England v West Indies 1st Test report and scorecard: Ben Stokes brings up landmark wicket but West Indies lead by 99

Scorecard - England won the toss and elected to bat

England first innings: 204 (Stokes 43, Buttler 35; Holder 6-42, Gabriel 4-62)

West Indies first innings: 318 (Brathwaite 65, Dowrich 61, Stokes 4-49)

England second innings: 15-0

West Indies lead by 99 | Match Odds: England 7/4 | Draw 5/2 | West Indies 11/8

Stokes rallied his side with four wickets to reach his 150, which saw him achieve quite a milestone as he became the second quickest all-rounder to score 4000 runs and take 150 wickets - beaten only by the great Garfield Sobers.

It's the Windies who hold the advantage though, as they established a first-innings gap of 114 after producing a disciplined total of 318, but their lead might easily have been larger had Stokes not summoned four for 49, his best figures in two years.

He shouldered the burden after Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, selected ahead of Stuart Broad for their superior pace, turned in a combined return of one for 135, despite the latter's fierce speed.

• Day Three Talking Points

Stokes, who appeared to be struggling with soreness as he worked through his decisive final spell, accounted for top-scorers Kraigg Brathwaite (65) and Shane Dowrich (61) as well as his fellow all-rounder and rival skipper Jason Holder.

While he was unable to match the latter's previous efforts with a five-wicket haul, his dismissal of Alzarri Joseph did bring his Test tally to 150.

James Anderson was also in credit with three for 62, while spinner Dom Bess chimed in with two wickets. Their efforts still left the hosts in a hole at change over, with openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley making 15 for nought in a trying 40 minutes before stumps.

The West Indies began on 57 for one and, in the best overhead batting conditions yet, got the better of the first session by adding 102 for two wickets.

The first hour was slow and steady, containing just two boundaries and one aborted celebration for the fielding side - when Archer won an lbw against Shai Hope only for replays to show a no-ball.

Hope fell immediately after drinks, and without adding to his score of 16, as he drove hard at Bess and edged to Stokes.

Brathwaite progressed more comfortably, converting his overnight 20 into both the first fifty of the match and his own first since July 2018. His hopes of progressing towards three figures ended at Stokes' hand, rapped high on the knee roll but deep enough in his crease for the umpire Richard Kettleborough to raise the finger.

Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase picked up the run-rate nicely before lunch but saw the brakes applied by Anderson and Bess when the afternoon's play got under way.

In the ninth over of mounting pressure Brooks wafted the bat at Anderson and was on his way for 39 as Jos Buttler gathered the catch. It did not take long to exhaust Jermaine Blackwood's notoriously small reserves of patience, the recalled number six hacking Bess to mid-off to make it 186 for five.

A lead now seemed certain but a flurry of wickets could still make it a slight one. Instead, Chase and Dowrich put on the biggest stand of the match, 81.

The pair adopted contrasting styles, Chase shelving his aggressive instincts to dig out 47 in 141 balls, while Dowrich signalled his intentions early by getting after Bess.

Add in a couple of half-volleys from under-performing Archer and he was well on the way to fifty. In so doing, the wicketkeeper scrubbed the memory of making 24 runs in six innings on these shores three years ago.

Anderson's enduring accuracy eventually earned an lbw against the dogged Chase, but without a big effort from Stokes the last session might still have slipped through England's fingers.

First he evened the score with opposite number Holder, who had dismissed him on day two. The 6ft 7in Bajan managed to get underneath a short ball but merely helped it on its way to Archer. Despite struggling with soreness Stokes kept pounding in, toppling Joseph's stumps then strangling Dowrich down the leg-side.

It seemed like he was set to complete his fifth five-for, but it was Durham team-mate Wood, who routinely cleared 90mph without joy, who castled last man Shannon Gabriel.

Gabriel and Kemar Roach asked plenty of difficult questions of Burns and Sibley and on another day might have picked up at least a wicket apiece. Instead the 10 overs proved fruitless to set up an intriguing fourth day.

Reaction

James Anderson: "The West Indies have had the best of the first few days certainly, we are up against it," he said.

"But we know exactly what we've got to do. If we bat well tomorrow and get a decent lead, get a bit ahead, we can give ourselves a chance of bowling them out in the fourth innings of the game.

"It's not been our best performance with bat or ball these last few days so we've got work to do in the next couple. I don't know about the pitch breaking up but it might get a little bit lower as the game goes on.

"We'll need a little bit of luck. We don't want it to deteriorate too much tomorrow obviously and then on the final it can do as much as it wants.

"I thought Woody and Jofra bowled really well, but you have days like this in Test cricket. Jofra got a wicket off a no-ball - if he gets that, his confidence goes up and he could get on a roll. Similarly with Woody, I felt he bowled well in periods and on another day he could have had more wickets."

Kraigg Brathwaite: "England bowled well and it was really challenging throughout the day, always aggressive.

"So I think Dowrich and I did a good job for the team. It's a low scoring game but I still think it's a decent pitch and once guys get in runs can be scored."

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