BIRMINGHAM, England, CMC – West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite survived a testing period to hit a half-century, but three wickets – two to pacer Gus Atkinson – in the final half-hour before lunch undermined his hard work against hosts England in the third Test of the Richards-Botham Trophy Series on Friday.
Brathwaite was left unbeaten on 56, and the Caribbean side wobbled to 97 for three in their first innings at the interval on the first day of the match at Edgbaston after they won the toss and decided to bat.
The West Indies captain defied several blows to the body from the England pacers to reach 50 for the first time in nine Test innings, spanning more than a year, when he nudged his 70th ball from his opposite number Ben Stokes through backward square leg for a single.
Brathwaite and fellow opener Mikyle Louis got through a testing first hour and shared 76 for the first wicket. Still, Atkinson removed Louis and left-hander Alick Athanaze to end the session with two for 40 from overs, and tearaway fast bowler Mark Wood claimed Kirk McKenzie to ruin lunch for the visitors.
Louis was caught behind off Atkinson for 26, and left-hander McKenzie hit three boundaries in 12 in a brief stay at the crease before he was beaten for pace and bowled by Wood and Athanaze, one of the batting heroes from the second Test at Trent Bridge, was bowled for two, dragging on an ill-advised pull.
West Indies were forced to make one change to their line-up from the previous Test, while England are unchanged.
The Caribbean side was forced to rule out off-spinner Kevin Sinclair after he sustained a fractured forearm when he was struck by a bouncer from Wood that dismissed him in the second Test.
Left-arm spinner and fellow Guyanese Gudakesh Motie, who came down with the flu and missed the second Test, returns to the line-up after recovering from the illness.
The visitors trail 2-0 in the three-match series after they lost the first Test that ended two Fridays ago – inside three days – by an innings and 114 runs at Lord’s, and the second Test that finished last Sunday – inside four days – by 241 runs at Trent Bridge.
The Caribbean side have won four and lost three of their ten previous Tests at Edgbaston, with two defeats coming in their last three visits in 2004 and 2017, the first pink-ball Test in England.
West Indies pacer Jayden Seales, who is playing his 13th Test, requires only three wickets to reach 50 in his career, and England master batsman Joe Root, on 11 940 Test runs, requires only 14 to overtake former West Indies captain Brian Lara at No. 7 on the all-time list of scorers in the format.
One more hundred and Root will also draw level with Alastair Cook, on 33, for the most by an England batter.
and then 