England have to settle for draw in second Test as iron-willed Kraigg Brathwaite leads West Indies to 135-5 in notional chase of 282; Joe Root's side reduce hosts to 39-3 and 93-5 but unable to take final five wickets; sides all square at 0-0 ahead of next week's final Test in Grenada
Monday 21 March 2022 07:24, UK
England's victory push was thwarted by West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite's stubborn resistance once more as the second Test in Barbados ended in a draw.
Having been set a notional 282 to win in 65 overs after England declared at lunch, the home side recovered from slipping to 39-3 in the 13th over and 93-5 in the 45th to grind their way to 135-5.
The iron-willed Brathwaite followed his near 12-hour vigil of 160 from 489 balls in West Indies' first knock with an unbeaten 56 off 184 in the second, stalling the top-order collapse by sharing a 150-ball, fourth-wicket stand with fellow first-innings centurion Jermaine Blackwood (27 off 84).
England's hopes were reignited when Jack Leach (3-36) dismissed Blackwood and Jason Holder (0) after tea - Holder out to a superb diving catch from Dan Lawrence at short cover - only for Brathwaite to then enjoy an unbroken 123-ball stint at the crease with Joshua Da SIlva (30 off 63).
Brathwaite faced 673 deliveries across his two innings - a record for a West Indies batsman - during a remarkable display of resilience.
The series remains all square at 0-0 heading into next week's third and final game in Grenada, with England now having won just one of their previous 16 Test matches and none of their last eight.
Joe Root's side had boosted their chances of pulling off a final-day heist with three wickets in 12.1 overs as debutant fast bowler Saqib Mahmood (2-21) struck twice and spinner Leach also picked up an early wicket.
But despite Leach's double strike after tea, a wholehearted England were unable to chisel out a positive result on day five, just like during last week's first Test in Antigua on another lifeless pitch.
Root said afterwards that he could have been "braver" with his declaration - England plundered 145 runs from the 24.5 overs in the morning session to reach 185-6 before Root called time on the innings at the break.
Both England and West Indies will be hoping for a spicier surface in Grenada than the dreary ones served up across the first two games at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and Kensington Oval respectively.
If another flat deck is provided, England could select uncapped leg-spinner Matt Parkinson, with the attack looking tame at times without the express pace of the injured Mark Wood (right elbow) and some mystery spin.
Leach wheeled away manfully in this Test, sending down 69.5 of the 187.5 overs England bowled in West Indies' first innings and 25 in the second to take his match tally to to 94.5 overs, but he was unthreatening at stages.
Leach's second-innings efforts came after England racked up the runs on the fifth morning, amid six wickets falling and three rain delays, having resumed on 40-0 from 15 overs.
Top-scorer Lawrence (41 off 39), Zak Crawley (40 off 68), Jonny Bairstow (29 off 25), Alex Lees (24 off 57), Ben Stokes (19 off 18) and Root (9 off 10) all perished looking to advance the game.
England looked like they might declare once Lawrence - who shared an enterprising fifth-wicket stand of 52 from 41 balls with Bairstow - was caught in the deep, the lead 263 at that stage.
But they carried on for another 20 deliveries, until rain ended the session a few minutes early, with Ben Foakes (11no) and Chris Woakes (9no) adding another 18 runs, all in singles.
The standout moment in the field for West Indies was a terrific catch from Jayden Seales, the young fast bowler running in from long leg and diving forward to catch Crawley's pull just above the turf.
Less impressive was West Indies' start with the bat in their bid to save the game as opener John Campbell (10) and middle-order men Shamarh Brooks (4) and Nkrumah Bonner (3) each departed cheaply.
Campbell fell to Leach on review with DRS showing he had gloved to Lees at short leg, while Mahmood continued his promising debut when he had Brooks and Bonner caught at slip by captain Root.
Root pouched the ball after it had twice been juggled by fellow slipper Crawley as he removed Brooks and claimed his 150th Test catch, before snaffling his 151st in more routine fashion a few overs later when Mahmood forced Bonner to edge a delivery that rose off the surface and nipped away.
Brathwaite and Blackwood then blunted England for 24 overs, only for Leach to threaten a twist with the scalps of Blackwood and Holder - the former clipping to a kneeling Bairstow at short gully and the latter bunting a long hop to the leaping Lawrence on the off-side.
But that was the last of England's success as Brathwaite and Da Silva stuck around for the final 20.3 overs, during which the obdurate Brathwaite clinched his 25th Test fifty from 157 balls.
West Indies and England meet in the third and final Test, in Grenada, from 2pm UK time on Thursday. Follow over-by-over text commentary from 1.45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
