The hosts England smell the Test series win against the West Indies after their dominating performances on the entire third day of the ongoing third and final match of this Test series at Manchester.
Starting the day on their overnight score of 137/6 in the first innings, the Caribbean team managed to escape from the follow-on but they were bundled out for just 197 runs. Leading by 172 runs, England declared their second innings on 226/2. Chasing down the 399 runs target, West Indies finished the day on 10/2.
England pacer Stuart Broad picked up a total of six wickets on the day three
Overnight Caribbean batsmen, captain Jason Holder and wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich started the morning with new hope as their partnership added 41 runs. After the crucial 68 runs partnership for the seventh wicket, Holder was dismissed for 46 runs. The last three partnerships only managed to add combinedly 19 runs. Dowrich (37 runs) was the last batsman to lose the wicket in that innings, while the English pacer Stuart Broad took all the four wickets in that morning.
Broad finished that innings with the incredible bowling figures of 14-4-31-6 as he registered his 18th five-wicket haul in Test career.
The English top-order batsmen dominated in their second innings. The openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley set the 114 runs partnership, which was England’s first 100+ opening partnership in a home Test in four years.
After Sibley (56) was trapped lbw by the Caribbean Test skipper Jason Holder, England Test captain Joe Root joined the crease with Burns. Their partnership quickly added 112 runs for the second wicket but Burns just missed out his Test century for just 10 runs as he was dismissed by Roston Chase after scoring 90 runs. Root remained not out on 68 runs off 56 balls (8 fours and only six) as he declared the innings after Burns’ dismissal.
At the beginning of the fourth innings, West Indies batted for just six overs before the day’s play finally ended. However, even in that very short time, Stuart Broad managed to take two wickets as those dismissed batsmen were opener John Campbell (0) and nightwatchman Kemar Roach (4). Another opener Kraigg Brathwaite (2*) and Shai Hope (4*) managed to save their wickets at the stumps of the day. Broad is now only one wicket away to complete his 500 Test wickets.