England was wobbling at 39/5 in its second innings yet leading by what could be called a handy 107 runs after an extraordinary second day of the third cricket test on Saturday.
Eighteen wickets tumbled for 245 runs at Kensington Oval. Never before in 231 tests in the West Indies since the first in 1930 had more than 17 wickets fallen in a day.
After fortunes seesawed by the session, England was in the driver’s seat, but with little semblance of control.
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England had 257 and 39/5, and West Indies 189.
Before stands packed to their 11,000-seat capacity on a warm, sunny day, the batting of both teams was exposed by incisive fast swing bowling by Jerome Taylor for the West Indies and James Anderson for England on what was essentially a good batting pitch.
Taylor took England’s remaining three first-innings wickets at the start of the day, and two more when England batted a second time.
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Anderson created the early damage to the West Indies innings by dismissing the top three batsmen in six overs for four runs, returning to finish it off with the last three. His figures of 6—42 were his best in his 41 tests outside of England.
Jermaine Blackwood, with a stroke-filled 85 off 88 balls with four sixes and 11 fours, was the only West Indian to bat with assurance. Veteran left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 25 was the second highest score.
Taylor dismissed Chris Jordan then Stuart Broad and Anderson with successive balls from 7.1 overs at the start, converting England’s 240/7 into 257 all out.
Anderson followed Taylor’s example, removing opener Kraigg Brathwaite second ball for 0, debutant Shai Hope for 5, and Marlon Samuels for 4 as the West Indies went to lunch at 37/3.
Offspinners Moeen Ali and Joe Root, and fast bowlers Stuart Broad and Ben Strokes claimed a wicket each in the second session as the West Indies continued to stumble, ending up at 139/7 by tea.
Counterattacking batting by Blackwood, No. 10 Veerasammy Permaul and Taylor, who hit two sixes and seven fours between them, added 50 for the last three wickets in seven overs after the interval to reduce England’s lead until Anderson accounted for all three.
When England batted a second time with a lead of 68, Taylor returned to remove opener Jonathan Trott for 9, his fifth single-digit score in six innings in the series, and Ian Bell for his second duck in the match.
Shannon Gabriel accounted for England captain Alastair Cook for 4, Jason Holder had Joe Root taken low down at first slip by Darren Bravo for 1, and, nine balls from the end, Ali was bowled cutting left-arm spinner Permaul.