Ballance 64, Root 64) England are beginning to properly cut loose now. Bishoo, the pick of West Indies bowlers earlier, returns to the attack but begins abysmally, dragging one far too short and Root punishes it mercilessly, pulling it for six. A single follows, before Ballance takes advantage of another short one, hammering it to the square leg boundary for four, then cracking the next one square to the opposite boundary for next ball. He adds another run with the penultimate ball of the over. A very expensive one. Updated at 9.07pm BST 8.36pm BST20:36 95th over: England 273-3 (Ballance 55, Root 57) Root clips Roach away on the legside for a single to bring up the hundred partnership, a fine stand that has firmly restored England’s dominance. Ballance, finding rich pickings on the offside now, demonstrates said dominance by leaning into a lovely cover drive for four. It’s a slightly better over by Roach but this pair are really comfortable now, and Root responds to a delivery that’s banged in shorter by swivelling smartly and pulling it to the deep midwicket boundary for four. Here’s Krishan Patel on England’s next generation: “After all the ado surrounding their half centuries and hundred partnership, Cook and Trott are probably thinking ‘that used to be us’ watching Root and Ballance effortlessly achieve the same milestones. Funny thing time, isn’t it? I think it’s safe to say that the next generation has arrived” You have to feel for Cook and Trott a little - they make decent fifties here, but still fail to convince everyone. England’s Test batting lineup looks fine in general at the moment (regardless of whether someone might be making runs for Surrey against Second Division attacks), but I’d like to see some new bowlers get a try-out. Would the third Test be the place for that, should England win this one? Updated at 8.42pm BST 8.27pm BST20:27 93rd over: England 263-3 (Ballance 51, Root 51) Gabriel continues at the other end and overpitches with his second ball, a no-ball, that Ballance thwacks through the covers to bring up another half-century. He over-steps again next up, which to compound his woes is completely missed by Ramdin behind the stumps and goes for four byes. Messy cricket. Ballance, on the other hand, now stands fourth in the list of England Test run-scorers over the first 10 matches of their career. Meanwhile, revisiting an earlier strand of mindless idle between-overs chat, on possible cricketing band names, Thomas Paternoster adds: “I can’t believe I forgot England Batting Collapse. I definitely saw them bottom of the bill at a British Seapower gig. Lords Tavern was a drunken calypsonian from the late 50s.” Updated at 8.44pm BST 8.20pm BST20:20 92nd over: England 253-3 (Ballance 47, Root 51) Roach continues, having bowled indifferently in the afternoon. Root straight away gets forward and drives confidently to mid-off but decides against a scampered single. It’s mostly unthreatening pitched-up stuff, though the final delivery of the over shoots up a little at Root, who dabs it safely downwards towards second slip. A maiden. The home supporters are making a fair-old rhythmic din, and seem to be completely drowning out those of the visitors, which is by no means common with England on tour these days. 8.15pm BST20:15 Hello again everyone. Well that perked up a bit towards tea, with Joe Root producing probably the most fluent and elegant batting of this match so far. Not that the bar’s been set that high. I won’t put the hex on anything by saying something daft such as “a big hundred looks on for him now” but… no, best not. West Indies, having bowled well for an hour in that session, lost a bit of control towards the end of it. Anyway, before we restart in earnest, a reminder of your chance to win tickets to Guardian Live’s Cricket Pitch event: we have a limited number of tickets to give away to the “world’s first cricket-comedy-chat show” with the Observer’s Emma John, the comedian Andy Zaltzman and the former England bowler Dean Headley. The event, hosted by Alex Horne, takes place on Monday 27 April at Kings Place. Details are here. 7.58pm BST19:58 And with that I’m going to scoot homeward. Tom Davies will return to take you through to stumps. Bye! Updated at 8.06pm BST 7.57pm BST19:57 TEA 91st over: England 253-3 (Ballance 47, Root 51) A couple of overs ago someone came on and gave Root a pill. Why can’t they give it to everyone else as well? He grabs a single from Gabriel’s first delivery, and Ballance plays out the remainder of the over. His sixth delivery is a no-ball, giving him one more chance to make a pre-tea breakthrough – and that’s the one that so nearly brings Ballance’s wicket. But doesn’t. And that’s tea, taken with England still 46 runs in arrears. Root reaches his sixth consecutive half century, an England record 7.56pm BST19:56 Not out! Hawkeye shows the ball clipping the top of leg stump, but not emphatically enough to overrule the on-field decision. 