Captain Joe Root's knock of 84*and Zak Crawley's unbeaten 117* have presented England with a 153-run lead over West Indies in the ongoing first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.
The visitors stand at 217/1 after stumps on day 4. The England opening batter had gone 21 innings without reaching triple figures in Test since his outstanding knock of 257 against Pakistan in 2020. And Crawley had only reached 50 in two of those 21 innings, one of a number of English players to struggle in the top three over recent years.
The new ball caused problems for the England openers, with Kemar Roach drawing plenty of movement in his first over. Opener Alex Lees succumbed at 6 off 27 balls as he was trapped by Kemar Roach.
But Crawley worked his way to a deserved hundred and formed a 193-run partnership with skipper Joe Root that has given England a chance to put pressure on hosts on the final day. Crawley and Root built a brilliant partnership through the afternoon session.
The run rate increased too well throughout the final session, but the rain made it a stop-start affair for both teams in Antigua, with the players going on and off the field repeatedly before heavy rain started and day 4 was closed England on 217/1 with nine wickets still in hands.
Earlier, hosts resumed day four on 202 for 4, England all-rounder Ben Stokes send Jason Holder (45) back to the pavilion with only 4 runs added to their last score.
Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva's partnership take the team's total beyond the 250-run score and by lunch, the hosts had put on 271 runs with the loss of five wickets. Bonner's patient knock of 123 helped hosts but West Indies were all out for 375.
England will resume on the final day with 153 run lead, with Crawley unbeaten on 117* and Root 84* not out.
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