Tea England 204 and 43 for 4 (Mayers 3-7) trail West Indies 297 (da Silva 100*) by 50 runs
A day that had dawned with the contest in the balance was ripped emphatically in West Indies’ favour in an extraordinary morning session, lit up by Da Silva’s emotionally charged maiden Test hundred, as he and Jayden Seales continued the remarkable trend of tail-end runs with a tenth-wicket stand of 52.
But by tea, Mayers had swaggered onto centre stage with another incredible, wrecking-ball display of medium-paced wobblers. After Seales had backed up his batting heroics with the initial dismissal of a feckless Zak Crawley – lured on the drive for the umpteenth time in his career – England’s innings descended into a farcical re-run of their first-morning meltdown, only all the more extraordinary for having been warned of the challenge in store.
As if his first-morning analysis of 5-5-0-2 wasn’t enough of a shock to England’s system, Mayers went to the break boasting the figures of 7-2-7-3, including the prize scalp of Joe Root for the second time in the match – and for a match tally of five runs that is his lowest in a two-innings Test since 2015 – as well as Dan Lawrence and Ben Stokes – the latter a more-than-adequate compensation for the dropped catch off Alex Lees that had brought him onto strike a ball earlier.
England’s innings was holed beneath the waterline at 43 for 4, still trailing by 50 runs, and with the constant, multi-faceted threat of West Indies’ five-man seam attack putting their own toothless display with the ball into a stark and troubling context.
From the outset of the third day, with West Indies leading by a slender 28 runs and with two wickets still standing, it was clear that England had learned nothing from either their success in the middle of West Indies’ collapse to 128 for 7 on the second afternoon, or from their subsequent failure to dock the tail before nightfall.
Though Saqib Mahmood made the day’s first breakthrough after 20 minutes when he dragged his length back to have Kemar Roach caught down the leg side without adding to his overnight 25, England would not part the final pair for a full two hours of an extended session. With a wearying lack of game-smarts, the seamers continued to target a wide channel outside off, inviting a loss of patience that Da Silva in particular was not about to grant them, as the lead grew slowly but inexorably all morning long.
He did have some early moments of discomfort though. On 65, he was given out lbw as Chris Woakes targeted a fuller, straighter length, but the decision was over-ruled due to an inside-edge, and Da Silva hadn’t added to his total when, one over later, Woakes pinned him on the bottom hand with a lifter, a blow that necessitated a couple of visits from the physio, and later caused him to pass over the wicketkeeping duties to Shamarh Brooks.
England’s frustrations mounted soon after Seales came to the crease. He hadn’t yet got off the mark when Mahmood pinned him in front of off stump and would have been adjudged lbw on review. However, England had burned all their lifelines in their second-evening desperation, and to make matters worse, the ball deflected past the diving Foakes for four leg-byes.
But much as had been the case with England’s own tenth-wicket stand on the first day, the unfussy endurance merely exacerbated the frustrations of the bowling team. With drinks approaching, England were forced to turn once more to the toiling Stokes, his knees creaking after his unexpectedly full-on workload in this series, but even his best efforts couldn’t go to hand, as Seales jabbed a lifter from round the wicket through a gap in the cordon and away for four.
England’s stint in the field had stretched past 100 overs when Da Silva decided it was time to take on the spin of Jack Leach, with an ambitious slap back over the bowler’s head for a one-bounce four, just inside the rope. For the most part, however, he was content to bide his time, and marshal the strike, reasonably safe in the knowledge that only an error in judgement was likely to dislodge either man against a notably uninspired attack.
As the session extended, West Indies began to trust themselves to pick up the tempo and stretch their lead – notably when Seales shelved his previous reticence to club the first six of his career, off Jack Leach and over long-on. And with the lunch already delayed by the endurance of their partnership, Da Silva finally brought up his landmark moment came up in thrilling style, with back-to-back boundaries off Craig Overton – the latter a fierce slap off the back foot through long-on as he gave himself room to leg and immediately roared in triumph as he raised both fists to the heavens.
One ball later, his innings seemed to have been ended by a fine riposte from Overton, as the ball leapt off the deck and through to the keeper via an apparent inside-edge. But in farcical scenes that rather summed up England’s morning, Da Silva was already leaving the field to handshakes, only to be called back on after his speculative use of the review showed that he hadn’t touched the ball and the only deflection had come off his thigh. Root’s offspin ended the agony moments later, as Seales popped up a return catch to end their innings on 297, but the die was already cast for England’s ignominious day.
Sure enough, the collapse when it came was farcically familiar. Crawley, who is increasingly worthy of the old Shane Warne jibe about playing the same innings 36 times, duly threw his hands into the corridor of uncertainty to end his 37th, via a fat deflection to Jason Holder at slip. And England were 14 for 1, and the rot was setting in.
Into the attack, with almost presumptuous haste, came Mayers, for only the ninth over of the innings. And lo and behold, within three balls, he’d landed his fish for the second time in the match – as Root was drawn into a flaw every bit as debilitating as Crawley’s. Throughout the Ashes, his urge to open the face and pick off runs through third man had been his undoing, and so it proved again, as Mayers’ lack of pace turned a fence outside the eyeline into a wobbly slash to John Campbell at slip.
And one over later, Mayers struck with his third ball once more, as Lawrence – willing himself to play himself in and ride out the new-ball threat, shouldered arms fatefully as the ball tailed back in and heard the death rattle as he lost his off stump.
Unlike his team-mates, Lees at least reached double figures – just as he did in the first innings, but he could have been gone for 9 when Mayers (naturally) lured him into a hard-handed push to a wide one outside off, but Bonner at third slip could only get his wrist on a low edge to his left. No matter, Mayers simply turned on his heel, pounded that back-of-a-length once more. Stokes, now in his sights, couldn’t decide whether to play or leave, and feathered a nick to Brooks… only three balls after he’d taken over the gloves.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket