West Indies captain Jason Holder removed opposing skipper Ben Stokes to trigger an England collapse that saw a late flurry of wickets fall ...
West Indies captain Jason Holder removed opposing skipper Ben Stokes to trigger an England collapse that saw a late flurry of wickets fall on the fourth day of the first Test at Southampton on Saturday.
England were 284-8 in their second innings at stumps, a lead of 170 runs in a match that marks international cricket’s return from lockdown.
England fought back during a fourth-wicket partnership of 98 between Zak Crawley and Stokes.
But their 249-4 was soon transformed into 279-8 as five wickets fell for just 30 runs inside the final hour.
No sooner had stand-in England skipper Stokes (46) fallen to rival all-rounder Holder for the second time in the match then Crawley was caught and bowled by paceman Alzarri Joseph for a Test-best 76.
Jos Buttler then fell for nine when bowled through a huge gap between bat and pad by Joseph, who had stumps figures of 2-40.
And there was still time for Windies spearhead Shannon Gabriel (3-62) to bowl Dom Bess and Ollie Pope.
West Indies hold the Wisden Trophy but they have not won a Test series in England for 32 years.
Victory on Sunday, however, would put them 1-0 up with two to play.
“All you can do is get the two remaining wickets and bat normally,” West Indies coach Phil...
