Lunch West Indies 427 and 86 for 2 (Brathwaite 49*, S Hope 11*) need 236 more runs to beat England 258 and 490 for 8 dec
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Stuart Broad was relieved to see Kieran Powell held in the slips © Getty Images
Stuart Broad had a hand in both wickets to fall on the final morning at Headingley – literally in the case of a bizarre run out of Kyle Hope – but Kraigg Brathwaite escaped two dropped catches to continue his outstanding match. He began forming a solid partnership alongside Shai Hope, the pair who anchored West Indies’ first innings, with 236 runs required for an astonishing victory.
Broad should have struck in the fourth over of the morning, following a 15-minute delayed start due to drizzle, when Brathwaite, on 4, edged a lifting delivery towards first slip but it burst through the hands of Alastair Cook. Having seen Moeen Ali drop a sitter on the second day, Broad was then more than a little relieved to see Ben Stokes take a catch at fourth slip to remove Kieran Powell.
Kyle Hope has had a tough start to his Test career and fortune was not on his side today. The list of dropped chances was added to when Brathwaite offered a return catch to Broad which he couldn’t hold, but the ball deflected into the non-striker’s stumps with Hope well out of his ground.
Though England could celebrate a wicket, it also reprieved Brathwaite on 29 and by lunch he had moved to the brink of a half-century to follow his first-innings hundred. He pounced on anything too full from the seamers and again showed positive intent against Moeen, lofting him over wide long-on despite the threat posed by the offspinner.
His opening partner, Powell, continued to endure a tough series. He has dropped two vital catches in the game and mixed a couple of strong drives with edges through the cordon, making it little surprise when he skewed an edge against Broad who found a fuller length in this innings. Powell was starting to get under the skin of England, particularly James Anderson with whom he shared a few words. With the ICC penalising players for the smallest of infringements, they needed to mind their language.
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo