England

The West Indies will need just two wickets tomorrow and attempt to minimize the 170-run lead the hosts have after they were restricted to 284-8.

The West Indies, leading England by 99 runs at the Ageas Bowl at the beginning of Saturday, were pushed back, as openers Rory Burns, 42, and Dom Sibley, 50, whittled down that lead.

After lunch, things got worse for the West Indies, who had to remain patient as Zak Crawley, 76, and stand-in skipper Ben Stokes, 46, threatened to take the game away from them, pushing England’s lead in the match to 135 before the latter was removed by a fine piece of bowling from Holder.

Holder, for the second time, turned Stokes around after just changing the field to include two gullies and had him caught by Shai Hope.

It’s what he does. He comes back and puts in the big spells for the team.

Simmons was speaking at the end of day four, highlighting what was a pivotal moment in the West Indies’ second stint on the field.

England then lost five wickets for 35 runs, as Shannon Gabriel, 3-62, and Alzarri Joseph, 2-40, reduced England to 284-8, a lead of 170.

“That’s the way he leads this team and I didn’t expect anything different,” said Simmons.

“He was bowling for a while and you expected him to change but he wanted to make that breakthrough for the team.”

England will settle on their XI for Friday’s match in Visakhapatnam after taking a final look at the pitch, but will need to rethink in the absence of their senior spinner.

The 32-year-old was in visible discomfort for most of England’s remarkable victory in the first Test, where he played a restricted role, and finally gave in to the inevitable after sitting out Wednesday’s training session with bruising and swelling on his left knee.

“He’s ruled out of the second Test. Unfortunately the knock he took resulted in a haematoma,” said captain Ben Stokes, who hailed Leach as a “warrior” last week for struggling though the series-opener.

“It’s a big shame for us and a big shame for him. It’s something we’re assessing every day but the medical team have taken over on that so hopefully it’s not something too serious that keeps him out for longer.”

While Leach was an onlooker at nets, 20-year-old Bashir joined in for the first time since complications over his visa application were resolved.

Bashir racked up 10,000 unwanted air miles shuttling between Abu Dhabi, London and Hyderabad, where he arrived just in time to take in the final day of England’s audacious victory, and is now in the selection mix.

Record wicket-taker James Anderson is pushing hard for a recall, alongside or instead of fellow seamer Mark Wood, while Rehan Ahmed’s role could come into question after a quiet game with the ball.

But the fact that Bashir, who has a gossamer-thin first-class record of 10 wickets in six games at an average of 67, is being discussed shows just how far Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum are willing to push the envelope.

The success of the inexperienced Tom Hartley on debut last week, taking a second-innings seven-for to send his side 1-0 up, can only have emboldened Stokes.

It was him who first floated the youngster’s name six months ago after watching a video montage of Bashir bowling to former England captain Sir Alastair Cook on his first Somerset appearance.

“To be perfectly honest, our training camp in Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash,” Stokes said.

“The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair.

“I just saw something. With the height he bowled from, it was very obvious that he put a lot of action, a lot of revolutions, on the ball.

“I’m in a WhatsApp group with (director of cricket) Rob Key and Baz (McCullum). So I actually did forward the clip on and said, ‘Have a look at this, this could be something we could work with on our India tour’. It just progressed from there.”

Stokes realises how raw Bashir is and takes the responsibility of managing his fast-tracking to the international arena seriously.

“He’s a young kid who’s finding his way… I was about to say he’s finding his way in first-class cricket, but he’s on a Test tour now,” he said.

“He’s a real sponge at the moment and I think that’s because of how young he is. He’s got an unbelievable coach here in Jeetan Patel and he’s also got someone in Jack leach who is a massive help, particularly with their Somerset connection.

“If he was to play on this tour, the great thing he has going for him is what is there to lose? That is how I will be thinking about it if he gets the chance to play.

“Just make sure I give him the best experience I possibly can because you only play your first Test once. If he does play then I’ll be trying to make it as fun and enjoyable for him as I can.”

Leach, playing his 23rd Test in England's first match since Ben Stokes was named captain, had not yet had the opportunity to bowl when he set off in pursuit of a Devon Conway drive off Stuart Broad in the sixth over.

The Somerset man did superbly to prevent a boundary with a lunge towards the rope, but he appeared to land awkwardly on his neck as he tumbled forwards.

Leach did not immediately get up and required treatment, exiting the match but able to walk himself back to the dressing room.

An ECB statement soon revealed: "Jack Leach has symptoms of concussion following his head injury whilst fielding.

"As per concussion guidelines, he has been withdrawn from this Test. We will confirm a concussion replacement in due course."

England had already reduced New Zealand to 2-2 at the time of Leach's injury, and the Black Caps were still struggling on 22-4 as news came of his withdrawal.

The latest landmark moment of a phenomenal career illuminated a rain-ruined final day, with visiting skipper Azhar edging a lifting delivery to Joe Root at slip after the first two sessions of Tuesday were lost at Southampton.

England great Anderson, playing for the 156th time in the longest format, was at his brilliant in claiming a 29th five-wicket haul in Tests as Pakistan, already 1-0 down in the series, were bowled out for 273 and forced to follow-on at the end of day three.

It meant the 38-year-old emerged with the new ball in his hand on the fourth morning, although a dropped catch behind the stumps by Jos Buttler delayed his progress - as similar errors by Rory Burns, Zak Crawley and Stuart Broad had late on Sunday.

He trapped Abid Ali lbw for number 599 and, despite the best efforts of the elements, Anderson would not be denied his moment in the final Test of the English summer.

Anderson is fourth on Test cricket's all-time list, with India leg-spinner Anil Kumble next in his sights on 619 wickets, while all-time greats Shane Warne (708) and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) are somewhat further afield.

A five-for on debut against Zimbabwe in 2003 launched Anderson's red-ball international career and he went on to establish himself as the leader of the England attack under Andrew Strauss' captaincy, with the side memorably winning the 2010-11 Ashes away from home and ascending to number one in the world.

He became England's most prolific bowler in his 100th Test match against West Indies in 2015, dismissing Denesh Ramdin to reach 383 victims and overtake Ian Botham.

Anderson has since continued to go from strength to strength, usually in alliance with his long-time new ball partner Stuart Broad, who joined him in the 500 club earlier this season.

When Anderson removed India's Mohammed Shami at The Oval in 2018, he moved on to 564 wickets to usurp Glenn McGrath as the most prolific seamer ever.

Australia hero McGrath then laid down a challenge now accomplished.

"I have a lot of respect for Jimmy. He's been an incredible bowler for a long time," he told BBC Radio 5Live. "If he can raise the bar to 600 wickets, that's an incredible effort."

Here, the PA news agency looks at five other sportspeople from the UK whose longevity is unparalleled in their chosen professions.

Sir Steve Redgrave – rowing

The only man in history to win gold at five successive Olympics in an endurance sport. Redgrave first stood atop the podium at a Games in Los Angeles 1984 and reigned supreme until Sydney 2000 – four years after his memorable utterance: “Anybody who sees me in a boat has my permission to shoot me” in 1996.

Ryan Giggs – football

The most decorated player in English football history with 34 trophies, the Welshman went 23 seasons in a row scoring at least one goal in the top-flight. The ex-Manchester United winger played over 1,000 games for club and country, penning his first deal as a 17-year-old in 1990 before bowing out in 2014.

Ronnie O’Sullivan – snooker

Seven days before his 18th birthday, O’Sullivan toppled the great Stephen Hendry in the final of the 1993 UK Championship. While it took another eight years to win a first world title, the Chigwell-based potter has won another six since then and most observers would argue he remains the best player today.

Sir AP McCoy – horse racing

A champion jockey for a record 20 successive times in every year that he was a professional, the Northern Irishman rode 4,358 winners. McCoy won almost every notable horse race in Britain and Ireland and capped his career with a long-awaited Grand National triumph in 2010, retiring five years later.

James Roby – rugby league

In an often brutal sport where injuries can soon take their toll, the former St Helens captain broke the mould with a 20-season career and finished as the leading appearance-maker in Super League’s summer era with 495 matches. Roby was a six-time Super League and two-time World Club Challenge winner.

There are few other sportspeople that have given Father Time such a run for their money than the evergreen swing king, who aged 41 years and 223 days and in his 23rd year as an international fast bowler has just bagged his 700th Test wicket in England’s fifth Test against India in Dharamsala.

Only Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and the late Shane Warne (708) have more but Anderson is out of sight among non-spinners and may never be toppled, with closest challenger Stuart Broad retiring last year.

It is doubtful Anderson would be where he is without Broad, who owes just as much of his success to the Lancastrian. The pair are indelibly linked and their partnership fits comfortably alongside McGrath-Warne, Wasim-Waqar and Walsh-Ambrose as one of the best of all-time.

There are those who seek to downplay their achievements, that their records are gilded in home conditions with more modest successes overseas. But statistics can obscure the bigger picture and Anderson was instrumental in England’s two greatest away victories in a generation.

Sir Alastair Cook took the plaudits with his insatiable appetite for runs in the 2010/11 Ashes but the leading wicket-taker was Anderson, whose immaculate control and key breakthroughs led to him being described as “the major difference” by Mahendra Singh Dhoni when England beat India in 2012 in a series where all other quicks floundered.

Sir Ian Botham’s 383 wickets are long since in the rear view mirror and much like the great all-rounder’s fine wines, Anderson kept getting better with age. Since his 30th birthday he has taken 432 wickets at 24.13 while that average sinks to a scarcely believable 22.86 after turning 35.

Rewind to December 2002, the start of his life with England, and Anderson was a terrorising paceman who swung the ball round corners and possessed immaculate seam control. He made an impression in the 2003 World Cup before taking a five-for on Test debut against Zimbabwe later that year.

His career stalled over the next few years, partly because well-meaning coaches attempting to iron out kinks in his action to prevent stress fractures in his back had the unintended consequence of inducing stress fractures in his back.

He filtered out the bad advice and after being in and out of the side, his and Broad’s inclusion in New Zealand in March 2008 marked a changing of the guard as Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison were ushered out.

The connection was not instantaneous and England had to bide their time, but they struck up a union that brought four Ashes series victories between 2009 and 2015 during a golden period in which they also climbed to the top of the Test rankings between 2011 and 2012.

As Anderson’s career has progressed, so too has his meticulous planning to his craft. As his speeds dropped, he focused on a metronomic line and length to constrain batters although he was still capable of producing the odd ‘magic ball’. That was evidenced with his 500th Test scalp as he pegged back the middle stump of West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite in 2017 en route to career best figures of seven for 42 at Lord’s.

Afterwards, Anderson admitted to feeling “not quite teary but emotional” – a break from his more natural sullen and occasionally grumpy demeanour.

Apart from one heated confrontation with India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in 2014, that hostility was self-contained. Anderson is a more self-effacing and thoughtful character off the field and channels his temper in more productive fashion.

He was part of the England side that reached the 2013 Champions Trophy final but his white-ball career ended two years later after the World Cup omnishambles. Although Anderson never actually retired, he was deemed surplus to requirements even if no other Englishman can better his 269 ODI wickets.

The decision elongated Anderson’s red-ball career. He went on to top the Test bowling rankings on a couple of occasions, breaching the 900-point barrier a few days after he passed 100 wickets at Lord’s in August 2018 – the first paceman to take a century at a single venue. A month later he surpassed Glenn McGrath’s 563 wickets to become Test cricket’s most successful fast bowler.

A chronic shoulder injury, which was a factor in great rival Dale Steyn’s retirement, has impacted his daily routine to such an extent that even just brushing his teeth can prove a burden.

Recurring calf complaints meant he missed almost all of the 2019 Ashes while a broken rib sidelined him after a stellar showing at Cape Town that winter but Anderson remained unbowed through it all.

Being left out of England’s post-Ashes tour of the West Indies in 2022 brought fresh speculation Anderson might finally call it quits but he predictably came back with a vengeance and seems rejuvenated under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Despite the combination of a poor 2023 Ashes and Broad heading for the hills, Anderson keeps going and has finally joined the 700 club. Warne may now be in his sights – after that, who knows?

Anderson kissed the outside edge of Rohit’s bat as India went to lunch on 34 for one in Ranchi after Ollie Robinson registered his maiden Test fifty in a 102-run stand with Root, who added 16 runs to his overnight score.

Robinson’s dismissal for 58 was the start of England losing their final three wickets for six runs in 17 balls, with Jadeja taking three dismissals to finish with figures of four for 67, as Root ran out of partners.

Robinson, who got away with an lbw decision off Jadeja on Friday evening because India had used all their reviews, took the attack to India’s bowlers on a pitch with very few of the demons seen on the first morning, although the odd delivery still kept low.

India took the new ball after two deliveries as England resumed on 302 for seven, but the hosts could not capitalise as Robinson took three fours in an eventful over off Akash Deep, who beat the lower-order batter’s outside edge twice.

Robinson brought up a first Test half-century by slog sweeping Jadeja for a ninth four, to go with one six, and stretched his stand with Root into three figures – England’s first century stand for the eighth wicket since August 2017.

But an attempted reverse sweep off Jadeja brushed Robinson’s glove on the way through to Dhruv Jurel and England’s innings unravelled quickly.

Shoaib Bashir clothed a skier to backward point while Jadeja had his and India’s third wicket of the morning when Anderson made a hash of a sweep and was lbw.

Ben Stokes warmed up alongside the bowlers before India had to negotiate a 45-minute period before lunch but it was Anderson and Robinson, making his first competitive appearance since last July, entrusted with the new ball.

Anderson made the breakthrough in his second over, getting one to hold its line and kiss Rohit’s outside edge.

Robinson, whose bowling was famously described as “124kph (77mph) nude nuts” in the Ashes by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden, did not touch 80mph but drew the edge of Yashasvi Jaiswal only for the ball to bounce short of Zak Crawley and disappear for four.

Robinson beat the outside edge on a couple of occasions but was then driven by Jaiswal, who has made double hundreds in his last two Tests, for his fifth four in the over before lunch.

Anderson, 41 years old and with 22 years of international cricket on the clock, charged in for eight overs in the mid-morning heat in a metronomic spell worth two for 17.

He dismissed old adversary Ravichandran Ashwin and the dashing Yashavi Jaiswal, who finished with an outstanding 209, as England picked up their last four wickets for 60 runs.

There is plenty of cricket still to play but in keeping India below the 400 mark in what should be the best batting conditions of the match, England performed admirably. They then made a typically bright start to their reply, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett rushing to 32 without loss in six overs before tea.

With the hosts resuming on 336 for six, England captain Ben Stokes chose to lean on his most and least experienced players, pairing Anderson with newcomer Shoaib Bashir and leaving them unchanged for 75 minutes.

Anderson, taking the new ball, used all of his subtle skills in an excellent spell and set the tone with a pair of breakthroughs. An early lbw shout against Jaiswal was close but not close enough and it was Ravichandran Ashwin, who had annoyed Anderson by moving around at the non-striker’s end, who was first to fall courtesy of a thin edge behind.

Jaiswal took just 20 balls to convert his overnight score of 179 into an outstanding double ton, sweeping Bashir for six and four in successive deliveries before standing arms outstretched in a manner that called to mind Jude Bellingham’s favourite celebration.

The 22-year-old seems destined for cricketing superstardom but he soon learned why so few over the years have slogged Anderson and survived to tell the tale. Stepping away and aiming for the stands, he only got half a connection and picked out Jonny Bairstow at deep cover.

His work finally done, Anderson retreated for a well deserved rest with figures of three for 45 in 25 overs.

The next generation did the rest, Rehan Ahmed (three for 65) getting Jasprit Bumrah caught at slip and Bashir (three for 138) made short work of fellow debutant Mukesh Kumar.

That left a tricky window for the England openers but they made light of the challenge, sharing six boundaries to begin the job of building their side’s response.

Anderson became the first fast bowler in history to reach 700 Test wickets last month, joining spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne in an exclusive club, in England’s 4-1 series loss in India.

As he wants to be firing on all cylinders for the first of England’s six Tests this summer, against the West Indies at Lord’s starting on July 10 – three weeks before his 42nd birthday – Anderson anticipates he will sit out the early part of the 2024 Vitality County Championship, which got under way on Friday.

He is set to miss at least the first five rounds and could also skip the visit of Warwickshire, beginning on May 24, although Lancashire’s next fixture after that is not until June 23 at Kent.

“With the Tests being in July, it’s tricky,” said Anderson. “It’ll probably be June before I play, or maybe the end of May.”

Anderson featured four times within the space of a month last year but then suffered a groin niggle which left him touch and go for the start of an Ashes series in which he had an underwhelming impact.

Anderson reducing his county commitments this term means the prospect of him playing alongside Nathan Lyon has receded after Cricket Australia scaled back the off-spinner’s availability for Lancashire.

The pair have been on opposite sides of the Ashes divide over the years but Lyon revealed they had lunch earlier this week and Anderson remains hopeful they can play together at least once or twice.

“It was nice to actually have a civil conversation with him,” added Anderson, speaking following the announcement that £35million will be invested into grassroots cricket.

“I think he plays seven out of the first nine games, so hopefully I’ll play one or two, either at the end of May or in June.”

Anderson is the leading Test wicket-taker among seam bowlers, behind only spin greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne in the overall list.

Here, the PA news agency looks at his career record.

Record-breaker

Anderson and his long-time new-ball partner Stuart Broad are two of only five bowlers ever to take 600 or more Test wickets, a list headed by Sri Lanka star Muralitharan’s remarkable 800.

Warne is next up with 708 for Australia, with Anderson following on exactly 700, Anil Kumble 619 and Broad 604. Anderson’s average of 26.53 ranks third in that group behind Muralitharan (22.73) and Warne (25.42), with Broad at 27.69 and Kumble 29.65.

Anderson has 32 five-wicket hauls, 12 more than Broad but behind the three spinners and seventh overall in Test cricket. Muralitharan is again out in front with a scarcely believable 67, with Warne’s 37 ranking second among all Test bowlers. Kumble took 35.

Four other bowlers have taken over 500 wickets – Australia seamer Glenn McGrath and spinner Nathan Lyon with 563 and 527 respectively, West Indies great Courtney Walsh on 519 and India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who reached 516 after taking 26 in the five-Test series against England.

Vintage performer

One of the more remarkable aspects of Anderson’s Test career is the way he has improved with age.

From the start of 2014, when he was already 31 with the wear and tear of 91 Tests as a new-ball paceman in his legs, he has more than doubled his tally of games and taken an astonishing 360 further wickets at 22.67.

Only 23 bowlers including Anderson have that many wickets in their full Test career and, of those, only three have an average lower than his in that phase – West Indies greats Malcolm Marshall at 20.94 and Curtly Ambrose at 20.99, and McGrath at 21.64.

That is boosted by 123 wickets at 24.08 since the start of 2020, despite passing his 40th birthday along the way.

Hundred at HQ

Anderson is one of only four bowlers to take over 100 Test wickets at a single venue, capturing 119 at Lord’s to Broad’s 113.

Muralitharan achieved the feat at three different grounds – 166 at Colombo’s SSC, 117 in Kandy and 111 at Galle, where fellow Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath took 102.

Anderson’s record at Trent Bridge may be even more impressive than at HQ, with 73 wickets at a stunning average of 19.23 across 12 Tests. The Lancastrian has 38 at 23.58 on his home ground of Old Trafford.

Having ensured a series victory with a five-wicket win over the tourists at Trent Bridge last week, England go in search of a 3-0 triumph when they head to Headingley for the third and final Test.

They will be without Anderson - who claimed 11 wickets across the first two Tests - for that contest after the paceman suffered an ankle injury.

But Stokes, who was originally a doubt himself after feeling unwell, hopes the addition of Overton to the XI will provide a boost for Brendon McCullum's men.

"Unfortunately Jimmy has not pulled up as well as we would have liked," the skipper told Sky Sports. "So Jamie Overton is going to make his debut this week.

"It's unfortunate for Jimmy but we've obviously got a massive Test match against India next week to look to as well. He didn't pull up as well, so it's great Jamie gets the opportunity to represent England."

Asked about Overton's potential, Stokes added: "He's been very impressive.

"The way that he's bowled, we always want a point of difference in our side, and Jamie's been bowling with some serious pace and been changing games as well.

"So to have someone come in, in obviously a different role to what Jimmy normally plays, and in the back pocket having someone who can bowl 90 miles an hour and bowl aggressively, is exciting to have in the team."

Overton has taken 21 wickets for County Championship Division One leaders Surrey at an average of 21.61 this season.

His twin brother Craig was also called up to the England squad for the final Test but has narrowly missed out on selection.

The Windies, having won the first Test at the Rose Bowl, slumped to a 113-run defeat in the second at Old Trafford.

Holder's men will attempt to retain the Wisden Trophy and secure a series win in England for the first time since 1988 with victory in the third encounter, which starts on Friday at the same venue.

It was another disappointing performance from Hope, who scored 25 in the first innings and was dismissed for just seven in the second.

Since scoring a hundred in each innings in a Windies win over England at Headingley in 2017, Hope has scored 899 runs at an average of just 24.29.

However, Holder is backing Hope to rediscover his best form in the longest format and impress as he does in ODI cricket, in which he is ranked as the 13th-best batsman in the world.

Holder told a media conference: "All our players have got my full backing, they know how I personally feel.

"Yes some of them haven't got the runs they would like but more or less it's just giving them our full support.

"I'm 100 per cent behind Shai, we all know what Shai can produce, he's done it before at this level of Test cricket, he's arguably one of the best one-day batsmen in the world and we know the calibre of player he can be.

"I've got full confidence in Shai to get some runs, he's gotten starts so far in this series so he's not far from converting a start into something really special for us. He's got my full support."

Spinner Rahkeem Cornwall could come into the side on a pitch that offered plenty of help to spin-bowling all-rounder Roston Chase in the second Test to aid an attack dealing with a second successive four-day turnaround.

"In terms of the workload and the management of our players everybody's held up really well," Holder added. 

"We've been doing this for a number of years now, the nucleus hasn't really changed significantly, these guys have backed up Test matches before, yes the turnaround in this one has been a lot shorter than normal, but these guys have done it before. I'm not too worried about the workload when it comes to these players.

"If he [Cornwall] does come in he's a wicket-taker, and he's proven to be a match-winner, not only at regional level but in his last [two] Test matches he played he got 13 wickets so I think he's a quality spinner, no doubt to me he would be the best spinner on show in this series.

