England in West Indies: Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood share stunning 90-run stand to spare England's blushes
England collapse to 53-6 with the fall of three wickets in as many overs after lunch; Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow both dismissed for ducks; Jack Leach (41no) and Saqib Mahmood (49) share in stunning final-wicket stand to see tourists beyond 200
Friday 25 March 2022 06:16, UK
Last-wicket pair Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood spared England's blushes after the tourists suffered yet another batting collapse to open the third Test against the West Indies in Grenada.
Leach (41no) and Mahmood (49) shared in a remarkable 90-run stand, helping England to recover from 114-9 to a far more credible 204 all out when Mahmood was denied a maiden first-class fifty in being bowled in the final over of the day.
England had earlier crumpled to 53-6 with the fall of three wickets in as many overs shortly after lunch, Alzarri Joseph (2-33) picking up the dangerous Ben Stokes (2) and Jonny Bairstow (0) either side of opener Alex Lees (31) falling to Kemar Roach (2-41).
West Indies step up on seamer-friendly surface
Admittedly, England's latest batting woes came when faced with far more helpful conditions for bowling than in the first two drawn Tests, with plenty of swing and seam movement on offer - which the West Indies seamers duly exploited after winning the toss.
England's openers may have hoped they had weathered the early storm, seeing out the opening 12 overs without much alarm, only for Zak Crawley (7) to then spoon a loose drive to the fielder at cover.
The breakthrough was provided by Kyle Mayers (2-13), the new man in the West Indies attack as they opted to drop front-line spinner Veerasammy Permaul given the conditions.
Mayers then added the key scalp of Joe Root for a duck, the England skipper feathering an edge behind, as part of a remarkable first five-over spell in which the seamer did not concede a run.
With England going nowhere, Dan Lawrence (8) was the next to depart, just before lunch, as Jayden Seales (3-40) got one to jag bag to the right-hander and thud into his front pad plumb in front.
England middle-order crumbles after lunch
It was after the interval, though, where England really lost their way, with Stokes first taking on a Joseph short ball but succeeding only in serving up a simple return catch to the bowler.
Lees and Bairstow then swiftly followed him back to the dressing room, both nicking off to Roach and Joseph respectively to leave the tourists teetering.
Seales dismantled Ben Foakes' (7) stumps next, getting another to jag back sharply off the seam, while Roach followed suit to beat Craig Overton's defences, clean-bowling him for 14.
It left England 90-8 and struggling to even post a triple-figure score, though Chris Woakes and Leach at least avoided that ignominy as they ticked off the 10 required runs when safely steering the tourists to the tea interval.
Leach and Mahmood stun hosts with final-wicket stand
It appeared like the innings would not last much longer, mind, as Woakes (25) was sent packing with the second ball after the break, Seales cleaning up another England batter through the gate.
But that could not have been further from the truth as the combination of some inspired batting from Leach and Mahmood, with the pitch flattening out, the ball getting older and the West Indies seamers' spirits fading, England's final-wicket pair added 90 together while denying their hosts for more than 46 overs.
Leach cracked five boundaries in his 141-ball stay, while No 11 Mahmood - appearing in just his second Test and in his debut innings - smashed a first ever six of his red-ball career, along with four boundaries, although he'll be devastated to fall with just two balls left in the day, chopping a harmless delivery from part-time offspinner Jermaine Blackwood onto his stumps.
West Indies and England will resume the third Test at 2pm UK time on Friday. Follow over-by-over text commentary from 1.45pm on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
