West Indies

At the break, Brathwaite was unbeaten on 235 and Shane Dowrich, 19. So far the pair have added 34 runs for the fifth wicket from nine overs.

Resuming from his overnight score of 183 and the West Indies 353 for 3, Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood, 19 overnight, pushed the score for 429 when the latter was bowled by Rachin Ravindra for 53.

Blackwood scored his runs from 82 balls in his 115-minute stay at the crease during which he hit four fours. Together the pair that came together at 322 for 3, put in 107 runs in 27.1 overs as the West Indies continued to build on their massive total.

Ravindra has taken 2 for 59 from 19 overs.

Brathwaite hit 10 fours on his way to a top-score of 75 from 114 balls while Brooks, who opened with Brathwaite because Tagenarine Chanderpaul was unwell, got 56 off 116 balls including five fours.

All-rounder Holder (50) and Jermaine Blackwood (42) are the not out batsmen as the tourists closed the day on 297-5 from 90 overs. The other batsmen dismissed were Raymon Reifer (21), Nkrumah Bonner (15) and Kyle Mayers (17).

West Indies have two tour matches before the Test series begins in Perth on November 30.

On a flat pitch, Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat first.

Brathwaite and opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul then both played typical patient knocks to end the day 112-0 after 51 overs when the heavens opened.

In the process, Brathwaite brought up his 29^th Test fifty while Chanderpaul, playing in just his third match, brought up his second half century in Tests.

Both batsmen ended the day not out on 55, with Brathwaite’s knock coming off 138 balls and including two fours and Chanderpaul’s coming off 170 balls and including eight boundaries.

Despite getting some positive starts, West Indies batsmen were unable to push on against a CA XI that does not feature any players with Test experience, which basically underscores the Caribbean side's chances, or lack thereof, heading into the first Test against Australia next week.

Scores: West Indies 251 for 8 (Greaves 65, Hodge 52, Brathwaite 52, Haskett 3-57) vs Cricket Australia XI

After opting to take first strike on a dry Karen Rolton wicket, captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who showed class in their previous Test Down Under last summer, led from the front with his 52 at the top.

Kavem Hodge and Justin Greaves, both showed Head coach Andre Coley that they are ready for a Test debut, as they scored 52 and 62 respectively.

But amidst the positives, were also concerns for the Regional side. Top-order batters Kirk McKenzie (23) and Alick Athanaze (zero) were both bounced out, in dismissals that will no doubt catch the attention of Australia's seamers.

Brathwaite's dismissal also raised eyebrows. He was caught trying to paddle-sweep Doug Warren in a half-hearted shot that capped a collapse of three wickets for three runs.

Another collapse of four wickets for eight runs, came late in the day around the second new ball, after Hodge and Greaves steadied the innings and took the score to 223 for 4.

Liam Haskett led the CA XI's bowling attack with three for 57, while rising New South Wales talent Jack Nisbet finished with two for 50, and Victorian spinner Warren claimed two for 47. Between them, the three bowlers have played a total of nine first-class matches.

That adds impetus to the genuine concerns over the form of the once-proud team from the Caribbean headed into the two-Test series. They will field at least three debutants in next Wednesday's first Test in Adelaide, with seven uncapped players in their 15-man squad.

Former captain Jason Holder and all-rounder Kyle Mayers both opted out of the tour to pursue Twenty20 opportunities.

West Indies were beaten convincingly in two Tests in Australia last summer, with only five players from that tour in the current squad.

The West Indies are playing an intra-squad match in preparation for their three-Test series against England starting on July 8.

Brathwaite faced 162 balls for his 84 that included nine fours while Hope scored 83 during a knock that helped keep the middle order together before the team collapsed after he was dismissed at 275 for 6.

The last three batsmen failed to score meaning the Brathwaite XI was unable to push the score past the three-hundred-run mark.