"He's always a wicket-taking option for us but not only a wicket-taking option, brings a bit more slip catching, he can bat and he brings a lot of control."

Rowe and Holder were both guests on the popular Mason and Guest sports talk show in Barbados on Tuesday night.

Rowe, 71, played 30 Tests for the West Indies between 1972 and 1980 scoring 2047 runs at an average of 43.55. In 1974, while playing against England in Barbados, Rowe scored a majestic 302 in a mammoth West Indies score 596 for 8.

 However, injury, deteriorating eyesight and an allergy to grass ended what promised to be an even greater career.

On Tuesday, Rowe was among guests that included Prime Ministers Ralph Gonsalves, Keith Mitchell and Mia Mottley, who engaged Holder in conversation as they celebrated the West Indies’ hard-fought four-wicket victory over England in the first Test of the #Raisethebat series played at the Ageas Stadium in Southampton.

The former West Indies batsman had some words of advice for the West Indies captain.

“I think you are batting a bit too low. I think your spot in this team is number 6, and I honestly think that you are one of the better players on the team, technically sound, you look the part and you can play the part,” said Rowe, who during his playing days was an elegant and composed right-hand bat.

“Coming 6 in the middle of the batting, if we have any problems when you get to the wicket at least we would have one of the top-five batting with you and then, if so later on down, you have the rest at the bottom.”

In response, Holder revealed that he had aspirations of moving up the order.

“I do believe I have what it takes to come up the order and bat,” said Holder who is the number-one ranked Test-match all-rounder in the world.

“I think in the not too distant future you will see me come up the order and bat.”

The West Indies will attempt to win the series when the second Test gets underway at Old Trafford on Thursday.

India are well on course to levelling the four-match series at 1-1 after dominating the third day at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.

Ashwin was the star of the show on his home ground, making a brilliant 106 after taking 5-43 on day two, and captain Kohli struck 62 as India recovered from 106-6 to post 286 all out in their second innings.

England were in deep trouble on 53-3 at stumps, needing a mammoth 429 more runs to go 2-0 up, with Kohli's side looking destined to seal a crushing victory.

Axar Patel dismissed Dom Sibley and nightwatchman Jack Leach either side of the magnificent Ashwin getting rid of Rory Burns as India tightened their grip on a pitch that has turned sharply from day one.

Dan Lawrence and Joe Root made it through to stumps and England spin bowling consultant Patel expects the tourists to show fight when they resume on day four.

The former New Zealand spinner said: "I think Ashwin and Kohli were fantastic.

"Kohli, right from the first innings where maybe his footwork was I suppose a touch lazy compared to the second innings – where he was fantastic with the way he got down to the ball and across his stumps.

"The way he forced us to bowl in areas he wanted to, we need to take heed from that. Especially with the way Ashwin came out and swept early, got the field he wanted and then could manipulate the lengths from there.

"They are in a really strong position, there is no doubt about that, but we are going to have work really hard to grab some of that back."

He added: "There's still lots to do, but there's match-winners in this group, we've seen that before.

"I'm not about to say that we are 100 per cent going to win this game, but what I am going to say is we will shake a stick at it."

Patel says it is vital England take a positive approach as they try to dig themselves out of a huge hole.

"I think it's just to keep staying positive, we've got stroke-makers in the group and we want them to keep expressing themselves," he said. 

"The thing that has been the strengths so far in the three matches we have played in the subcontinent is to still try to score. 

"If we sit there and try to defend for two days, we're going to have much success and we're not going to go anywhere in the game. We can certainly look to learn a lot about ourselves while looking to score.

"I think Dan Lawrence was fantastic, the way he played this evening was exactly how he wants to play cricket and how he can contribute to this team."

Jennings has not played for his country since being dropped following the series defeat to West Indies a year ago, but the opening batsman returns along with Foakes.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Foakes has also been overlooked since the loss in the Caribbean, despite making such an impressive start to his England career in Sri Lanka in November 2018.

Jennings and Foakes both scored centuries in a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka, where the latter was named man of the series.

Bairstow was brought back into the Test squad for the recent 3-1 win in South Africa, but failed in both innings of the defeat at Centurion and played no part in the rest of the series.

The Yorkshireman misses out along with Anderson, who will continue his recovery from the cracked rib suffered in the second Test at Newlands to prepare for the English season.

"Jonny Bairstow has been in England squads across the three formats without a significant break," said national selector Ed Smith. "This two-Test tour presents a good opportunity for Jonny to be rested.

"Jimmy Anderson will continue to work with Lancashire and the ECB so that he is ready for the start of the County Championship season leading into the Test series against the West Indies in June."

