England set West Indies a target of 286 to win first Test: day five – live! | Sport

67th over: West Indies 138-4 (Bonner 34, Holder 32) The magnificent Leach sends down another maiden, I almost can’t watch to see what Root does next…

66th over: West Indies 138-4 (Bonner 34, Holder 32) Steve Harmison is having a full pride of kittens on commentary as Root throws the ball to Stokes AGAIN! Madness if you ask me. Five dots and then Bonner cuts away for four off the final ball. Still we go on.

65th over: West Indies 134-4 (Bonner 30, Holder 32) Leach sends down a maiden but not without incident. Holder flicking one to leg and the ball balloons off either his boot or his bat or both… Crawley pulls off another short grab at slip. It goes upstairs and is rock and rolled repeatedly before the third umpire sticks with the soft signal of NOT OUT. Root is unhappy and has words with Umpire Wilson.

64th over: West Indies 134-4 (Bonner 30, Holder 32) Jeeeeez, Ben Stokes pulls up lame and doesn’t deliver the ball at the very end of his action. I think he tripped up but still he looks ginger in his movements. I don’t understand what Root is doing here pushing Stokes to the brink once more. Bonner flays him away for four off a no ball too. Daft. 7 Overs remaining.

63rd over: West Indies 129-4 (Bonner 26, Holder 32) Holder flays Leach away for three into the leg side and Bonner then picks up a single by dabbing the spinner away behind point. The ball is not going through that circular gizmo and will be changed. Maybe it will start doing all sorts? Ben Stokes is going to continue. Harrumph.

62nd over: West Indies 125-4 (Bonner 25, Holder 29) Holder clips Stokes away for one through mid-wicket. The camera tracks Root at the end of the over but there’s no hand offered just yet. Stokes is goosed, huffing and puffing with a rouge pallour. Not much longer left in this game I shouldn’t think. Some of us have got a fish curry and a beer to tuck into after all.

61st over: West Indies 124-4 (Bonner 25, Holder 28) Woakes replaces Leach and is picked off for 3 runs off his first ball by Holder. It’s then a case of block block block block and… block by Bonner.

60th over: West Indies 121-4 (Bonner 25, Holder 25) Stokes sends down a maiden. This looks increasingly futile for England. Fair play to West Indies and Bonner in particular, who have been dogged in resistance.

59th over: West Indies 121-4 (Bonner 25, Holder 25) Holder picks up two off Leach by leaning on a full one that whistles through the covers. On we go.

“Hello Jim”

Hello Tim Sanders!

“I can’t see why there’d be any handshakes on the draw until the number of wickets required is one fewer than the number of balls remaining. Wait, I say, until Slim has left town !”

Admirable fighting spirit from you Tim. Give ‘em nowt eh!

58th over: West Indies 119-4 (Bonner 25, Holder 23) Overton to continue and Bonner flicks him away fine for four. But then big Craig pins him in front and the umpire gives it! Bonner reviews straight away though suggesting he knows something we don’t… sure enough he has got a meaty inside edge on it and won’t be going anywhere. The decision is reversed and England are crestfallen.

57th over: West Indies 115-4 (Bonner 21, Holder 23) Leach gets the final act of this game underway and there’s a solitary single off it to Bonner.

Bill Hargreaves takes to the twitters with an interesting theory.

56th over: West Indies 114-4 (Bonner 20, Holder 23) Overton bangs some in short but to no avail, Bonner crunches one away through backward point and another couple through the same region.

Time for a drink. We’ll be into the final hour when they come back.

55th over: West Indies 107-4 (Bonner 15, Holder 21) Leach sends down another maiden. There are 16 overs remaining, if we go the distance.

Tom Van Der Gucht has a dream:

“Jim, with half the fast bowlers injured and the other half ineffective whilst playing on flat decks, wouldn’t it be amazing to see Leach and Parkinson lead the bowling attack in the next test…”

54th over: West Indies 107-4 (Bonner 15, Holder 21) Lawrence fires one down the leg side that Foakes can’t grasp and it runs away for four byes.

Kim Thonger has an interesting theory:

“James a canny captain would orchestrate something to distract the batsmen and break their concentration. A streaker perhaps? Root seems to lack the Machiavellian touch.” You first, Kim.

53rd over: West Indies 103-4 (Bonner 15, Holder 21) A maiden from Leach but a huge appeal off the first ball of the over! He gets one to rip past Holder’s poke forward and England think the big man has got a tickle on it. They review and… flatline flatline flatline – they lose their last review.

52nd over: West Indies 103-4 (Bonner 15, Holder 21) Lawrence is driven handsomely by Bonner through the covers for four.

51st over: West Indies 99-4 (Bonner 11, Holder 21) Eight runs come off Leach’s latest to just release the pressure valve a smidge. Holder whips him away for a boundary and picks up a couple of twos into the leg side. 20 overs remain. Unless something happens very soon this is going to finish even stevens.

