Ben Stokes took centre stage for England on day two of the second Test against the West Indies in Barbados, bludgeoning a brutal 120 to put the visitors in a dominant position.
After resuming day two on 244-3 with Stokes joining unbeaten centurion Joe Root at the crease, England continued to dominate with the pair powering them past the 300 mark. With Root once again looking imperious, Stokes injected some impetus and brutality into England's innings.
In a shot which perfectly illustrated the way he was playing, Stokes brought up his half-century by skipping down the pitch and striking spinner Veerasammy Permaul straight back over his head for six. When he brought up his 100-run partnership with Root with a crunching four, Stokes had scored 73 of the pair's 102 runs.
With Stokes at his marauding best at the other end, Root continued to go about his business in classy fashion and brought up his twelfth score of 150+ before lunch. However, he was only able to add a further two runs after the break, getting out lbw to Kemar Roach for 153.
Jonny Bairstow was unable to cash in after his excellent first-innings hundred in Antigua, adding just 20. Alzarri Joseph made the breakthrough for the hosts, getting Bairstow caught at deep midwicket off the short ball.
Stokes then perished in the deep himself, getting caught at long-off off part-timer Kraigg Brathwaite for 120 after striking him for back-to-back sixes. With England now 424-6, Ben Foakes and Chris Woakes were much more sedate in their partnership.
They added a further 75 runs, with Foakes scoring 33 and Woakes adding 41. Foakes was ultimately stumped off the bowling of Permaul, while Woakes was caught in the deep off Roach and Jack Leach was stumped for four with his dismissal bringing about England's declaration on 507-9
In response, England picked up an early wicket before the close of play, with debutant Matthew Fisher getting John Campbell caught behind for four in his first over. However, Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks safely saw the West Indies through to the close on 71-7, 436 runs behind England.
Here are five talking points from the day's play.
Stokes back to his brutal best
Stokes' return from a six-month break from cricket in time for the Ashes did not go to plan, with the all-rounder managing just 236 runs at an average of 23.60 and four wickets at an average of 71.50. Stokes also suffered a side during the series and later said he felt he "let the team down".
In hindsight, it was expecting a lot for Stokes to deliver in Australia given his lack of match fitness and it perhaps came too soon. However, in the Caribbean he has been showing signs of getting back to his best with both bat and ball.
In the first Test in Antigua, he was the pick of England's seamers and bowled a total of 41 overs, his highest workload in a Test match for more than three years. In the second Test in Barbados, Stokes starred with the bat as he struck his highest Test score since returning to the side.
Although he made two half-centuries in the Sydney Test, those were stubborn efforts and examples of his sheer bloody-mindedness. In Barbados, Stokes was much more fluent as he struck 120 in a brutal innings which saw him smash Joseph for 20 runs in one over.
Roach surpasses Sobers record
It may not have been the best day he will ever have in a West Indies shirt, but it is one that Roach will always remember fondly after he moved past the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers with his 236th Test wicket. Roach is now up to seventh on the list of all-time leading wicket takers for the West Indies.
The 33-year-old is the leader of the West Indies attack and has developed into a very potent red-ball bowler in recent years. Despite losing some of his pace after being involved in a car accident in 2014 and getting dropped in 2016, Roach has become an incredibly clever bowler.
Before his axing in 2016, he averaged 30 in Test cricket but has been averaging just 23 since his recall the following year. Although he ended the day with figures of 2-68, the wicket of Root was a historic one for Roach.
Root reaches 150
Although it was Stokes who grabbed the headlines with his brutal innings, Root picked up where he left off on day one as he passed 150. It was the twelfth time the England captain has reached the milestone in Test cricket, with five of those occurring since the start of last year.
Root has been in imperious form for the last 14 months, aside from a poor Ashes series by his lofty standards where he averaged 32.20, and former England assistant coach Paul Farbrace believes he will go on to become England's greatest ever player. "I think he's going to prove to be the best," Farbrace told Sky Sports.
"He'll go past Alastair Cook's record as leading Test run scorer for England and I think he will prove to be the best player. What you have to understand is not only is he playing fantastically well, but he's also carrying the burden of England's batting and he has done now for quite some time."
Encouragement for Leach
As the day wore on, spinner Permaul found some turn and bounce after being on the receiving end of some brutal punishment from Stokes. And Permaul's late turn offered plenty of encouragement for England spinner Jack Leach, who bowled well in the first Test after a chastening Ashes.
Leach picked up five wickets in the match and bowled with great control in the first innings, before attacking more in the second and he will be looking to build on that display in this Test. Speaking on BT Sport, West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite warned: "Veerasammy Permaul is not a big spinner of the ball and we saw some turn. West Indies will not be wanting to face Jack Leach after such a long time in the field."
And Leach was brought into the attack early by Root, bowling the eighth over of the West Indies' innings and finding plenty of spin. Although he did not pick up a wicket, Leach will take plenty of encouragement from his nine over spell.
Fisher's fairytale start
After being thrust into the side for his debut after Craig Overton fell ill, Fisher enjoyed the perfect start to international cricket as he was handed the new ball and picked up a wicket with just his second delivery. After getting hit for four first ball, he got Campbell caught behind and wheeled away in celebration.
The 24-year-old also pointed to the sky in a touching tribute to his late father Phil, who tragically died when his son was just 14 from bowel cancer. "It is probably the hardest thing someone can go through," he told the Daily Mail ahead of his trip to the Caribbean.
"I don’t think I could have got through it without the support of my mum, brothers and the rest of my family. Dad is the biggest part of me getting to where I’ve got to.
"When I am playing, that’s when I get the connection with him. When I do well, I feel an even stronger connection. I hold the ball up to the sky for Dad every time I get five wickets."
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