Brathwaite’s XI got off to a shaky start when John Campbell was caught by Alzarri Joseph off the bowling of Shannon Gabriel for 0 with the score at 9. Sharmarh Brooks and Brathwaite added 40 for the second wicket before the former was caught behind off Gabriel for 17.

Hope joined Brathwaite at the crease and together they mounted a third-wicket stand of 102. However, with the score at 152, Kemar Roach breached Brathwaite’s defences and ended his 220-minute stay at the crease.

Hope, now settled, and Roston Chase began to stage another useful partnership but with the score at 224 Preston McSween induced Chase to nick one to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva for 37.

From there it was down to Hope to hold the lower order together but once he got out with the score at 273, Joseph quickly wrapped up the tail as the last four wickets fell with the score at 275.

The lanky Antiguan ended with figures of 4 for 60. Shannon Gabriel who did the early damage returned figures of 3 for 32 while there was a wicket each for Roach and Rakheem Cornwall.

The unexpected return to leadership for the 28-year-old comes after 12 players, including captain Jason Holder and vice-captain Roston Chase declined to take part in the tour, due to concerns over the coronavirus.  Bangladesh is noted as one of the world’s Covid-19 hots with 510,080 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7,479 deaths.  Brathwaite had been previously been replaced as vice-captain by Chase, ahead of the New Zealand tour.

The tour was sanctioned following a report from a health and safety team, which was sent on a pre-series tour of the country but that was not enough to assure the majority of the players.

Former Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies A team captain, Jason Mohammed, will lead the ODI team with Sunil Ambris as vice-captain.

The absence of the A-list players will see Kavem Hodge, the right-handed top-order batsman, called to the Test squad for the first time.  Left-handed opener Shayne Moseley and all-rounder Kyle Mayers will now feature in the first team for the first time, after making trips to England and New Zealand as reserves earlier this year.

Two players have earned their first call-ups for the ODI squad — Akeal Hosein, a left-arm spinner allrounder; and Kjorn Ottley, a left-handed top-order batsman.

West Indies Test Squad

Kraigg Brathwaite (captain)

Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain)

Nkrumah Bonner

John Campbell

Rahkeem Cornwall

Joshua Da Silva

Shannon Gabriel

Kavem Hodge

Alzarri Joseph

Kyle Mayers

Shayne Moseley

Veerasammy Permaul

Kemar Roach

Raymon Reifer

Jomel Warrican

West Indies ODI Squad

Jason Mohammed (captain)

Sunil Ambris (vice-captain)

Nkrumah Bonner

Joshua Da Silva

Jahmar Hamilton

Chemar Holder

Akeal Hosein

Alzarri Joseph

Kyle Mayers

Andre McCarthy

Kjorn Ottley

Rovman Powell

Raymon Reifer

Romario Shepherd

Hayden Walsh jr

Chasing the Caribbean side’s mammoth 571 all out, the home side batted through the final 15 overs of the day without much trouble on another placid track. Henry Cooper 19 and Rachin Ravindra, 22, will resume batting on day three.

Earlier, Kraigg Brathwaite’s 246 was the foundation for the West Indies’ mammoth total. He was eventually out to a Michael Rae delivery after facing 400 balls in a knock that lasted almost 10 hours. He hit 17 fours and a six.

Resuming from his overnight 183 and the West Indies 353 for 3, Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood, 19, took the score to 429 when Blackwood bowled was bowled by Rachin Ravindra for 53.

Blackwood scored his runs from 82 balls in his 115-minute stay at the crease during which he hit four fours. Together the pair that came together at 322 for 3, put in 107 runs in 27.1 overs as the West Indies continued to build on their massive total.

Brathwaite was the sixth wicket to fall with the score at 483 after 130.4 overs of batting.

Raymon Reifer, 46, Jason Holder, 24, and Shane Dowrich 23 contributed to the lower order effort that took the West Indies to their final total. Of note was the 53-run, ninth-wicket stand between Reifer and Alzarri Joseph, who made 22.