7.54pm BST19:54 REVIEW! Is Ballance out lbw here? West Indies hope so! Looked a bit high to me. Also probably wide. Anyway, time will tell… 7.49pm BST19:49 90th over: England 251-3 (Ballance 47, Root 50) Root reaches his half-century, thanks to a last-ball-of-the-over post-misfield single. “I am currently experiencing Root love,” admits Ian Copestake. “It is the sort of love I tried to expend on Bell in those early years but he just kept being Bell. After the dross of Trott (sorry and all that) seeing the art of keeping things ticking over rather than the stopped clock approach is quite heartening.” Updated at 8.05pm BST 7.46pm BST19:46 89th over: England 250-3 (Ballance 47, Root 49) Root snaffles a single from Gabriel’s first delivery, allowing Ballance to see out the rest of the over without scoring. “Hi Simon,” writes Paul Ewart. Hi Paul. “D’you think the pitch has got easier or are Ballance and Root just a bit more new school than Cook and Trott? They do seem to be scoring more freely.” Other than that one Blackwood over, Root’s been the only one really scoring freely – his 49 runs have come from 63 balls, Ballance’s 47 from 120 – and that’s mainly because he’s cool. And modern. Yes, new-school. 7.39pm BST19:39 88th over: England 249-3 (Ballance 47, Root 48) Ooof! Roach angles the ball across Ballance and when it straightens off the pitch it nearly catches the edge. The batsman is happy to leave the next few deliveries (one of them a no ball) alone, but then the next is irresistible, wide and full and slammed past point for four. 7.34pm BST19:34 87th over: England 244-3 (Ballance 43, Root 48) The failure of the Blackwood experiment convinces Ramdin to finally take the new ball, and give it to Gabriel. Root cuts the first two deliveries, picking out point with the first while the second, not quite timed, probably wouldn’t have reached the rope even if nobody had caught up with it when it was 10 feet away. A few dot balls later, though, there’s a third short, wide delivery and this time Root gets the shot right. Four runs. 7.29pm BST19:29 86th over: England 238-3 (Ballance 43, Root 42) Blammo! Blackwood bowls for the first time this innings and Ballance thunders his first delivery, a ropey long-hop, over midwicket for six. He tries to repeat the feat next ball, but hits it less cleanly and has to settle for two. A single later Root cuts to third man for four more, and would have had another boundary off the next only for Brathwaite at midwicket to stick his hand in the way, which seemed to sting a bit. “Appalling over,” sneers David Gower, who goes on to call it “an over of filth”. Ramdin trying to buy a wicket before tea with Blackwood and his over costs 14. Updated at 7.34pm BST 7.24pm BST19:24 85th over: England 224-3 (Ballance 34, Root 37) Samuels is bleeding runs now. Another three there, all singles. After which excitement, an overheating Root demands an immediate towelling-down. 7.21pm BST19:21 84th over: England 221-3 (Ballance 32, Root 36) Holder bowls wide of leg stump, and though Root tries to flick it fine and misses it hits his pad and rolls away for a couple of leg byes. He certainly connects with the next, which is thumped through midwicket for four. In between the batsmen meet in the middle for a celebratory fist-bump, their partnership having passed 50, and Root adds another couple off the last for good measure. England currently trail by 78. 7.17pm BST19:17 83rd over: England 213-3 (Ballance 32, Root 30) Another fine shot from Root sends the ball rolling wide of midwicket, and he runs three. Though the conditions could barely be more favourable, he’s really batting very nicely today. 