Windies batsmen falter against England pacers

THE West Indies batsmen could not deliver on day two of the third and final Test match, as England closed the day in a commanding position at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday.

The Windies bowlers, led by pacers Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel, did a commendable job in restricting England to 280/8, but a stunning counter-attack by Stuart Broad helped the home team to 369 all out. Broad slammed 62 off 45 balls with nine fours and one six.

England resumed their first innings on 258/4. Ollie Pope could not add to his overnight score of 91 and Jos Buttler only added 11 runs to his score before being dismissed for 67.

Roach, who went past 200 wickets on the day, ended with 4/72 in 25.4 overs. Gabriel was also impressive in the first session as he snatched 2/77 in 23.2 overs. Off spinner Roston Chase continued to have a decent series picking up 2/36 in 11 overs.

In reply, West Indies ended on 137/6 still trailing England by 232 runs. Opener John Campbell was the top scorer with 32 and Jermaine Blackwood pitched in with 26. Shai Hope continued to have a miserable series as he was sent back to the pavilion for 17. Windies captain Jason Holder (24) and Shane Dowrich (ten) are the not out batsmen.

The fast bowling pair of James Anderson and Broad both ended with figures of 2/17. The English fast bowlers got all the wickets as Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes took one wicket apiece.

Play ended 30 minutes early because of bad light.

The series is squared 1-1.

SUMMARISED SCORES

England 369 (Ollie Pope 91, Jos Buttler 67, Stuart Broad 62, Rory Burns 57; Kemar Roach 4/72, Shannon Gabriel 2/77, Roston Chase 2/36) vs West Indies 137/6 (John Campbell 32, Jermaine Blackwood 26; James Anderson 2/17, S Broad 2/17)