Windies hit Zak at Bowl
Zak Crawley stepped up with the highest score of his short Test career as England established a hard-fought lead at the Ageas Bowl yesterday.
But a late surge from the West Indies bowlers left the tourists sensing a day five victory.
Crawley believes it could be a close contest on the final day, with the hosts targeting a 200-plus lead in Southampton.
He said: “It should be tight if we bowl well tomorrow and hopefully get a few more runs.
“To get above a 200 lead would be very nice and give us a great chance of winning the game.
“Even towards the end there you could see the ball doing quite a bit.
“They bowled quite well but the pitch was offering a bit up and down bounce and we’ve definitely got the bowlers to take 10 wickets on there.”
After losing just three wickets in the first two sessions England blinked late in the day, seeing their next five go down for just 30 runs as they closed 170 ahead on 284 for eight.
The Eng l i sh had threatened to take control for the first time when Crawley joined captain Ben Stokes in a stand of 98 for the fourth wicket.
But when Stokes fell for 46 and Crawley followed for 76 moments later the tone shifted.
Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel shared four wickets in the final hour, with Jason Holder again responsible for Stokes’ scalp.
None of what followed should take away from Crawley’s efforts, the 22- year- old showing maturity beyond both his years and five international caps to produce the highest score of the match amid high tension.