Cole McConchie was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 130 from 36.1 overs in which he claimed the wickets of Holder, Reifer and Rahkeem Cornwall who failed to score. Rae took 2 for 100 and Ravindra 2 for 102 were also among the wickets.

Resuming on 57-1, the touring side lost the wickets of Shai Hope (16) and Kraigg Brathwaite (65) but added 122 runs in the sunshine at an empty Rose Bowl to close in on England's first-innings total.

Shamarh Brooks (27) and Roston Chase (13) were the unbeaten batsmen at the end of the first session.

England's fast bowlers couldn't generate the same movement achieved by the West Indies' pace artillery over the first two rain-affected days, with the two quickest — Jofra Archer and Mark Wood — awaiting their first wickets.

Indeed, it was spinner Dom Bess who claimed the first wicket of the day in his first over, finding Hope's edge for Ben Stokes to take the catch at slip.

Hope had just been given a reprieve after being trapped in front of his stumps by Archer. The on-field umpire awarded an lbw but replays showed Archer overstepped the crease for a no-ball.

Stokes took the other West Indies wicket, trapping Brathwaite lbw. The tourists reviewed and the DRS stayed with the umpire's call as Hawk-Eye showed the ball was hitting the bails.

The Barbadian opener, who was on 183 at stumps shared an opening stand of 111 with John Campbell, who made a relatively brisk 45 from just 62 balls before he was bowled by Blair Tickner. The Jamaican struck eight boundaries during his 106-minute stay at the crease.

Bravo joined Brathwaite and together they mounted a 189-run stand that put New Zealand 'A' on the defensive. Brathwaite’s 100 came up in 139 balls during which he hit eight fours and a six. Bravo, picking up from where he left off in the first match, hit six fours while bringing up his 50 in 90 balls.

The pair took a 171 balls to mount the 100-run partnership with Bravo doing the bulk of the scoring with 52 of the runs. The Trinidadian looked set to get his second ton in a week when Rachin Ravindra had him caught by Tickner for a well-played 93 scored off 167 balls in another long stay at the crease, 221 minutes.

After a brief partnership of 22 with Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks fell cheaply for 5 with just six overs remaining in the day’s play. However, Jermaine Blackwood was on 19 at the close with Brathwaite at the other end looking forward to the possibility of a double century when play resumes on Friday (5pm Jamaica, 6pm ECT).

So far, his 183 has come from 262 balls and includes 14 fours and a six.

Ravindra has so far taken 1 for 45 from 14 overs while Tickner was more expensive giving up 90 runs from the 20 overs he bowled in the day. Michael Rae, who took the wicket of Brooks, has 1 for 74 from his 20 overs.

The specialist death bowler sustained the latest setback, a groin injury, in action against the Delhi Capitals on Saturday.  Bravo was as a result unable to bowl the final over for the team, which in the end saw CSK lose by 5 wickets with one ball to spare.  As of now, it is unknown how long the player will be out of action.

"He seems to have a right groin injury, I think, and it was obviously serious enough to keep him off the field," CSK head coach Stephen Fleming explained at the post-match press conference.

"He's obviously desperately disappointed that he couldn't bowl the last over - that's what he's pretty much in the team for. He will have to be reassessed going forward, but at this stage, you'd imagine it's going to take a few days or a couple of weeks, but we will assess that tomorrow."

Bravo had arrived for IPL duty in the UAE with an entirely different injury, a knee problem sustained during this season’s CPL.  He missed the Super Kings' first three games, as the team had decided to take extra caution.

Since his re-introduction, however, the player has made an impact, impressing with his yorkers and slower variations in the Super Kings' return fixture against the Sunrisers and the Kolkata Knight Riders and providing more depth to both the bowling attack

West Indies T20 specialist and former captain of the One-Day International team, Dwayne Bravo had some interesting choices to make during an interview on Cricbuzz, leaving out some big names on a list of five of the best T20 players in the game today.

