Chris Woakes fired up in a three-wicket burst to give England hope in a Test finale that has become a dogfight.
But despite his efforts and that of fellow all-rounder Ben Stokes in pushing their bodies to the limit in the hunt for a bit of winter glory, the Windies lower order showed they have plenty of ticker to go with their technique. Wicket keeper Josh da Silva has become a regular thorn in England’s side and he was at it again with the most patient 54 from 152 balls, his first fifty at home.
In scoring the first fifty of the match da Silva not only took his team from 95-6 and into a lead of 28, but he also visibly frustrated the England bowlers. Stokes in particular had plenty to say to da Silva who clearly enjoyed the effect he was having, waving him away and indicating that the next ball had to be bowled.
His cussed and determined approach meant he could add 49 with Alzarri Joseph and was there with Kemar Roach when they went past England’s first innings total of 204 during an unbroken partnership of 55. Yet again it was a day of two halves as the lower order scrapped and scuffled for every last run to make sure England didn’t have things all their own way after their early breakthroughs.
At 95-6 and thanks to an effective spell from Woakes, England were right on top and hopeful of a sizeable first innings lead, but by the end of day two the home side had climbed to 232-8 and with power to add. There is a reason why West Indies and England occupy positions eight and nine in the World Test Championship respectively.
Neither are particularly good at Test cricket right now, so no matter what the state of the game there is always the potential for an awful passage of play that puts them into trouble. And so it proved as the Windies lost 5-21 inside 13 overs of nervy cricket from the home team.
The pitch might not have offered quite the same levels of extravagant sideways movement as it did for the Windies seamers, but the variable bounce from the evocatively named Darbeau End was a menace. It did for both Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks who both practically walked for their lbws to Stokes and Saqib Mahmood.
If any player has the right to feel a little jaded at the back end of the winter it is Woakes as the only pace bowler to have played from the start of the T20 World Cup, through the Ashes and then in each of these three energy-sapping Tests.
But as the de facto leader of the attack in the absence of both James Anderson and Stuart Broad he has kept charging in, ignoring the brickbats who condemn him for his record away from home, searching for wickets and he claimed three big ones in his afternoon burst. Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder both succumbed to the short ball, before Jermaine Blackwood was trapped lbw for 18. Still the hard work continued though.
