ENG vs WI: Zak Crawley takes England’s lead to 170; Alzarri Joseph help Windies storm back in the game
Zak Crawley, Alzarri Joseph (Image Source: Twitter)

A career-best score from Zak Crawley (76) and gutsy innings by stand-in captain Ben Stokes (46), took England out of hot waters after early blows on Day 4 of the first Test against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. The duo added a critical 98-run stand for the fourth wicket to put their side in a strong position.

Crawley and Stokes dominated the play for 90 minutes in the final session on Day 4, taking England’s lead over the three-digit mark. Crawley smashed his second Test half-century with a reverse-sweep shot off the bowling of Roston Chase.

However, then Caribbean bowlers made a comeback as West Indies skipper Jason Holder, and pacer Alzarri Joseph sent both Stokes and Crawley in consecutive overs. Holder, who claimed Stokes’ wicket in the first innings got his English counterpart yet again. At the same time, Joseph sent set batsman Crawley back into the pavilion.

Before English batters could even the loss created by the dismissals of Stokes and Crawley, West Indies picked three more wickets to restrict the run-flow completely. England score which was once 253-5 changed to 279-8 at stumps; the Caribbean pacers changed the flow of the game in last 15 overs.

Earlier, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley dominated the morning session. Both added 72 runs before Chase provided the first breakthrough for West Indies as he ended Burns’ innings for 42. A few overs later, Sibley (50) was trapped in a ploy set by visitors’ captain as the right-handed batsman tickled the ball drifting down the leg-stump straight to Shane Dowrich.

For the Windies, Gabriel continued his rhythm of the first innings as he claimed three wickets in the second innings. Chase and Joseph shared two-scalps each while Holder bagged one wicket.

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