The 31-year-old left-hand batter scored 135 for the West Indies who made 366 in response to New Zealand ‘A’s 308 for 3 declared. In all Bravo batted for four hours and 39 minutes, faced 214 balls and hit 13 fours and five sixes, excellent preparation for the upcoming two Tests against New Zealand in early December.

Bravo said the process was all about challenging himself to bat for as long as possible.

“Most importantly for me was spending time out in the middle,” he said while speaking virtually with media from Queenstown on Sunday.

“I know fully well that if I batted for, let’s say two and a half hours, I was definitely going to get a good score. It wasn’t about the runs. The runs are not going to do justice per se but I think spending time out in the middle and understanding the conditions and stuff like that will work in my favour as a batter, so that was basically my main goal.”

This, he says, has been his approach as he looks to get back playing Test cricket on a regular basis and it seems to be paying off.

“Even in the nets, I try my best not to get out, even if I just get to bat for 20 minutes in the fast-bowlers’ nets. It’s just a matter of spending as much time in the middle as possible and challenge myself as much as possible and if I get through that period, because sometimes you tend to get lazy as a batter, I challenge myself throughout.

“My coach asks for us to bat as long as possible and I tried my best to do that and it worked out in this particular innings.”

Man of the Match Bravo scored 102 and shared in two crucial partnerships - a 109-run third-wicket partnership with Hope, who made 64, and a fourth-wicket partnership with Pollard that set up the West Indies for a third consecutive victory. The captain remained unbeaten on 53 at the end.

Chasing 275, after Sri Lanka made 274 for 6, their best score of the series, the West Indies had their worse start of the series. After stands of 143 and 192, respectively, in the first two matches, Evin Lewis and Hope managed only 24 runs on this occasion.

Lewis, who has been in ominous form with scores of 65 and 103 in the two previous matches, was bowled by Suranga Lakmal for 13 at the end of the fifth over. The West Indies crawled to 39 for 1 in the 10^th over when Jason Mohammed was bowled by Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, who was getting his first wicket of the ODI series.

His dismissal brought Hope and Bravo together for the first of the two instrumental partnerships of the West Indies innings. However, after keeping the scoreboard ticking over at close to five runs an over, the pair got bogged down by the tight bowling. By the start of the 32^nd over the pair had taken the score to 148 when Hope got out trying to slog Thisara Perera first ball only be caught by Suranga Lakmal running in from long-on.

Hope had made 64, his third consecutive score of 50 or more in the series and on the sixth consecutive occasion overall. Nicholas Pooran came intending to push the score along hitting two sixes in what was to be a brief stay at the crease. Three overs later he was back in the pavilion out lbw to Danuska Gunathilaka for 15 to leave the West Indies in a spot of bother at 169 for 3, still needing 106 from 78 balls.

Pollard arrived at the crease intent on pushing the scoring rate without unnecessary risk. He knocked balls into the gaps, running singles and twos, sprinkling four fours in between. Bravo soon followed suit and together they put on 80 runs while bringing the run rate down from near eight an over to near six and which took the West Indies within sight of their target.

By the time Bravo got out trying to hit Lakmal over extra cover, the West Indies needed 25 from 23 balls. Bravo hit five fours and four sixes.

Holder joined Pollard and together began a steady run toward the required runs.

Pollard hit one six in his 42-ball innings and it was perhaps the most important one of the innings.

It came from the last ball of the 48^th over bowled by Asitha Fernando that yielded 14 runs, resulting in the West Indies needing nine from 12 balls.

After missing with an almighty swipe from the first ball of the 49^th over bowled by Lakmal, Jason Holder finished the job hitting a four and a six off the next two balls to finish the job unbeaten on 14.

Lakmal, who gave up the winning runs, finished with 2-56 from 9.3 overs.

Earlier, Sri Lanka, who had been put in to bat, only managed their competitive score of 274 for 6, due to an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 123 from 111 balls between Hasaranga and Ashen Bandara.

