A patient 123 off 355 deliveries by Nkrumah Bonner - who registered his second hundred in Test cricket - helped West Indies end Day 3 of the first Test against England with a 62-run lead. Joshua Da Silva, Kemar Roach and Veerasammy Permaul lent support to Bonner in stubborn partnerships for the sixth, eighth and ninth wickets respectively as West Indies finished with 373 for 9, with only 171 runs being scored in the day's play, reports Cricbuzz.
Bonner, who started the day on 34, saw Jason Holder depart early, caught behind off Ben Stokes after trying to leave the ball at the last moment. A 73-run partnership with Joshua Da Silva ensued, helping West Indies inch closer to England's first-innings total.
There wasn't too much help from the sluggish Antigua wicket and all the England bowlers could do was keep it tight and wait for the batters to make errors. But Bonner was up to the task, as was Da Silva, as England's hopes of wickets falling in clusters did not materialise. Mark Wood even tried short-pitched stuff at Bonner, who was happy to pull and cut for a couple of boundaries.
England opted for the second new ball straightaway and Da Silva was troubled on a few occasions. But he survived, even using the DRS once to reverse a decision, and saw Bonner cross fifty in a slow-moving first session in which only 69 runs came in 25.1 overs. But Da Silva's stay came to an end at the start of the second session as he was trapped in front by Jack Leach.
Alzarri Joseph fell to Craig Overton's short-ball ploy, caught at fine leg as West Indies were seven down with their hopes riding on Bonner to get them close to England's total. Bonner also had a reprieve as he was put down by Zak Crawley off an inside edge that hit the pad before going towards slip, with Leach being the unlucky bowler.
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