IT’S DOWN TO SKIPPER TO TAKE ROOT AND DIG DEEP
CAPTAIN Joe Root was left to lead the rearguard as England traded blows with the West Indies in a captivating second Test that could go either way at Headingley.
England, absorbing a 169-run firstinnings deficit, finished day three two runs ahead on 171-3, with Root bearing the all-too-familiar burden of holding up a fragile top order.
The tourists would have been heavy favourites had Kyle Hope held Root on 10 at gully, but he took advantage of the latest fielding gaffe in a match groaning with them, reaching 45 not out by close of play.
As it stands the Investec Series is very much alive heading into day four, with the West Indies chasing their first win on these shores for 17 years and England searching for the kind of battling win that would set them up nicely for this winter’s Ashes.
Tom Westley (eight) may have missed his chance to be part of that trip, chasing a wide one to make it four single-figure scores in a row, but Mark Stoneman fared better, making a maiden half-century in his third innings at this level, despite suffering a dislocated little finger.
Dawid Malan also had a platform, with 21 not out having survived an apparent caught behind on four.
The West Indies had earlier been dismissed for 427, adding 98 runs for five wickets in a lively session.
England enjoyed a perfect start, James Anderson taking wickets with the first two balls of the day to take his career tally to 497.
Shai Hope, who made 147 in 252 balls on Saturday, nicked to the waiting Jonny Bairstow and Shane Dowrich bagged a golden duck as Anderson sealed his five-wicket haul in short order.
Punters scrambled to take their seats for the hat-trick ball, but Jason Holder tucked in tidily behind his forward defensive.
England still looked ready to mop up but, when Jermaine Blackwood chipped Stuart Broad’s second ball to mid-on, Moeen Ali somehow contrived to fumble the simplest of catches.
Broad was aghast and the gravity of the error soon became apparent as Blackwood (49) and Holder (43) added an extra 71 runs for the eighth wicket.
Blackwood rode his luck, with edges disappearing over slips and gully, while Holder hit Broad for three successive boundaries, the last a picturesque cover drive.
Runs were flowing at a worrying rate until Moeen salvaged partial redemption by holding a tricky overthe-shoulder chance to see off Holder.
The West Indies managed 23 more, Blackwood run out for 49 and Shannon Gabriel beating his batting average of five with a single blow off Moeen before Ben Stokes wrapped things up. Neither side advanced their agenda significantly between lunch and tea, with the scoreboard reading 68-1 after two hours of shadow-boxing.
Alastair Cook (23) was the man to go, groping at Holder after a clever set-up. Stoneman settled his nerves early, punishing an over-pitching Kemar Roach with three fours in an over, but soon found his scoring options thinning.
His partnership with Westley was