Hasaranga who should have been run out for 42, hit seven fours and three sixes on his way to his best ODI score of 80 that came off just 60 balls while Bandara was unbeaten on 55 that included three fours and six.

They had taken the score from 151 for 6 sliding from 68 without loss.

Gunathilaka made 36 before he lost his wicket to Alzarri Joseph. Seven balls later and two balls later Dimuth Karunaratne was bowled by Mohammed for 31. It was the start of a trend wherein the Sri Lankan batsmen would all get starts and then got out.

Akeal Hossein took 3-33 taking the wickets of Pathum Nissanka for 24, Dinesh Chandimal for 16 and Dashun Sanaka for 24. The latter two getting out in a similar fashion playing across the line to faster straight deliveries and getting bowled.

By that time, Sri Lanka was struggling at 143 for 5 in the 31^st over.

When Perera was run out by a direct hit from Nicholas Pooran seven balls later, Sri Lanka was slipping fast at 151 for 6 before Hasaranga and Bandara pulled out their rescue act.

For his scores of 102, 84 and 64, Shai Hope was named Player of the Series.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the Test series that begins on March 21.

Bravo made 135 from 214 balls as the regional team ended the day at 329-6, inching 21 runs ahead of the Blackcaps' first innings total of 308 for 3 declared.  Bravo, 31, one of the most capped members of the West Indies Test squad on the Tour of New Zealand with 54 matches behind him, batted a little more than 4½ hours at the crease after he started the day on eight. Bravo raced towards his hundred in a volley of strokes, mostly off left-arm spinner Michael Rippon.

 In reaching the target, Bravo struck 13 fours and five sixes and formed a third-wicket partnership with Shamarh Brooks that was worth 122.

Brooks made 80 from 152 balls, with the team also receiving contributions from newly appointed vice-captain Roston Chase who made 41 from 62 balls.  The New Zealand bowling line-up did not feature anyone likely to gain selection for the official matches and no bowler claimed more than one wicket.

The first Test between New Zealand and West Indies starts on December 3 at Seddon Park in Hamilton and the second Test begins on December 11 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Scores

New Zealand A 308-3 declared (R Ravindra 112, H Nicholls 76, D Conway 46no, J Carter 41no) v West Indies 329-6 (D Bravo 135, S Brooks 80, R Chase 41) in Queenstown.

Gunathilaka was forced to pull out of the tournament after he failed to receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). 

In addition to Gayle, who will be playing for the franchise for the third time, the franchise has also added another two Caribbean players.  Pace bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Obed Mccoy will also be joining the team.

The 38-year-old Bravo, who retired from international cricket following the ICC T20 World Cup earlier this year, has previously represented the Chittagong Kings, Comilla Victorians, and Dhaka Dynamites in the BPL.

The competition, which is scheduled to bowl off on January 21, will be played across three cities and will feature 6 teams.

Meanwhile, left-handed batsmen Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer have been omitted from the squad which played the recent Colonial Medical Insurance ODI series against Ireland after failing to attain the new minimum standard fitness requirements in recent assessments.

The squad will depart the Caribbean on Saturday and will have a pre-series camp in Colombo before they face the hosts in three ODIs.

“Darren Bravo and Rovman Powell owe their recall to their outstanding performance in the Colonial Medical Super50 tournament.  Bravo brings good form, a renewed appetite for runs and lots of experience, which will benefit the team tremendously. Powell who is back from injury, will add batting firepower to the line-up, increase the team’s bowling options and strengthen the fielding unit,” said Lead Selector Roger Harper while explaining the reasons for the recall of the previously omitted players.

“Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer missed out due to the fact that they came up short in the fitness test.  They will be missed.

“Lewis was the team’s best batsman in the recent Colonial Medical Insurance ODI Series against Ireland where he batted with great composure and proved the bedrock for the team’s Series win. Hetmyer appeared to be getting his act together and was an integral part of the team’s batting group.”

