BIRMINGHAM: Jason Holder produced a fine all-round display as the West Indies took three late wickets, including both England openers with successive deliveries, in a stirring fightback on Friday’s opening day of the third Test at Edgbaston. Holder’s 59 helped turn the West Indies’ 115-5 into a total of 282 all out as they looked to restore some pride, having already lost this three-match series at 2-0 down. And the towering all-rounder then held two fine slip catches as England slumped to 38-3 at stumps, a deficit of 244 runs.

Zak Crawley fell for eight when he edged a loose drive off fast bowler Jayden Seales, with Holder holding a sharp chance to his left at second slip. England were now 29-1 off four overs exactly and next ball Crawley’s opening partner, Ben Duckett, played on to Alzarri Joseph. England had sent in Mark Wood as a nightwatchman after Crawley’s exit but he fell for a duck when edging Seales low to Holder.

Seales had figures of 2-19 in four overs at the close, with Ollie Pope and Joe Root - who both made hundreds in England’s 241-run win in the second Test at Trent Bridge - set to resume on Saturday. “When you look at the pace of that wicket you’d think the batters would get in and go deep,” said Holder. “Unfortunately none of our batters were able to do that but we got a fair few starts.”

‘Give everything’

But West Indies’ total looked far healthier as they hit back with the ball in an action-packed eight overs spanning some 40 minutes. “It was a bonus to get three wickets,” said the 32-year-old Holder, appearing in his 67th Test. “At that stage the runs are irrelevant, we could just attack. With 40 minutes to bowl you can run in and give everything you can.” England paceman Chris Woakes, like many at Edgbaston, thought it was going to be England’s day after he took 3-69 on his Warwickshire home ground. “When we bowled them out, I was really happy,” said Woakes. “Obviously, to lose three tonight is not ideal, not the perfect end to the day, I suppose.”

Earlier, West Indies were well-placed 76-0 after captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss beneath blue skies on a good batting pitch. But they then suffered yet another of the collapses that had been their undoing in the first two Tests as five wickets fell either side of lunch. Former captain Holder, however, found a solid ally in Joshua Da Silva (49) as the duo kept England at bay with a sixth-wicket partnership of 109.

But the remainder of the innings fell away tamely, with fast bowler Gus Atkinson taking 4-67 in 20 overs. After a watchful beginning, Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis played several fine shots, with the skipper completing a 70-ball fifty, including six fours. But England hit back when Louis (26) fended at Atkinson to give wicketkeeper Jamie Smith a simple catch. New batsman Kirk McKenzie, only half forward, was clean bowled by a 91mph (146 kph) full-length delivery from express quick Wood.

And to the last ball of the session, Alick Athanaze carelessly bottom-edged an attempted pull off Atkinson onto his stumps, leaving the West Indies 97-3 at lunch. Brathwaite, 56 not out at the interval, had added just five more runs when he gloved an attempted pull off Wood down the legside to Smith. And 115-4 became 115-5 when Kavem Hodge, who made a maiden Test century at Trent Bridge, deliberately left a Woakes delivery only for the ball to hit the top of off stump.

But Holder counter-attacked by hitting 20-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who took a match-winning 5-41 at Trent Bridge, for several boundaries including a superb straight six. Holder went on to a 92-ball fifty, also including six fours. Da Silva, however, fell one shy of the landmark when caught behind off Woakes to leave the West Indies 224-6. And Holder’s innings ended in decisive fashion when Atkinson flattened his off stump. — AFP