All-rounder Moeen Ali remains unavailable selection in the longest format, but fellow spinner Jack Leach has recovered from illness to take his place in the 16-man squad.

Uncapped leg-spinner Matt Parkinson is also included for the two-match series, which starts in Galle on March 19.

England squad: Joe Root (captain), Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Matt Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

The squad features one significant change: Kemar Roach has been replaced by St. Kitts & Nevis’ fast bowler, Jeremiah Louis due to Roach's ongoing rehabilitation from a knee injury sustained during the County Championship in England.

Lead Selector the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes remarked, “Kemar’s skill and experience in English conditions will be missed. However, this opportunity has been long in the making for Jeremiah Louis, he certainly has the skill and experience to make an impact in England.”

The Richards Botham series, named after West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards and England great Lord Ian Botham, is a historic rivalry dating back to 1928 when the West Indies first toured England.

West Indies Test Squad:

1. Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain)
2. Alick Athanaze
3. Joshua Da Silva
4. Jason Holder
5. Kavem Hodge
6. Tevin Imlach
7. Alzarri Joseph (Vice-Captain)
8. Shamar Joseph
9. Mikyle Louis
10. Zachary McCaskie
11. Kirk McKenzie
12. Gudakesh Motie
13. Jeremiah Louis
14. Jayden Seales
15. Kevin Sinclair 

19-year-old fast bowler Isai Thorne will join the squad as a development player.

 Team Management Unit:

Head Coach: Andre Coley, Team Manager: Rawl Lewis, Assistant Coaches: Jimmy Adams, Rayon Griffith, Shaun Tait, Physiotherapist: Dr. Denis Byam, Strength & Conditioning Coach: Ronald Rogers, Team Masseuse: Fitzbert Alleyne, Team Analyst: Avenesh Seetram.

The squad have been in a training camp at Tonbridge School and will play a 3-day warm-up match against the England Lions at Beckenham starting on 4 July. 

Fixtures for England series:

Wednesday 3 July 2024       3-Day Warm-Up Match              Beckenham

Wednesday 10 July 2024      1st Test Match                            Lord’s 

Thursday 18 July 2024          2nd Test Match                          Trent Bridge

Friday 26 July 2024              3rd Test Match                           Edgbaston 

The 30-year-old made his milestone appearance on day one of the first Test against India in Chennai on Friday.

During a terrific third-wicket stand with Dom Sibley, Root marked a memorable day with the 20th Test ton of his international career off just 164 balls.

Only eight players have previously celebrated a century of Test caps by scoring 100 runs, the last being Hashim Amla, who scored 134 for South Africa against Sri Lanka in January 2017.

The highest such score for a centurion is 149, set by Gordon Greenidge for the West Indies against England back in April 1990.

Root is just the third Englishman on the list, following Colin Cowdrey in 1968 and Alec Stewart in 2000.

England lost Rory Burns for 33 and Dan Lawrence for a duck before Root and Sibley began to nullify the India attack.

England were 227-2 as Root celebrated a third century in as many Tests, with Sibley on 83 from 250 deliveries.

England’s squad is loaded with 11 thirty-somethings and it would be no surprise to see several call time once the title defence is over next month – win or lose.

Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes are among those who could call it a day, the latter for a second time.

Root has none of the major fitness issues that have plagued Stokes and, at 32, time is on his side. Having found himself surplus to requirements in T20 cricket for the last four years, he sees no reason to pigeonhole himself as a Test specialist.

Questions persist over what role the 50-over game will play in an increasingly congested global schedule in the near future but with the 2027 edition already awarded to South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, the showpiece event does not appear to going anywhere soon.

And Root, for one, plans to be there.

“Yeah, I’d like to go on a safari!” he said.

“I’d love to still be playing in four years’ time. The cricket landscape’s forever changing isn’t it, but I can’t see myself not being there unless I’m not good enough and guys have gone past me.

“Retire? No. I’ll get pushed before that.”

Root has already assured himself his latest page in England’s history books since arriving in India, overtaking Graham Gooch as the country’s record run-scorer at World Cups. Having passed his mark of 897 in the win over Bangladesh, Root should become the first Englishman to reach four figures before the end of the tournament.

But for now, that is a peripheral concern to the team’s wider ambitions.

“It’s got to mean something over a long period of time to hold any weight,” he said.

“It would be nice if we win a World Cup at the end of it, because we’d have two World Cups and I’d be the leading run-scorer. But, from a personal point of view, they’re all niceties. It’s got to stand for something and the only way it does is if we go on this thing, which we know we can.”