7.13pm BST19:13 82nd over: England 209-3 (Ballance 31, Root 27) Still no new ball, but there is a new bat – halfway through Holder’s over Root waves his willow at the England balcony, and though it’s tempting to think that he’d significantly miscalculated and thought he’d just completed a century, he is swiftly brought four alternatives to choose from. He clearly makes a decent choice, because he then cuts a shortish delivery for four. 7.08pm BST19:08 81st over: England 205-3 (Ballance 31, Root 23) A couple more singles here, the batsmen twice picking out fielders in the deep. 7.05pm BST19:05 80th over: England 203-3 (Ballance 30, Root 22) A change of pace as Holder returns, and it’s a maiden, Root happy to defend anything that comes his way. The new ball is due, but as yet ignored. 7.01pm BST19:01 79th over: England 203-3 (Ballance 30, Root 22) An unusually expensive over from Samuels, in that England score two runs from it (they’re averaging 1.1, otherwise known as a total of 10, from his nine so far). 6.57pm BST18:57 78th over: England 201-3 (Ballance 29, Root 21) Joe Root is playing his own game here, cutting for a couple and then when a delivery is pitched too short thumping it to cow corner, where it clears the rope after a single bounce, before finally coming forward to send the final delivery of Bishoo’s over to the same spot, albeit entirely along the ground, for another four. Root’s 21 runs so far have come from just 30 balls. 6.54pm BST18:54 77th over: England 191-3 (Ballance 29, Root 11) Hello again! The stump mic picks up umpire Bruce Oxenford at the start of Samuels’ over warning that there’s “no DRS – they’re still working on it”. This seemed a perfect precursor to entertaining controversy, but three controversy-free balls later he declares that it’s back. It’s a maiden. 6.47pm BST18:47 76th over: England 191-3 (Ballance 29, Root 11) Bishoo has been bowling for an hour and five minutes now, but he’s not looking any wearier, and Ballance still has to be no his mettle to read the changes of pace and length. He whips a single away on the legside, which is the only scoring shot of the over. And on that not-much-of-a-bombshell, I’ll hand you back to Simon, who’ll take you through to tea. 6.44pm BST18:44 75th over: England 190-3 (Ballance 28, Root 11) I’m not quite sure what the thinking is behind persisting with Roach so close to the new ball’s scheduled arrival. But he hurries Root up a little, out of nowhere, with a ball that darts back at him quicker than anticipated. Root’s on more accomplished ground with another one speared him into him a little fuller that he clips effortlessly past midwicket to the ropes for four. “How about ‘Look at the Data’ as a band name for a techno synthy Chemical Brothersy outfit or ‘What the Data Say’ as a left-wing protesty angry-rock band,” wonders Robin Hazlehurst. “With the really clever bit when both bands use each other’s names as titles for their first albums and argue about it in court and the NME for ever after.” I like every single aspect of this scenario. 6.38pm BST18:38 74th over: England 186-3 (Ballance 28, Root 7) Bishoo drops one a fraction too short and Ballance turns him round the corner to deep square leg for a couple. The spinner is continuing to mix up his deliveries, but Ballance is on top of things when they go a tad awry, as he does when clobbering an overpitched full toss to the long-off boundary for four. 6.36pm BST18:36 73rd over: England 180-3 (Ballance 22, Root 7) Roach continues, and continues with that full-ish length. Ballance is able to take advantage of one that’s overpitched a fraction by creaming a cover drive to the boundary. He follows this by squirting an attempted yorker past gully for one. “What about ‘play straight’ as a band name,” suggests Glen Young before breaking with convention and moving on to talking about the actual cricket. “We seem obsessed with scoring runs by cutting balls behind square all the time. Oh for some big drives down the ground.” Easier said than done on this track, I’d say. Updated at 7.09pm BST 6.31pm BST18:31 72nd over: England 175-3 (Ballance 17, Root 7) Bishoo’s bowling a nice variation here, mixing up his pace as well as his length, forcing Root back a couple of times before the Yorkshireman has the measure of him and makes room to square cut for four. Perhaps it’s one of those Fast Show-style riffs that’s funnier the more it’s told – like Unlucky Alf falling down a hole. 6.29pm BST18:29 71st over: England 171-3 (Ballance 17, Root 3) Roach’s heavily populated close offside field is clearly aimed at tempting Ballance on the drive, and he can’t penetrate it until the last ball of the over, which is a bit wider and gleefully cracked square past backward point for four. A welcome boundary. 