After a spirited innings from Dan Lawrence a day ago, Ben Stokes took it upon himself to flatten the West Indies attack with belligerent strokeplay en route his 11th Test century. Joe Root, who played a supporting cast to Stokes' onslaught, declared the innings on 507/9.
In response, West Indies finished the day on 71/1. Matthew Fisher struck on his second ball, getting John Campbell caught behind the stumps by Ben Foakes, but Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks batted the rest of the day. Both batters bid their time, hitting intermittent boundaries. A lot will depend on this pair for West Indies are to reach anywhere near England's first innings total.
Jack Leach extracted some turn in the final hour, and will be the key for England. Chris Woakes came back well after conceding two fours in the opening over, bowling three maidens out of his next four overs.
Stokes looked in fine touch from the start, and brought his fifty with a six off Veerasammy Permaul. He raced to 89 in 92 balls before lunch, slowing down a bit as he approached his century. His 128-ball 120 comprised 11 fours and six sixes.
A 129-run stand between Root and Stokes came to an end when the former was pinned leg-before by Kemar Roach. Ben Foakes scored 33, while Woakes made a quick 41.
England 507/9 decl. (Joe Root 153; Permaul 3-126) lead West Indies 71/1 (Shamarh Brooks 31*; Matthew Fisher 1-18) by 436 runs