ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada, March 26, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Joshua da Silva's unbeaten
maiden Test half-century in the Caribbean anchored a West Indies lower-order
revival which pushed the home side ahead of England on the second day of the
third and final Test on Friday.

Replying to the tourists' first innings total of 204, da Silva's unbeaten 54
and vital contributions from Kyle Mayers, Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach
lifted the home side from the depths of 95 for six to 232 for eight at
stumps.

While not nearly as dramatic as the last-wicket stand of 90 between Saqib
Mahmood and Jack Leach on day one which resuscitated the English from 114 for
nine, the West Indian version of tail-end resistance saw 137 runs added for
the loss of two wickets.

In stark contrast to the dreary cricket which defined most of the drawn first
two matches, da Silva (54 not out) and Roach (25 not out) will be keen to
extend a ninth-wicket stand on the third morning which has already produced
55 runs and earned the home team a lead of 28 runs with two wickets in hand.

Chris Woakes led the England effort with the ball, taking three wickets in
mid-afternoon to trigger a West Indies slide which seemed terminal until da
Silva joined Mayers.

Successive partnerships of 33 with Mayers, 49 with Joseph (28) and the
unbroken stand with Roach followed, the ninth-wicket pair unperturbed by the
arrival of the second new ball half-hour before the close of play.

Da Silva's half-century, his fourth overall in Test cricket, has occupied
more than three hours in which he faced 152 deliveries, stroking four fours.

"My home form hasn't been very good so it was especially pleasing to get runs
in from of home support," said de Silva.

- 'Faith in the guys' -

"I have complete faith in the guys in the lower-order and they even outshone
me this evening. We'll be looking to extend it as far as we can tomorrow
because Jayden (Seales) can bat as well and we want to have some runs to work
with in the second innings."

Under pressure to prove his Test match value outside of England, Woakes
extracted disconcerting bounce in the post-lunch period to account for
Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder in the space of four balls before removing
Jermaine Blackwood with a full-length delivery.

It was at that point -- 95 for six -- when da Silva entered the proceedings
and while Mayers (28) took the limelight in their brief stand before he fell
to Ben Stokes, the wicketkeeper-batsman displayed the calmness and maturity
which has become a feature of his play since his Test debut in New Zealand at
the end of 2020.

"We're pretty pleased with the way things went today because the wicket is
starting to play a lot better," said Woakes in assessing the day's play from
an England perspective.

"We probably should have bowled a bit fuller at the start of the day, even if
it meant conceding a few boundaries. It seemed the effects of the roller in
the morning wore off after that first drinks break, which is when we really
got stuck in."

Starting their reply to England's modest first innings total in the morning,
West Indies got a bright opening partnership of exactly 50 but the complexion
of the day changed dramatically with the dismissal of skipper Kraigg
Brathwaite by Stokes in the second hour.

That was followed by the demise of new batsman Shamarh Brooks to Saqib
Mahmood.

When the other opener John Campbell, who had survived a torrid examination
from Craig Overton, fell to the same bowler just before the interval, England
were in much better heart.

Brathwaite, a virtual immovable object in the previous match in Barbados
where he faced more deliveries than ever before by a West Indies batsman in
Test cricket, looked in similar mood as Campbell did most of the scoring at
the other end.

But it took a delivery from Stokes which barely got off the ground to remove
him as he was trapped plumb leg-before for 17 off 56 deliveries.

Brooks' swift demise put the focus on Campbell, who found Overton to be his
greatest challenge, eventually succumbing to the burly pacer.

Twice the left-hander was struck on the helmet and though he resumed his
innings both times, he never looked settled against the continued hostility
of his opponent, eventually gloving another lifting delivery on the body down
the leg-side for wicketkeeper Ben Foakes to take the catch.