6.25pm BST18:25 70th over: England 167-3 (Ballance 13, Root 3) Root pulls Bishoo hard but straight to short midwicket, and the bowler responds by turning one sharply from leg to off that the batsman wisely leaves. Another maiden. West Indies will be feeling rather more pleased with themselves here. “I like your suggestion of remorseless accumulation as a band name,” chimes Thomas Paternoster, “How about “Nurdle down leg”? Trad folk playing fêtes in somerset. “Soft hands” would be a smooth nu soul duo. “Glorious cover drive” would have been a cult favourite of John Peel listeners. “DLF Maximum!!” would be cynical eurobeat made by, and for, idiots.” Yeah, I can imagine seeing Glorious Cover Drive support The Field Mice, or somesuch, on a fey indie tour in 1986. 6.22pm BST18:22 69th over: England 167-3 (Ballance 13, Root 3) There’s a change of bowling, the double-wicket man Gabriel being replaced by Roach, who is nudged through the leg-side by Root for a single first off. The switch prompts speculation in the commentary box about when the new ball might be taken, it being due in only 12 overs. Anyway, Roach is mostly on a length outside off stump with a smidgeon of movement off the seam but none in the air or off the pitch. Ballance sees out the over. 6.18pm BST18:18 68th over: England 166-3 (Ballance 13, Root 2) Bishoo continues, in what has been a decent intriguing battle of wits with Ballance, who plays out a maiden, needing to make good use of his hands. Hmm. Don’t know. We need to look at the data. (Though we’ve surely reached peak “we need to look at the data” gag-smithery now haven’t we?) 6.15pm BST18:15 67th over: England 166-3 (Ballance 13, Root 2) Gabriel, having induced one batsman to play on with the first ball of his previous over, repeats the trick with the first delivery of this one too, Bell chopping onto his stumps in almost identical fashion to Cook. Root, who was dismissed this way twice in the last Test, sensibly leaves his first ball, which is short and outside off-stump. He’s off the mark with a sharp square cut to backward point, which is fumbled badly by the fielder, enabling the batsmen to run two. Well he batted well there, to be fair. We could be in danger of fetishising the “elusive hundred” a tad, given that he’s given England a platform here. It’s up to the others now. Updated at 6.18pm BST 6.10pm BST18:10 Wicket! Bell b Gabriel 1, England 164-3 And again! Bell drags on this time. Tsk Updated at 6.23pm BST 6.08pm BST18:08 66th over: England 164-2 (Ballance 13, Bell 1) Bishoo continues. Ballance uses his hands well to get on top of the spin. There’s good, positive intent from the bowler and his team, but Ballance takes advantage of a ball that’s tossed up a bit more and drives down the ground for two. Updated at 6.08pm BST 6.06pm BST18:06 65th over: England 162-2 (Ballance 11, Bell 1) No sooner do I type that Cook continues to look confident than he drags one onto his stumps from Gabriel and is out. A very Cook-like hundred of old looked on there, but he just tried to cut fast and loose at one that was arrowed in just a little too close to his body and mis-connected. Bell is off the mark with a nicely-timed flick to midwicket, and an extremely harsh wide adds to the total when Gabriel pitches short outside off-stump (I’ve seen them not given in T20). Ballance manages to take a risky single when Gabriel strays slightly more to the legside with a push to midwicket - it’d have been a run-out if he hit. An ex-captain writes, as so many of them do, so often: 5.59pm BST17:59 Wicket! Cook b Gabriel 76, England 159-2 Ah no! Cook plays on, chopping an attempted cut onto his stumps. That hundred eludes him again. Updated at 6.14pm BST 5.57pm BST17:57 64th over: England 159-1 (Cook 76, Ballance 10) Cook is looking a bit more feisty anyhow, sweeping Bishoo’s first ball confidently for four, and taking another nudged single down to fine leg. 5.54pm BST17:54 63rd over: England 154-1 (Cook 71, Ballance 10) Gabriel plugs away, but can’t get much response from the pitch. Ballance is untroubled, driving comfortably through the covers for two, which prompts an extra fielder being placed on the off-side. Well there’s