England in West Indies: Joshua da Silva nudges hosts into ascendency on day two

The series is tied at 0-0 after two Tests

West Indies edged into the ascendency in the third Test against England by opening a slim first-innings lead in Grenada.

Similar to day one when a last-wicket stand of 90 rescued England, wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva frustrated the bowlers late in the day with 54 not out, putting on 49 for the eighth wicket with Alzarri Joseph and 55 unbeaten with number 10 Kemar Roach.

England made a disappointing start with the new ball but took 6-45 in an impressive recovery either side of lunch.

After West Indies reached 50-0, Ben Stokes had Kraigg Brathwaite lbw with a ball that kept low while Chris Woakes took 3-48 - his best figures in an overseas Test since December 2017.

That put the tourists on course for a lead of their own but as batting became easier in the final session, wicket-taking again looked difficult.

However, on a pitch showing signs of uneven bounce against the harder ball, both sides will still believe they can win what is likely to be a low-scoring game.

A victory for either team would see them take the series with the score currently 0-0 after two drawn Tests.

A Test in the balance

Any advantage West Indies gain from further building their first-innings lead is countered by the fact they will almost certainly have to bat last on a pitch on which it will be tough to chase.

But the work by Da Silva late on - he even survived six overs against the new ball with Roach and now has the highest score of the Test - nudged the day into the hosts' favour.

Overall, it had an uncanny resemblance to the one previous. Like Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood did 24 hours earlier, Da Silva capitalised on a surface which seems to die once the ball goes soft.

England must cling to the difficulty West Indies' top order had earlier in the day.

Their seamers, once they finally found their line, utilised uneven bounce rather than the lavish seam movement which resulted in the tourists' batting collapse on day one.

West Indies also helped with some poor shots - Jason Holder was caught top-edging his third ball to deep square leg and Kyle Mayers chipped Ben Stokes tamely to extra cover for 28.

The pitch and both sides' batting shortcomings mean a series which has largely been drab may end with an exciting finale.

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