The matches will be played at Sinhalese Sports Club; the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota and the Pallakele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

Two T20 internationals will follow the ODIs and the squad for that series will be named at a later date.

FULL SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, and Hayden Walsh.

 The match schedule is outlined below:

 February 17 – warm-up at P Sara Oval;

February 20 – warm-up vs SLC President’s XI – CMCG, Katunayake;

February 22 – 1st ODI at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo;

February 26 – 2nd ODI at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota;

March 1 – 3rd ODI at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy;

March 4 – 1st T20I at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy;

Match 6 – 2nd T20I at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy

USHA International Limited is a company that provides Asain household products like sewing machines, dry irons, fans, coolers, water dispensers and kitchen appliances.

Lara announced the partnership on his Instagram page on Tuesday.

“I am honoured to be the brand ambassador for India’s legendary and iconic consumer deliverables company, USHA International,” he said.

"It’s no secret how much I endorse living an active, healthy lifestyle. That’s why I wanted to be associated with a company that not only does the same, but one that is also passionate about giving back and touching lives,” he said.

Lara, arguably one of the greatest batsmen of all time, has a massive global following was the best batsman in the world for much of his career that began in 1990 and culminated in 2007. During that time, playing for the West Indies, Lara scored 11,953 Test runs at an average of 52.88. The man dubbed The Prince of Port of Spain, in his native Trinidad and Tobago, still holds the world record for highest Test innings, 400 not out, made against England in 2004.

On April 12, 2004, Lara not only reclaimed the record Test innings, he set a mark that remains standing today.

The West Indies great frustrated England's attack across two and a half days in Antigua, the Test eventually finishing as a draw to ensure the hosts avoided a 4-0 whitewash.

The 1,696th Test of all time belonged to Lara. Here, we take a look back at his 400 not out in numbers.

16.66 average - Lara's fourth Test score was all the more incredible given he had made just a combined 100 runs at an average of 16.66 across the previous three matches in the series.

12 hours, 58 minutes - Lara batted for 12 hours and 58 minutes to get his record. That is only the seventh longest Test innings of all time, though, with Pakistan's Hanif Mohammad having occupied the crease for over 16 hours against West Indies in 1958.

582 deliveries - England used seven bowlers in that West Indies innings and Lara faced 582 balls without getting out. However, that does not even make the top 10 longest vigils in terms of balls faced, with Len Hutton leading the way when he faced 847 balls in 1938.

43 fours, four sixes - Of Lara's unbeaten 400, 196 runs were made via boundaries (43 fours and four sixes). He scored more fours (45) when making 375 against England a decade earlier, though he failed to clear the ropes in that match.

68.72 strike rate -Across 232 Test innings, Lara had a strike rate of 60.51 so he was actually marginally more aggressive than normal during his knock against England.

Unbroken 282-run stand for the sixth wicket -Lara shared two partnerships worth over 200 runs during his innings. He made 232 alongside Ramnaresh Sarwan (90) for the third wicket then made 159 of the 282 he and Ridley Jacobs (107 not out) accumulated before the Windies declared on 751-5.

185 days -Just six months after Australia opener Matthew Hayden broke Lara's previous Test record with 380 against Zimbabwe, the previous holder took back the honour.

5,844 days - Lara's record has now stood for 5,844 days. Since his innings, Mahela Jayawardene (374 in 2006) and David Warner (335 not out in 2019) are the two men who have come closest to eclipsing it.

Having won the toss and elected to bat in Antigua, it looked like being an all too familiar tale for a frequently fragile England line-up.

The tourists' top order collapsed to leave England 48-4 inside 16 overs, however, Bairstow (109 not out) led the rebuilding effort to ensure they got valuable first-innings runs on the board.

It was his eighth century in the longest format and first against the Windies, his success in surviving the first 10 overs with the second new ball meaning England are well placed to put themselves in an even more favourable position on day two after reaching 268-6 at stumps.