Root, like the rest of the United Kingdom, is in lockdown in a measure aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

With plenty of downtime, Root has started watching the Amazon docuseries 'The Test', which follows the fortunes of Australia's cricket team across eight episodes and culminates in the 2019 Ashes in England.

That series ended in a 2-2 draw, resulting in the tourists retaining the urn, and Root is now even more fired up for the next Ashes between the two countries in 2021-22.

"I resisted watching it for a good while but, having exhausted a lot of the shows I wanted to watch, it has come around," Root said on a conference call with reporters on Monday.

"It has been a good motivator to get back on the bike and incentivise myself.

"It goes without saying that the World Test Championship is very important and each game holds a huge amount of weight as we try and get into that final [scheduled for June 2021]. But a lot of things we do revolve around planning for that Ashes series.

"We have around 17-20 games until we go there and play - if all are played - and we have to use every opportunity to be ready for what those conditions throw at us, what Australia throw at us on and off the field.

"We need to use this time to ready ourselves to do something special because we know how challenging it can be to play there."

England were due to be in Sri Lanka now for a two-Test series, but they returned home as sporting events started to get cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Root's team are due to face West Indies and Pakistan in home Test series in the coming months, though they would appear in doubt too.

There have been reports that the Sri Lanka trip could be rearranged prior to England's five-Test tour of India in 2021 and Root is mindful about burnout for his squad.

"It would be a very tough winter, a huge amount of workload, especially on the multi-format players, but we have had some tough winters in the past and found ways to get through them," he added.

"It would be interesting to see how they would fit it in looking at the schedule right now but if it was to go ahead, we would have to be able to adapt, look at the squad sizes we take over and make sure guys weren't blown out and overworked."

Crawley had walked off at lunch on 71 not out but could only add two more runs to his total before he nicked off to Pat Cummins, bringing a stellar series to an end with a final total of 480 runs.

England captain Ben Stokes followed him back to the pavilion when he picked out Cummins off Todd Murphy to join Ben Duckett in departing for 42.

When Harry Brook edged Josh Hazlewood behind for seven at the Kia Oval, the hosts were on the verge of throwing away a strong morning session where 130 runs were scored for the loss of one wicket.

Root ensured that would not be the case and reached tea on 61 not out after receiving support from Jonny Bairstow, unbeaten on 34, to guide England to 265 for four, a lead of 253 at the end of another run-fuelled afternoon session.

After Australia were all out for 295 from the last ball of day two, Crawley and Duckett walked out to glorious sunshine in south London with a 12-run deficit to wipe out.

England took six balls to move into a lead with Crawley beginning his final innings of the series in the same vein he started this Ashes at Edgbaston, crunching his first delivery through cover for four.

Mitchell Starc was on the receiving end this time and his opening two overs went for 22 runs, more than the 21 Australia had ground out during a pedestrian first hour on Friday.

It continued the culture clash between the two teams as Duckett clipped and cut away for four with ease to put on a fifty stand with Crawley inside nine overs.

Australia did finally make the breakthrough after nearly 90 minutes of play with Starc striking in the first over of his second spell when Duckett’s booming drive got the faintest of edges and, despite an initial not out call, Cummins’ review showed a spike on UltraEdge and the England opener departed for 42.

Stokes entered the fray at three, after Moeen Ali was absent from the field on day two due to his groin injury, but it quickly turned into the Crawley show.

Three runs off a Cummins misfield at mid-off saw Crawley reach his half-century off 61 balls before he swept Murphy for consecutive fours to bring up the fifty partnership before lunch.

Crawley took guard at the start of the afternoon session on 71 but there would be no Ashes hundred on this occasion after he nicked off two runs later, but with his place at the top of the run-scoring charts established.

Root encountered trouble during the early stages of his innings, wearing one on his body before he survived a tight lbw appeal against Hazlewood, with an Australia review showing it was umpire’s call on impact.

It would prove decisive with Root’s trademark ramp shot brought out to hit Mitch Marsh for six and a pull for four off Starc brought up another fifty partnership for England.

At the other end, Stokes had mixed aggression with patience alongside a degree of luck with Starc only able to stumble over the boundary rope after taking a catch at fine leg straight after lunch.

Stokes’ next attempted big shot did prove his downfall though with Cummins picked out at mid-on to give Murphy his first wicket of the day.

Brook followed for seven, although only after smashing Murphy back over his head for six.

Root had already reached fifty by this point but dropped anchor after the arrival of Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow at the crease.

England wicketkeeper Bairstow was happy to adopt the role of counter-punching, smacking five fours to march off for tea on 34 not out with the hosts’ advantage now beyond the 250-mark.