Determined centuries from Brathwaite, Blackwood keeps England in check

Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood produced an almost perfect captain, vice-captain double-act with determined centuries to lift the West Indies to 288 for 4 in reply to England's first innings total of 507 for 9 declared at stumps on the third day of the second Test at Kensington Oval on Friday (March 18).

Brathwaite was at his most obdurate in accumulating an unbeaten 109, his 10th Test hundred, in more than eight hours at the crease in which he has faced 337 deliveries and stroked 12 fours.

Blackwood, who offered a bit more adventure in a 183-run fourth-wicket partnership with his skipper, fell just before the close of play for 102. His third Test century and second against England spanned almost five hours in which he faced 215 balls and struck 11 boundaries.

While the opening batsman's marathon effort was typically understated and free of any moment of real danger, his partner through most of the day lived a charmed life from the very start of his innings and needed those moments of good fortune to provide the sort of stability the West Indies desperately needed after England took the upper hand in the morning session.

Blackwood came to the crease just before lunch at 101 for three and immediately survived an LBW appeal to the bowling of Ben Stokes, who had just removed the usually obdurate Nkrumah Bonner.

Even the bowler appeared to concur with umpire Nigel Duguid's verdict of not out and after a brief deliberation, Joe Root opted not to challenge the decision. England's captain and the rest of his team, together with their thousands of supporters packed into the ground were left to rue that decision as television replays projected that the ball would have hit the leg-stump.

Then in the final session, with the second new ball taken and debutant Saqib Mahmood in the midst of a testing spell, Blackwood was comprehensively yorked on 65, only for the celebrations of his first Test wicket to be cut short by confirmation of a clear no-ball delivered by the seamer.

Tempers appeared to boil over shortly after as England's frustration grew and the other on-field umpire, Joel Wilson, had to intervene on at least two occasions to calm the situation down when Stokes seemed to exchange words with Blackwood.

"I always love to play against Ben Stokes, even from our days at the Under-19 World Cup," was Blackwood's explanation of the exchange at the end of the day's play. "It just motivates me to do even better so I don’t mind it at all."

More importantly, the dapper right-hander acknowledged that an important contribution was necessary from him. "It was very special today to go on and score a hundred. I've been putting in a lot of work with the batting coach (Monty Desai) and the only disappointment is that I wasn't able to bat through to the end of the day."

With the close of play looming Blackwood padded up to a delivery from occasional leg-spinner Dan Lawrence to be palpably LBW, necessitating the arrival of Alzarri Joseph as nightwatchman who will resume on the fourth morning with his captain.

Taking particular delight in his innings in front of the few home fans who were at the venue, including for the first time, his mother, Brathwaite nevertheless acknowledged that the job was far from over for the West Indies to work themselves into a position of safety.

"We are still behind by over 200 runs so tomorrow is crucial again," he noted.

"The more time we can continue to bat the better for us. That first session on the fourth day is crucial so we have to continue to work extremely hard."

Stokes was again in the thick of the action earlier as England plucked out two wickets in the pre-lunch session. Starting the day at 71 for one, Brathwaite lost his fellow Barbadian Shamarh Brooks after half-hour's play for 39 when he top-edged an attempted cut and Chris Woakes held the catch at backward point.

Bonner, 'Man of the Match' in the first Test when his patient first innings hundred and defiant second innings contribution ensured a draw in Antigua, fell to Stokes for just nine, adjudged leg-before.

Blackwood's early bit of luck did not appear to bother the English too much as they no doubt felt it would be only a matter of time for the batsman noted for moments of injudicious strokeplay to contribute to his own demise.

However, a combination of a placid pitch, England's lack of genuine penetration with their bowling, a bit more luck and Blackwood's unexpected resolve transformed the day to one of West Indian satisfaction.

Brief scores:

England 507 for 9 decl. (Joe Root 153, Ben Stokes 120; Veerasammy Permaul 3 for 126) lead West Indies 288 for 4 (Kraigg Brathwaite 109*, Jermaine Blackwood 102; Dan Lawrence 1 for 8) by 219 runs.