Eng vs WI: Kemar Roach strikes but England erase deficit against West Indies

NORTH SOUND: The West Indies got off to a good start thanks to Kemar Roach, but England overcame a 64-run first-innings deficit to reach 72 for one at lunch on the fourth day of the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

The tourists will resume in the afternoon with opener Zak Crawley on 45 and skipper Joe Root on 20, their second-wicket combination worth 48 after they skilfully navigated a potentially dangerous section of play with nine wickets in hand on a pitch that still appears to be rather placid in character.

Root took the crease after Alex Lees failed to impress on his Test debut, the left-hander getting caught leg-before for six in the sixth over by a full-length delivery from Roach.

Crawley had been declared lbw by umpire Gregory Brathwaite a couple of overs earlier, giving him a scare.

However, the batsman’s appeal of the on-field decision was successful, allowing him to continue fighting against a disciplined West Indies bowling attack as Roach, Jayden Seales, and Jason Holder pressed for more runs before the break.

The West Indies kept England in the field all day on the third day, advancing their first innings by 171 runs in 90.1 overs, but England only required three deliveries on the fourth morning to claim the decisive wicket.

After 43.3 overs of toil, last man Seales was trapped leg-before by Jack Leach, giving the left-arm spinner his second wicket of the innings.

The West Indies first innings score of 375 was an excellent recovery from their second-inning total of 127 for four.

That was mostly owing to Nkrumah Bonner’s patient second Test century, during which he remained at the bat for over nine hours and amassed 123 runs before falling for the ninth wicket late on the third day.

For the latest Sports News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest Sports News on oldsite.bolnews.com