Such a scenario appeared unlikely when Kemar Roach quickly removed debutant Alex Lees (4) and opening partner Zak Crawley (8) was caught behind off Jayden Seales.

England looked in dire straits after Joe Root (13) was caught in two minds and bowled by Roach, with Dan Lawrence failing to build on a start as he went for 20 caught at second slip off Jason Holder.

The foundation for England's response was laid by Bairstow and Ben Stokes (36), who put on 67 before the latter thick-edged Seales on to leg stump, with Ben Foakes then adding 42 in his first Test since last year's tour of India in a sixth-wicket stand of 99.

Foakes was pinned lbw to break that partnership but the wicket of Bairstow, who deviated superbly between attack and defence in facing 216 balls, consistently punishing wide deliveries, proved elusive.

There were shades of the SCG in January as he wildly celebrated a richly deserved century and, with Bairstow and Chris Woakes (24 not out) bringing up a 50 partnership in the final over, England's hopes of gaining a better result than the draw they claimed in Sydney will be increasing.

Bairstow is England's glue once again

Having missed England's fifth Test with Australia in Hobart, Bairstow made it back-to-back hundreds in the longest format by following up his Sydney effort with another shining performance.

Sustained partnerships have been tough to come by for England in recent times, but when they have put them together, Bairstow has often been involved. Indeed, five of the last seven 50 partnerships for England have included Bairstow.

Windies face brick wall

The Windies would have hoped to make inroads with the second new ball in the final overs of the day. They failed to do so. The last 10 overs saw England add 33 runs without loss, and there will surely be concern among the hosts over how they let a seemingly dominant position slip.

Blackwood was given another chance to show he can cut it in the longest format after being dropped last year and he grabbed it with both hands on a tense final day behind closed doors in Southampton.

The Windies were set 200 to win a brilliant first international match since the coronavirus pandemic brought sport to a halt, Shannon Gabriel taking 5-75 - and match figures of 9-137 - to bowl England out for 313.

Barbados-born paceman Jofra Archer struck twice as the tourists slumped to 27-3, with John Campbell also retired hurt, but Blackwood came to the rescue.

The Jamaican made a mature, classy 95, hitting 12 boundaries before falling agonisingly short of a second Test century - five years after his first against England.

Roston Chase (37) provided great support for Blackwood, who was dropped on five and 20, and the Windies sealed only their second Test win in England in 20 years the final session.

Ben Stokes will face questions over his decision to bowl first in his first match as captain, with Joe Root set to return for a second Test starting at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Archer showed his ability with the bat after England resumed on 284-8, making a valuable 23 before he gloved Gabriel behind on the hook after Mark Wood nicked the paceman through to Shane Dowrich.

West Indies were in need of a solid start to the run chase, but a brilliant opening spell from Archer (3-45) made it very much advantage England.

Kraigg Brathwaite chopped on to the quick and the tourists still only had seven on the board when Shamarh Brooks was trapped leg before without scoring.

Campbell was also back in the pavilion retired hurt after being struck on the toe by Archer and Wood got in on the act by removing Shai Hope's off stump.

Chase survived an lbw shout before lunch, which was taken at 35-3, and Stokes could not take a chance to dismiss Blackwood in the slips, having misjudged where the ball would go.

Chase and Blackwood ticked over nicely, but a stand of 73 ended when the former fell to a brute of a delivery in a hostile spell from Archer after Zak Crawley made a mess of a run-out opportunity.

Blackwood played with great composure and brought up his half-century after Dowrich successfully reviewed, having been given out caught at slip off his elbow.

The tourists needed 57 in the final session with six wickets left and Stokes removed Dowrich (20) in only his fifth over after he had him caught from the previous ball but overstepped.

Blackwood kept a cool head and looked in complete control of the situation before driving Stokes (2-39) to James Anderson at mid-off to miss out on three figures.

Campbell returned to join captain Jason Holder at the crease with 11 needed to triumph and the opener hit the winning runs off Stokes to seal a great victory for the Windies.