50th over: West Indies 91-4 (Bonner 11, Holder 13) Lawrence gets one to turn big back in towards the stumps that Bonner lets go but must have only ended up missing by a rizla’s width. I think I could hear Bonner draw breath from here… two from it. On we go.

49th over: West Indies 89-4 (Bonner 9, Holder 13) Leach sends down a maiden but there is a huge appeal off the last ball! Holder gets trapped in front and all the fielders go up. They decide not to review but argh DONT LOOK NOW, JOE – the replay shows the ball was hitting flush on leg stump and would have been overturned if Root had sent it upstairs. “Fine margins” Gower coos on comms.

48th over: West Indies 89-4 (Bonner 9, Holder 13) Lawrence gets a few to rip, those flailing limbs getting plenty of action onto the ball. Holder flicks him through mid-wicket for a single.

Isn’t he just. He’d love a few more here though and get England within a sniff of an elusive win.

47th over: West Indies 88-4 (Bonner 9, Holder 12) Leach is back on and he’s hitting a good length straight away. There’s just a single off it. Dan Lawrence is coming on next with his simply fantastic bowling action. This is what we all wanted. England need to pick up a couple of quick ones otherwise they might shake hands on this in a bit.

46th over: West Indies 87-4 (Bonner 9, Holder 11) Stokes cracks on after drinks and Bonner pulls him away for four to go to 9 off 62 balls. He’s batting England out of this match. Again.

45th over: West Indies 83-4 (Bonner 5, Holder 11) Woakes once more and Holder glides him away to third man for a four.

That’s drinks. England need one, it’s gone a wee bit flat.

My brother Will, whose house I am in this weekend, has just appeared with a Macchi Tikka – a spicy cod dish and a cold beer… Smells bloomin’ lovely. I of course won’t be indulging until this game has reached its conclusion. A professional to the end.

44th over: West Indies 79-4 (Bonner 5, Holder 7) Stokes continues. The sun beats down. I hope he’s got his factor fifty on. England need one here but despite his best efforts, as per, there’s nowt doing.

43rd over: West Indies 78-4 (Bonner 5, Holder 6) Woakes wheels his way back into the attack. He’s zoning in on the off peg. Foakes is stood up to the stumps and displays some rapid glovework as he takes one and plinks off the bails in one smooth movement. No dice, but my my it does look lovely. Call me old fashioned but I do like to see a true gloveman at work. Just a single to Holder off the over.

42nd over: West Indies 77-4 (Bonner 5, Holder 5) Bonner continues to defy England in this match, despite Stokes’ best efforts. He blocks and blunts but also plays an effective pull shot to an effort ball from Stokes that just about creeps into the boundary rope. Stokes follows that up with a vicious climber of a delivery that Bonner does well to fend off wide of Gully. These two are just taking the sting out of England a little.

41st over: West Indies 73-4 (Bonner 1, Holder 5) A big shout for lbw but Umpire Brathwaite says no! And he’s right, the ball sliding down past the leg stump. Leach’s had numerous ones go like that, if he could just get the ball to straighten an iota then he’d be in business. England decide, wisely, not to burn their final review. Another maiden for Leach, who is twirling away with a lovely flow.

40th over: West Indies 73-4 (Bonner 1, Holder 5) Holder picks up a single off the returning Stokes. Root needs to be careful not to let Stokes bowl into the ‘red zone’ here in pursuit of an elusive Test win.

Pete Salmon whangs an email over:

“England pressing for a win, Leach leading the attack, partnerships of 200, tons to Root and Crawley! Alex Lees must be thinking Test cricket is pretty easy.”

I’m not so sure Pete, cricket famously being both a team and individual game – Lees will no doubt be happy with the team performance but there’ll be plenty of nagging, doubting thoughts swirling around his mind after two failures with the blade.

39th over: West Indies 72-4 (Bonner 1, Holder 4) Leach, pate glistening in the late evening sun, sends down another maiden. Bonner does break character thought to have a big swipe across to leg, he misses but the ball was sliding down past the stumps. Something I said, Nkrumah?

38th over: West Indies 72-4 (Bonner 1, Holder 4) Hold up – Bonner does now get off the mark from his 34th delivery! Ben Foakes is imploring Overton with numerous “Nice one Craig-o” or “that’s it Craig-boy”. Not a lot you can do with a Craig is there?

37th over: West Indies 68-4 (Bonner 0, Holder 1) Jason holder gets each away for a single. Bonner, by the way, is doing his best limpet impression – he’s yet to score off any of his 31 deliveries so far.

“Hi James,”

Hello Kevin Tong!

“Greetings from Singapore!! It’s 3 a.m. here and I can’t sleep so there’s nothing better to do than follow the OBO!! Thanks for great coverage!!
If Jack Leach can get 8 wickets here to add to his 2 in the first innings he could get a 10-fer!! I know it’s wishful thinking, but that would be awesome, just reward for his tireless bowling efforts.”

Good on ya Kevin, who needs sleep anyway?

36th over: West Indies 67-4 (Bonner 0, Holder 0) Overton rolls down another maiden.

Well, quite.

