England look to to gain control – look ahead to day three of the first Test
The hosts closed day two on 202 for four in reply to the tourists’ 311.
England and the West Indies will resume their tussle for control of the first Test, with the game up for grabs on day three in Antigua.
Responding to England’s first-innings score of 311, the hosts will begin on 202 for four thanks to a wicketless final session that saw Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder blunt the visiting attack.
The pair put on an unbroken 75 after tea, as England fans at home and in the stands at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium began to think of absent seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
The replacement new-ball pairing of Chris Woakes and Craig Overton laboured through their work, taking a wicket each but conceding 112 runs from a combined 28 overs.
Player to watch – Jason Holder
View from the dressing room
When England devised their pre-series plans, they would have had clear expectations for home skipper Kraigg Brathwaite. Well established as one of the game’s most studious batters, he usually engages in a waiting game with opposition bowlers. But he reinvented himself here – racing to 50 in just 62 balls, the fastest of his 33 Test half-centuries. Is the start of a chapter for the Bajan blocker or merely a reflection on some less-than-stellar new ball bowling?
Stokes is hard to stop
