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Lunch West Indies 126 for 1 (Brathwaite 48*, Hope 22*) trail England 187 (Moeen 60, Bairstow 52, Roach 4-30) by 61 runs
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England have endured a frustrating morning of missed chances and stubborn West Indies batting on the second day of the second Test in Antigua.
Despite the pitch continuing to show plenty of signs of life, if not the venom it did on day one when they were bowled out for 187, England’s bowlers struggled to capitalise through a combination of fielding blunders and good fortune for the batsmen.
By lunch, West Indies had added 96 to their overnight score for the loss of just one wicket, with opener Kraigg Brathwaite eyeing a half century and Shai Hope unbeaten on 21.
Stuart Broad had a particularly luckless session which offered him no reward for some hard graft and probing deliveries.
He thought he had West Indies opener John Campbell caught behind by Jonny Bairstow, standing in for injured wicketkeeper Ben Foakes who went to have x-rays on his hand after being struck by a vicious Shannon Gabriel delivery while batting the previous day. But Campbell appealed confidently to the DRS, which showed the ball had struck him on the forearm, not the glove.
It was one of many lives for Campbell, that particular one of his own making while more were of England’s and others seemingly of some kind of divine intervention. More than once, Broad was left staring at Campbell, completely perplexed as to how he had not managed to lay bat on ball after flirting with danger time and again. If tearing one’s hair out had an equivalent facial expression, Broad wore it well, and often.
But Broad was entitled to drop his head into his hands when Jos Buttler dropped a sitter at third slip off none other than Campbell, who was on 21, having put on 38 runs with fellow opener Brathwaite. A short time later, Campbell skied Broad high towards square leg but Moeen Ali, on the fence, was too far away, as was Bairstow, who gave good chase.
Brathwaite enjoyed his share of good luck off Broad early in the day with a flick towards Keaton Jennings, who narrowly missed taking what would have been a screamer running in from square leg had the ball not dropped just in front of him.
As if to emphasise Broad’s woes – and those of fellow stirke bowler James Anderson, who also worked hard for nought – it was Ben Stokes at the first change who finally managed to capture Campbell’s wicket off an outside edge to Buttler, who held on to the catch. By that time, Campbell had reached 47, his team were 70 for 1 and England had gone 101.1 overs since claiming a West Indies wicket.
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