the weather, the state of the pitch, the failure to get a result in the last Test, plus my natural picky grumpiness, but yes, no need for any uncharacteristic hurling-of-bat from these two as yet. 5.49pm BST17:49 62nd over: England 152-1 (Cook 71, Ballance 8) Bishoo continues, after his busy morning, and with similarly assertive field placings. Cook sweeps him emphatically just behind square on the legside and Samuels makes a fine, sprawling stop to prevent the four. Only one results. Four comes next ball though, a misdirected one wide outside leg stump, which Ballance leaves, Ramdin neglects to go for and it trickles down to the boundary for four byes. Ballance brings up the 150 with another single and Cook – seeing Bishoo well now – cuts for another couple. 5.46pm BST17:46 61st over: England 144-1 (Cook 68, Ballance 7) Remorseless Accumulation would be quite a good name for a band, I reckon. A bit doomy, gothy, synthy, that kind of thing. Anyway, West Indies resume with Shannon Gabriel. It’s mostly on a full length outside off stump, but when he does drop shorter, Cook manages to pull it away round the corner for one. Some upcoming tour news: we may not get to see New Zealand’s Corey Anderson: 5.33pm BST17:33 Evening everyone. Welcome back for a session in which it may be hoped I don’t have cause to use the words “remorseless accumulation” quite as often as they were heard during the morning’s play. It is, of course, important for Alastair Cook that he go on from here and get that hundred, but it’s also important for England to try to force a win in this Test, which by the look of this pitch and today’s conditions, is not going to be easy. Both a big lead, and sufficient time to bowl West Indies out again, are required, though the hosts have bowled with a fair bit of discipline in unfavourable circumstances thus far today. 5.13pm BST17:13 It’s been an uninspiring session, though Alastair Cook will presumably be happy enough with how it’s gone. England will need to score faster at some point, but they can probably afford to hang around until their captain completes his century (or gets out) before they really set about it. Anyway, Tom Davies will be here very shortly to lead you through the first hour or so after lunch. All emails to tom.davies@theguardian.com, if you’d be so kind. Bye for now! 5.03pm BST17:03 LUNCH 60th over: England 143-1 (Cook 67, Ballance 7) Another maiden from Bishoo, with the final four overs of the session bringing two runs between them, and very nearly Cook’s wicket to boot. England are 156 runs behind West Indies’ first-innings total, with nine wickets in hand. 4.59pm BST16:59 59th over: England 143-1 (Cook 67, Ballance 7) Samuels’ over yields but a single to Ballance, and leaves time for one more before lunch, which Bishoo will bowl. Updated at 5.02pm BST 4.57pm BST16:57 58th over: England 142-1 (Cook 67, Ballance 6) Aeeii! Cook clobbers the ball straight into Blackwood at short leg, who twists in an effort to make himself as small as possible, but still gets a whole lot of ball in the hip/waist area. A lot of writhing follows before the stinging subsides enough for the fielder to continue. Updated at 5.46pm BST 4.54pm BST16:54 57th over: England 141-1 (Cook 67, Ballance 5) That’s a maiden from Samuels, actually the only one in the last five overs, in which England have remorselessly accumulated 12 runs. 4.51pm BST16:51 56th over: England 141-1 (Cook 67, Ballance 5) Looked absolutely plumb, did that, but Cook had got well forward, so even though the ball hit him well below the knee, it had a lot of bouncing still to do. Cook (65no) survives a close lbw review as the decision remains with the on-field umpire: http://t.co/NJbJWGLUgj pic.twitter.com/cc6Enwm4zf Updated at 5.08pm BST 4.49pm BST16:49 NOT OUT! Howkeye shows that the ball would have clipped the top of middle stump, but not by enough to overturn the umpire’s original decision. That’s a real let-off for the England captain. 