After two days of one-way traffic at Lord’s, the third is poised to be Jimmy Anderson’s last as a Test cricketer. It will take an almighty fightback from West Indies to alter the course of this match and while weekend ticket holders will be rooting for them, this feels as likely as England reversing the decision to pension off their champion seam bowler.
Not that Anderson was looking to string it out. He was among those to hasten his own departure late on Thursday, delivering two succulent strikes as the tourists slumped to 79 for six. Rolled for 121 in their first innings, and shipping 371 in response thanks to Jamie Smith’s 70 on debut, West Indies will resume 171 runs adrift. They need snookers, safe-crackers or 72 hours of solid rain to avoid going 1-0 down in this three-match series.
