Openers bring England back in the game

England had their back against the wall after the third day of their first Test against West Indies as they were trailing by 99 runs on a tricky surface. But courtesy of a solid opening partnership from Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, the English are right back in the match. 

England ended the first session on day four on 79-1 in their second innings, still 35 runs behind with Burns being the only casualty. Both Burns and England would have loved to end the session unscathed but still, stand-in skipper Ben Stokes should be content with where his team are at this position. 

England were put in to bat for 10 overs at the end of the third day after they managed to bowl West Indies out for 318. The visitors had a healthy 114-run lead in their bag and saw the hosts pass the third day with a cautious approach, scoring only 15 off the remaining overs. 

Burns and Sibley both decided to be slow and steady on the fourth day. Their approach paid dividends as they did not lose their wickets until Burns was sent back by Roston Chase on 42. The left-handed batsman tried to cut Chase but his mistimed effort only found John Campbell to hand the Caribbeans their only scalp of the session. 

Sibley and Joe Denly were at the crease at lunch on 31 and 1 respectively. 

Earlier, England were bowled out for 204 in their first innings on day two after almost the whole of the first day was washed out. 

This is the first Test after the coronavirus pandemic broke out and brought all cricketing activities to a halt.