4.48pm BST16:48 REVIEW! Is Cook out here? West Indies reckon he is, and have reviewed the umpire’s not out decision. Looks like they’ve got a strong case. 4.47pm BST16:47 55th over: England 138-1 (Cook 66, Ballance 4) Ballance drives through cover and runs three, the ball being stopped just before the rope. 4.44pm BST16:44 54th over: England 134-1 (Cook 64, Ballance 1) Ballance’s 11th delivery of the day, and the first of the over, yields his first run. Then Cook misjudges a sweep, and a thick top edge sends the ball high into the air, but fine leg has come short, and it lands beyond him. There’s an admirable complete lack of cynicism or negativity in the following tweet: Can't believe Cooky is on 62! So pleased for him @Simon_Burnton 4.41pm BST16:41 53rd over: England 131-1 (Cook 62, Ballance 0) Spin from both ends, as Samuels bowls. “Some rough stuff for you there Marley!” shouts Ramdin as he prepares to bowl. And “Keep looking at that rough eh, Marley!” after he’s bowled a few. Cook scores a couple, but is also beaten by a ball that spun back and just past the edge. 4.38pm BST16:38 52nd over: England 129-1 (Cook 60, Ballance 0) A maiden from Bishoo, who is bowling nicely today even if there’s no great turn. 4.36pm BST16:36 51st over: England 129-1 (Cook 60, Ballance 0) Another edge, this from Cook’s bat, but the ball lands well short of second slip, and well wide of him too – he dives but can’t reach it, and it runs away for four. 4.32pm BST16:32 50th over: England 125-1 (Cook 56, Ballance 0) So Trott just hints at acceleration (well, he’d recently got a boundary), and he’s immediately out. Gah. 4.29pm BST16:29 WICKET! Trott c Blackwood b Bishoo 59 (England 125-1) Bishoo gives it some air, lands it full and takes the edge, which flies to Blackwood at second slip! Updated at 4.44pm BST 4.27pm BST16:27 49th over: England 125-0 (Cook 56, Trott 59) Roach bowls, and … Oh I say! … Four! Four runs! Off one ball! It’s the second boundary of the day, but seeing as the first came from an edge that squirted past slip, it’s the first proper one. Trott’s responsible, a lovely straight drive that trundles merrily down the ground. And then Trott pushes well forward at the last, which he inside-edges past the stumps and runs a single. Beautiful ondriven 4 for Trott only second boundary of the day and first authentic one. Outfield meadow length and lush 4.23pm BST16:23 48th over: England 120-0 (Cook 56, Trott 54) Bishoo bowls a maiden, though Cook would certainly have scored runs off the final ball had it not rocketed straight into the man at short leg. So deeply pleasing seeing Cook and Trott get runs. It reminds me of a time when watching cricket wasn't actively painful. @Simon_burnton 4.20pm BST16:20 47th over: England 120-0 (Cook 56, Trott 54) Roach is back, and Trott welcomes him with a push through cover that is stopped a foot from the rope. TMS confirm that Trott’s 50 is his second slowest in Tests (the inference obviously being that he’s made a few slower 50s in ODIs). 50 for Jonathan Trott from 137 balls. His 2nd slowest in tests. He now has 15 thousand first class runs #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/cIf1GxVefZ 4.16pm BST16:16 46th over: England 116-0 (Cook 55, Trott 51) Bishoo bowls, and Trott grabs a single to complete his own half-century. A few balls and another single later the same batsman top-edges a sweep, but sees the ball land safe. “There’s something wonderfully refreshing about the return of the is watching Trott and Cook bat for days a good thing or a bad thing debate!” trills Sam Cottis. “Like the good old days!” Updated at 4.28pm BST 4.12pm BST16:12 45th over: England 113-0 (Cook 54, Trott 49) Holder’s still going. Trott gets a single. “In an ideal world these two would be trying to kick on a bit, given the time lost, drawn first Test etc, but I can’t help thinking that not only is it not in their natures, I also wonder how much the pressure they must know they are under is affecting their mindset,” writes John Swan. “In other words, surely they are even more likely to grind the runs out, and can we really blame them? [slight pause for reflection] Right! That’s enough of this! Come on, pull your fingers out, the pair of you!” 4.08pm BST16:08 44th over: England 112-0 (Cook 54, Trott 48) Trott edges a full delivery just wide of slip, and gets two runs for his troubles. “Given pitch, time lost, weather, and so on, England’s best chance of winning this is to bat long and huge, and to only bat once,” writes Nick Wiltsher, and this surely is true. “If (slowly) Cook and Trott pile up a huge start, and knacker the bowlers, and the middle and lower order make hay, and England end the day 400-4, and add another 200 before tea tomorrow … well, that’s them in the box seat, isn’t it? So I suppose I’m saying, judge this painful partnership on where it ends up, not on the entertainment value it provides in the process.” Which is all very well, unless you’re contractually obliged to report on the process. 