Da Silva left 82 not out after 10th-wicket stand of 71
Joshua Da Silva and Shamar Joseph added valuable runs for the tenth wicket  •  AFP/Getty Images
Lunch West Indies 457 (Hodge 120, Da Silva 82*, Athanaze 82, Woakes 4-84) lead England 416 (Pope 121, Duckett 71, Stokes 69) by 41 runs
Joshua Da Silva‘s resolute half-century and some late-innings thrashing by Shamar Joseph took West Indies 41 runs ahead of England on the third morning of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
Da Silva remained unbeaten on 82, having added fifty runs to his overnight score, when Shamar Joseph fell on the final ball of an extended first session for 33 off 27 balls, the pair putting on 71 runs in 78 balls for the 10th wicket.
Chris Woakes found plenty of swing to lead the bowling for England with three wickets for the day, including two in as many balls, but West Indies would be thrilled with an improved batting performance led by centurion Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze’s 82 on the second day which gave them hope of drawing level in the series.
England bowled just one over with the second new ball on the second evening but under far cloudier skies, it took just 15 deliveries on Saturday morning for the hosts to break through. Woakes and Jamie Smith combined to remove Jason Holder, prodding one outside off stump to be caught behind. Holder added just four runs to his overnight score to reach 27 off 76 balls after a torrid time at the crease.
Kevin Sinclair could have been run out on 2 after Ollie Pope dived at short cover but his shy at the stumps at the non-striker’s end went wide. Sinclair added just two more runs, however, before he was well taken by Harry Brook’s lightning reaction at gully off Gus Atkinson.
Alzarri Joseph should have been caught when, on 7, he skied Atkinson’s shorter ball but Ben Stokes, running in from cover and diving with his right hand outstretched, spilled the chance.
Mark Wood, who left the field with cramp late on the second day after his high-paced efforts went unrewarded, returned to the field at the start of play and he had ball in hand again just before the morning drinks break.
But it was Woakes who found himself on a hat-trick shortly after the pause when Alzarri Joseph’s resistance ended chasing a wide one outside off stump and feathering to keeper Smith and Jayden Seales was bowled for a first-ball duck. Shamar Joseph survived the hat-trick ball, stepping into a fuller one and fending it to the off side.
Da Silva brought up his fifty in emphatic style, using Wood’s extra pace to guide the ball over the boundary at deep extra cover, having taken things slow for the first 90 minutes.
No. 11 Shamar Joseph faced up to Woakes well in the next over, breaking a run of four dot balls with a cracking four over mid-off and then Da Silva took another six off Wood over deep third to take West Indies past the 400-mark.
Shamar Joseph drew his side level with England’s first-innings 416 thrashing Atkinson for six in front of square, then he sent broken roof tiles raining down onto spectators sitting in the stands below at backward square leg followed by four through fine leg to take 16 off the over and West Indies 10 in front.
Da Silva amassed 18 runs off one Joe Root over with three consecutive fours followed by a heave over long-on for six, his third maximum of the innings.
Then, finally, Wood snared the wicket that had eluded him in 20 overs of toil when Shamar Joseph sent a leading edge high to mid-on, Atkinson snaffling the catch.
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women’s cricket, at ESPNcricinfo
