With England finishing the day three on 171 for three, wiping out the 169-run lead, West Indies captain Jason Holder believes the ongoing second Test at Headingley is evenly poised.
England was firmly on the back foot when the visitors finished their first innings on 427 in reply to hosts’ 258. However, a strong batting show and some poor fielding by West Indies allowed Joe Root & Co. to stage a good fight back.
Alastair Cook and Mark Stoneman added 58 runs for the first wicket, but the visitors soon made inroads in the match by dismissing the former and reducing the home side to 94 for three. The match would have been tilted further in their favour had they not dropped Joe Root when he was batting on just 10.
Root, who was dropped in the first innings also, made the most of it and remained unbeaten on 45 to lead England’s charge. Holder also chose not to review the umpire’s decision even though Dawid Malan had edged a Devendra Bishoo delivery. Malan went on score an unbeaten 21. Speaking at the end of day’s play, Holder admitted that the match could go any way before emphasising the need of hitting the right length on the penultimate day of the game.
“I think it’s evenly poised at this stage,” Holder said. “We’ve got three wickets so far, they’ve only got a lead of two runs. I think it’s important tomorrow morning we hit our straps. We’ve got to be patient, make sure the English batters work hard for the runs. Consistency and patience are the names of the game tomorrow.
“I think anywhere around 150 should be pretty decent, it’s still a pretty good pitch, slow-ish in nature. There’s a bit of spin but wide, from the rough. Seamers I still think will play a big role second innings, so anywhere around 150 we’d be happy with,” he added.
Holder has been his team’s standout bowler in the second innings so far, taking a couple of wickets. Before that, he also scored a crucial 43 to help his team extend the lead.
“It’s always pleasing to contribute to the team cause,” he said. “I don’t doubt my ability, I know what I can achieve. I don’t think I have too much to prove to people, I just go out there and try to perform, whatever the team needs me to do. The guys have really showed fight in this game and that’s commendable but it’s important to come tomorrow and work even harder in terms of breaking this partnership.”