4.05pm BST16:05 43rd over: England 105-0 (Cook 53, Trott 43) Holder bowls into Cook’s body, and the England batsman mistimes and indeed misplaces his shot, the ball swings into him and flicks the pad on its way through. There’s a massive appeal, but the umpire doesn’t like it and no review is forthcoming. Hawkeye later shows the ball missing the stumps every which way, wide and high. “Surely England’s middle order will be licking their lips watching the openers tire out the Windies’ bowling attack?” demands Simon Cooper. “We should be in for some fun later in the day when Bell and Root get going! (difficult to type with crossed fingers…)” 3.57pm BST15:57 42nd over: England 102-0 (Cook 50, Trott 43) Bishoo bowls, and Cook works the first ball through cover for a couple to take England’s total into treble figures. The next goes for a single, completing the captain’s half-century. After all that excitement, it’s little surprise that the players require and indeed receive drinks. England 101 for no wicket. Pitch slow, outfield even slower. Hard to hit boundaries. But Cook 50 from 135 balls. Updated at 4.20pm BST 3.54pm BST15:54 41st over: England 99-0 (Cook 47, Trott 43) “I find myself in humble agreement with Stuart Broad,” writes Paul Ewart, as Holder labours through another maiden over. “This is old school…” 3.50pm BST15:50 40th over: England 99-0 (Cook 47, Trott 43) A maiden from Bishoo. Cook has now faced 133 deliveries for his 47. His slowest Test half-century, against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2013, took him 164. 3.48pm BST15:48 39th over: England 99-0 (Cook 47, Trott 43) “Seeing as this is a flat, slow pitch; that England have failed to select two spinners and that the England attack couldn’t take 20 wickets in the previous Test, wouldn’t the best strategy be to let Trott and Cook bat the game out and try and find a bit of form?” wonders Michael Laycock, as Trott scores a couple off Holder’s final delivery. “I’m sure by the end of Day 5, they’d both have got close to their centuries. We should just let them treat this as a glorified net.” 3.43pm BST15:43 38th over: England 97-0 (Cook 47, Trott 41) Bishoo bowls to Cook, with a slip, a leg slip and a short leg in place, but to Trott without the leg slip. None of them are brought into play as England add a couple of singles. 3.39pm BST15:39 37th over: England 95-0 (Cook 46, Trott 40) Holder continues. The bowling has been good so far today, in a contain rather than destroy vein – not a lot threatening the stumps, but no cheap runs either. 3.36pm BST15:36 36th over: England 94-0 (Cook 45, Trott 40) Bishoo bowls, and starts his day with a no ball for overstepping. @simon_burnton Sake, Si, it's the first hour of day three! Shouldn't you be on the IPL OBO instead? Ha! Sure, we’ve got time, but we’ve also lost quite a lot of it, is all. 3.31pm BST15:31 35th over: England 92-0 (Cook 44, Trott 40) Gabriel continues, and Cook hits down the ground for a couple and pulls to fine leg for a single. Updated at 3.53pm BST 3.25pm BST15:25 34th over: England 89-0 (Cook 41, Trott 40) With the sun blazing overhead in a blue sky dappled with fluffy cloud, and a flat pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers, this shows every sign of being an extremely long day for the fielding side. Roach bowls short and wide to Trott, who slaps it from waist height to deep point for a couple. @Simon_Burnton This is pretty painful to watch. Bowling is tight but there's no initiative from the batsmen to score and progress the match. 3.20pm BST15:20 33rd over: England 86-0 (Cook 40, Trott 38) A delay, midway through Gabriel’s over, while West Indies move somebody to short leg and get him a helmet. The inevitable short balls follow and Trott ducks out of the way twice, but then the final delivery is full and Trott edges it along the ground, between the two slips and gully for four. Updated at 4.10pm BST 3.16pm BST15:16 32nd over: England 82-0 (Cook 40, Trott 34) A maiden from Roach. Of course England may yet lose this match, but if they want to win it given the time already lost their best chance is to put on a fairly brisk, very high first-innings total and take it from there, is it not? Anyway, nobody’s in any hurry yet. 3.11pm BST15:11 31st over: England 82-0 (Cook 40, Trott 34) Gabriel bowls to Trott and the ball jags right off the seam, misses the stumps and Ramdin only just about gets a glove to it. Trott calls for a run with a “yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah” that sounds not unlike cartoon canine Muttley’s laugh. 