35th over: West Indies 67-4 (Bonner 0, Holder 0) A terrible swipe across the line to a straight ball from Leach brings about the end for Blackwood. Maybe he was going for the runs?! Whatever, it was not pretty. Jason Holder is the new man. England have a lot of men around the bat, Root is on the attack and this game is alive.

(West Indies 67-4) Another to Leach! 6 more needed for England.

34th over: West Indies 65-3 (Bonner 0, Blackwood 0) Overton begins after tea and he starts his new spell with a maiden. Leach is going to whirl away at the other end. The spinner has been cut a rather beleaguered figure for the past few years, can he bowl England to victory in this final session?

How do you think this game is going to pan out? Do get in touch – by email or on Twitter and keep me company for the next couple of hours*.

*Needy much?

West Indies 65-3. England need 7 wickets. West Indies need to survive the final session. There are 38 overs left in the day.

Another wicket to Leach! Great tumbling catch by Zak Crawley at slip as Brooks pokes at the final ball of Leach’s over and Crawley gets down very well for such a tall man, scooping the ball up before it can graze the turf. England are just tip-tap-tapping on the door. Let’s see if they can go full ‘Jack Torrance’ after the tea break. Back in a few.

33rd over: West Indies 65-3 (Bonner 0)

32nd over: West Indies 61-2 (Brooks 0, Bonner 0) Another maiden from Stokes but there’s a no ball to give West Indies one more to their total.

31st over: West Indies 60-2 (Brooks 0, Bonner 0) Leach sends down another maiden. Manna from heaven for the OBO scrawler. There are 40 overs left in the day. England need 8 more wickets, you’d think the 226 runs needed is now not on the Windies radar? Another couple of wickets and England will feel they have a sniff, if the runs aren’t in danger then Root can bring his fielders in and add pressure that way too. Could get quite fun later on.

30th over: West Indies 60-2 (Brooks 0, Bonner 0) Brooks gets off the mark by poking a single through backward point. It’s the only run off Stokes’ over.

29th over: West Indies 59-2 (Brooks 0, Bonner 0) Leach sends down another maiden. England keeping the pressure on the two new batsmen.

Colum Fordham pings an email in:

“Jim, I’m pleased to see Root being so bold with his declaration. Maybe he’s been in touch with Eoin Morgan, the new virtual england management guru. I think Leach could be a major factor if he bowls as well as he did in the first innings on an old, drying pitch. Game on!”

Agree Colum, it was a competitive declaration by Root, I wonder how many times the name Shai Hope has whirred through his mind so far today though?

28th over: West Indies 59-2 (Brooks 0, Bonner 0) A tidy maiden from Stokes.

27th over: West Indies 59-2 (Brooks 0, Campbell 22)Leach gets Campbell! JC opens the shoulders and tries to plop ‘the Nut’ over mid on but Craig Overton is there to pluck the ball out of the sky. Windies are two down now and the pressure just ramps up slightly.

A wicket maiden for Leach. He’s deserved that scalp after a few close calls and looks more threatening with each over.

Ben Stokes (who else?!) gets the breakthrough! A full ball speared into the pads and Brathwaite misses it! Joel Wilson raises the finger and after a brief conflab Brathwaite accepts the decision and walks off! It would have stayed out on Umpire’s Call as the ball was clipping leg stump. Stokes looks loose all of a sudden and has his dander up, he beats Brook’s outside edge with one that holds its line. A wicket maiden. Chapeau Ben Stokes.

26th over: West Indies 59-1 (Brooks 0, Campbell 22)

25th over: West Indies 59-0 (Brathwaite 33, Campbell 22) Leach twirls away and joins the dots. He sneaks one past Brathwaite’s flick to leg and it hits the opener in front of leg stump. England go up confidently! The umpire says no dice but Root sends it upstairs. Umpires call on the line and so remains NOT OUT on the field. A probing maiden from Leach.

That one was mighty close, but John Starbuck isn’t happy with Root’s first wasted review:

“Jim… people reckoned Broad couldn’t captain because of his DRS impetuosity, but there we see Root doing it too. Maybe they should all be sent on the Umpire Training Course for DRS efficiency.”

24th over: West Indies 58-0 (Brathwaite 32, Campbell 22) Stokes looks rather stiff legged in his first over. Steve Harmison on BT comms thinks he has a blister on his big toe. Good intel from big Steve. The ginger titan bangs a few in short but they sail harmlessly over the head of Campbell. West Indies pick up a couple of singles and a leg bye.

23rd over: West Indies 55-0 (Brathwaite 32, Campbell 21) A quiet over from Leach, especially compared to his last. Ben Stokes is coming on to bowl, can he be the man to prise this game open?

22nd over: West Indies 54-0 (Brathwaite 31, Campbell 19) The fifty partnership comes up between this opening pair as Brathwaite flicks Root off his pads for a couple. There is then a big appeal for lbw but it looks leg-side-ish to me… Root sends it upstairs but it doesn’t have much going for it – the ball hitting glove before pad and then squirting away. Not the best review that, Joe.