England ‘have work to do’, admits Anderson

James Anderson accepted England’s cricketers are “up against it” after ending day three of the first #raisethebat Test 99 runs adrift of the West Indies.

The tourists established a sizeable lead of 114 after posting 318 under the first bright skies of the week at the Ageas Bowl, though England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley nudged that down into double figures during a tense 10-over spell against the new ball.

Clearing the rest of the deficit and setting a match-winning chase is sure to be a tricky task against a high-class bowling line-up but Anderson combined realism with optimism as he assessed England’s chances.

“The West Indies have had the best of the first few days certainly, we are up against it,” said Anderson, pictured centre.

“But we know exactly what we’ve got to do. If we bat well tomorrow and get a decent lead, get a bit ahead, we can give ourselves a chance of bowling them out in the fourth innings of the game.

“It’s not been our best performance with bat or ball these last few days, so we’ve got work to do in the next couple.

“We’ll need a little bit of luck. We don’t want it to deteriorate too much tomorrow.”

Anderson claimed three for 62 in a typically reliable stint, while first-time captain Ben Stokes stepped up with his best figures for two years, four for 49.

Great expectations for the all-out pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer failed to be met, the 44 overs of the effort from the pair yielding only a number 11 scalp in Shannon Gabriel.

West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite, whose 65 is the top score of the match, was the first of Stokes’ quartet on a tight lbw decision. Shane Dowrich also made a valuable 61 before succumbing to the allrounder.