3.06pm BST15:06 30th over: England 79-0 (Cook 38, Trott 34) Two for Trott, and another no ball from Roach. COMPETITION TIME! On Monday evening in London the Guardian is hosting a cricket-themed evening of fun and hilarity. “Hosted by Alex Horne and the Observer’s Emma John, guests include comedian Andy Zaltzman, cricketer Dean Headley, Felix White from the Maccabees and music from The Horne Section,” it says here. “Join us for an evening of special guest interviews, news and gossip from the world of cricket – and some truly silly quizzes.” Tickets cost just £20 (click here for details) but you could win a pair simply by clicking here and asking nicely. Good luck! 3.01pm BST15:01 29th over: England 76-0 (Cook 38, Trott 32) “I am convinced the speed gun has been to see Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room at a theatre in Grenada,” writes Richard Thomson. “Is Gabriel really bowling at 93mph.” Well either my eyes deceive me or the technology does, and given the choice I’ll go with my eyes. Anyway, he bowls one (clocked at 90mph) that has Cook feeling hesitantly outside off stump, but the ball fades away slightly and is missed. 2.56pm BST14:56 28th over: England 76-0 (Cook 38, Trott 32) A single for Cook, and an emphatic no ball for overstepping from Roach, have the scoreboard ticking gently onwards. Updated at 3.22pm BST 2.50pm BST14:50 27th over: England 74-0 (Cook 37, Trott 32) Shannon Gabriel (who, before you ask, has never played Test cricket on the feast of St Gabriel), gets the day started and tests Trott with a couple of short balls, both of which the batsman safely evades. In all Trott leaves five of the six deliveries well alone, and defends the other. 2.44pm BST14:44 The action’s starting 15 minutes early because of the rain over the first couple of days, so the players are already out. 2.44pm BST14:44 Great Stewart stat. It must be true also of other Test players, but I fear Cook will never be one of them. @Simon_Burnton Alec Stewart's Test runs (8,463) coincides with his date of birth (8.4.63). So Alastair Cook should make 251,284 runs, right? 2.30pm BST14:30 Hello world! Happy St George’s Day everybody! Let’s dance! Of course, not only is St George the patron saint of England, he’s also lent his name to the town in Grenada where this match is being played. Uncanny! The National Cricket Stadium in St George’s has only hosted two previous Tests, and neither of them was played over St George’s Day*, so we have literally no idea which of these sides the long-deceased actually-Turkish saint will favour on this day of days. What’s more, England have never played Test cricket on St George’s Day, in St George’s or elsewhere, adding to the atmosphere of delicious uncertainty swirling around the ground before play gets under way. * West Indies have also never played in St John’s on the feast day of St John, in St Vincent on the feast day of St Vincent, in St Lucia on the feast day of St Lucy or in St Kitts on the feast day of St Christopher. Updated at 2.31pm BST 2.15pm BST14:15 Simon will be here soon. In the meantime, here is the reaction to day two’s play in St George’s: Alastair Cook surpassed Alec Stewart to become England’s second highest run-scorer in Tests during his gritty opening partnership with Jonathan Trott. Cook beat Stewart’s mark of 8,463 runs and is now closing in on Graham Gooch’s record of 8,900. The captain’s return to form was a welcome relief after a long lean patch, and won him and the recalled Trott praise from England’s bowling hero earlier in the day, Stuart Broad. “It was great to see – a bit old school – a Cook-Trott fifty partnership again,” said Broad, who took four for 61 to help dismiss West Indies for 299. “It’s been a few years but there’s some fantastic memories of those two batting together and hopefully we can see more of the same. “It’s been quite a common theme here that the new ball has got wickets so to have got through [the session] with these two at the crease is a big bonus, they’ve looked fantastic.” Read more here. |