England were 15 for six in their second innings against West Indies when rain brought an early lunch on the final day of the second Test on Sunday at Kensington Oval, for an overall lead of 281.
At the interval, Ben Foakes was not out on 11 and Chris Woakes was not out on nine, after the English resumed from their overnight total of 40 without loss and endured a couple stoppages for rain amounting to about 45 minutes.
It expected that the visitors will declare during the interval, setting the Windies 282 to win from a minimum of 67 overs, which is about the same target they faced in the first Test that ended in a draw two Saturdays ago in Antigua.
Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul gave West Indies an early breakthrough when he got left-handed opener Alex Lees caught at deep mid-wicket for 24 in the third over of the day after he shared 51 for the first wicket with Zak Crawley.
But it was clear that England intended to chase quick runs and put themselves in a position to chase an unlikely, if not impossible victory over the last two sessions of the day’s play.
Four further wickets – two to pacer Jayden Seales – fell in the hunt for the increased scoring rate with Dan Lawrence leading the way with 41, Crawley supplying 40, and Jonny Bairstow adding 29.
Permaul has taken 2-29 from 10 overs and Seales has grabbed 2-34 from six overs.
The Windies have not lost a Test to the English in nearly two decades at Kensington Oval, and they have lost only twice – in 1994 and 2004 – in the history of Tests between the two sides at this ground.
The first of three Tests in this series ended in a draw this past Saturday at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua, and the final Test will be played from March 24 at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada.
Summarised scores:
ENGLAND 507 for nine declared (Joe Root 153, Ben Stokes 120, Dan Lawrence 91, Chris Woakes 41, Ben Foakes 33, Alex Lees 30, Jonny Bairstow 20; Veerasammy Permaul 3-126, Kemar Roach 2-68) and 185 for six (Dan Lawrence 41, Zak Crawley 40, Jonny Bairstow 29, Alex Lees 24, Ben Stokes 19; Veerasammy Permaul 2-29, Jayden Seales 2-00).
WEST INDIES 411 (Kraigg Brathwaite 160, Jermaine Blackwood 102, Shamarh Brooks 39, Joshua da Silva 33, Alzarri Joseph 19, Jason Holder 12; Jack Leach 3-118, Saqib Mahmood 2-58, Ben Stokes 2-65).
(AR)
