BIRMINGHAM: Joe Root became just the seventh man to score 12,000 Test runs but fell short of a hundred after spearheading an England recovery against the West Indies at Edgbaston on Saturday.
England were 274-7 at tea on the second day of the third Test, just eight runs behind the West Indies’ first-innings 282, with Root out for 87.
Getting anywhere near level had looked a long way off after England collapsed to 54-5 but past and present Test captains revived their innings as Root and current skipper Ben Stokes (54) shared a stand of 115.
Root then put on 62 with Jamie Smith, an impressive 57 not out at tea.
England, 2-0 up in the three-match series, resumed at 38-3, with the West Indies indebted to Jason Holder (59) and Joshua Da Silva (49) in their innings.
Root could have been out for three when struck on the pad by Jayden Seales, with the West Indies opting against reviewing a not out lbw decision from Indian umpire Nitin Menon, although replays indicated the ball would have hit leg stump.
Pope and Brook fall cheaply
West Indies, however, made an early breakthrough when Ollie Pope played on to Shamar Joseph with an angled bat and was out for 10.
And 51-4 became 54-5 when Harry Brook fell for just two when he edged a loose drive off fast bowler Seales to wicketkeeper Da Silva.
Root, Brook tons leave West Indies with tough chase against England
When Root clipped Seales for a single to go to 14, it took him past West Indies great Brian Lara’s career tally of 11,953 runs and into seventh place among Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorers.
And when Holder tried to cramp Stokes for room by bowling around the wicket, the left-handed batsman boldly advanced down the pitch to thrash his opposing all-rounder through the covers for four.
England were 157-5 at lunch, with Root 58 not out and Stokes unbeaten on 48.
Stokes went to fifty off the first delivery after lunch, pulling Alzarri Joseph to backward square leg for a fifth four in 63 balls faced.
But he became the paceman’s 100th Test wicket soon afterwards when a pull just behind square was caught two-handed by leaping West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
New batsman Smith luckily top-edged a pull off Joseph over the head of opposing keeper Da Silva only to pull the bowler’s next ball for a soaring six.
Smith was equally severe on left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, cleverly delaying his shot to square-cut him behind point for four before sweeping the bowler for two more boundaries.
It was Motie, however, who had Root – in sight of equalling the England record of 33 Test centuries held by the retired Alastair Cook – plumb lbw to a well-flighted ball that kept low, with England now 231-7.
The 24-year-old Smith reached a second fifty of a three-Test career – in just 60 balls – when he stylishly on-drove Holder for his sixth four of the day.
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