England will resume their second innings on the fifth morning of the second Test match, at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, on 40/0. Alex Lees is unbeaten on 18, and Zak Crawley on 21.
Barring a miracle, this match will end in a draw like the first Test match, in Antigua. Like Antigua, a slow, placid pitch is largely to blame for this. Interestingly, when England toured the West Indies in 2019, they were welcomed on pitches that assisted pace bowlers of both sides, producing some low scores.
Saturday was not a great advert for Test match cricket, for only 163 runs were scored in the day.
Resuming the day on 288/4, Kraigg Brathwaite and nightwatch Alzarri Joseph added 48 before Joseph fell to Ben Stokes for 19. Brathwaite, though, just dug in, and, at one stage before lunch, 51 deliveries yielded just one run.
When he was eventually bowled by Jack Leach for 160, he had faced 489 deliveries, 400 of them dot balls. The West Indies were eventually all out in the final session for 411, a deficit of 96 on first innings.
The script for Sunday can almost be written in advance. England will look for quick runs to set up the declaration and hope to bowl out the West Indies cheaply second time round. Stranger things have happened, but given that it took them the best part of two days to take ten wickets first time round, doing it again in less than two sessions is unlikely in the extreme.
Fantasy Tips
- England to declare after lunch setting the West Indies 250 to win. Expect Joe Root to get another big score.
- Expect Veerasammy Permaul to take a few wickets, but pick other West Indian bowlers too.
- Stokes may both bat and bowl today. Pick him.