Jamie Smith and Joe Root miss centuries in England comeback against West Indies

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Joe Root started the fightback and Jamie Smith finished it as England flipped its fortunes from 54-5 to 376 all out against the West Indies on day two Saturday of the third test at Edgbaston.

England led by 94 on the first innings, and had West Indies 33-2 at stumps, including the big wicket of captain Kraigg Brathwaite for a duck.

Root and Smith featured in century partnerships that backboned England’s reply to the West Indies’ 282.

Having taken three quick wickets on Friday evening, the West Indies added two more in the first four overs on Saturday — Ollie Pope diverting the ball into middle stump and Harry Brook nicking a flat-footed drive behind — to establish possibly its best position of the series.

With half of its wickets gone, the hardness not yet off the ball and a deficit of 228, England was under pressure. But the West Indies had already missed a trick, failing to call for a review when Jayden Seales had a strong lbw shout against Root.

A referral would have ended Root’s stay but instead he built a crucial partnership of 115 with captain Ben Stokes. He barely put another foot wrong as he ticked off his latest selection of milestones — surpassing Brian Lara’s career mark of 11,953 with his 14th run and becoming the seventh player in history to reach 12,000 with his 60th.

Root’s typically measured 87 was accumulated in reliably risk-free fashion as he sapped the bowlers’ enthusiasm.

There was a more bruising quality to Stokes’ strokeplay and the skipper looked in good touch until he drilled a pull straight to midwicket on 54.

It was an even bigger surprise when Root was undone in sight of a 33rd hundred, beaten in defence by a sliver of turn from Gudakesh Motie to fall lbw.

At 231-7, England might still have given up a lead. But Smith, picked ahead of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes for this series in a changing-of-the-guard moment, announced himself with an audacious six that cleared the Eric Hollies Stand.

Smith had been at the crease for only a few minutes when he launched a pull high over the rowdiest crowd in the country and, for the second time in three games, the stadium was not big enough to contain him.

After that remarkable swipe, Smith milked runs off Motie then showed his range with driven fours through cover and past midwicket.

His 50 hurried by in just 60 balls and he and Chris Woakes helped themselves as the tourists lost the plot after tea. An extended period of short-pitched bowling did nothing to alarm the pair, who merely took the chance to reel off a lengthy sequence of profitable pull shots.

Smith was closing in on a maiden test century in his third test when he was dismissed on 95, beaten by a Shamar Joseph cutter’s low bounce as much as a subtle shift in pace. There were 12 fours in his 109-ball knock.

By then England was 55 ahead, thanks to a stand of 106 between Smith and Woakes (62), and that was extended to 94 by the conclusion.

English pressure continued to weigh heavily on the tourists. Brathwaite was bowled for a first-over duck as he played the wrong line to Woakes, and the hapless Kirk McKenzie banked a sixth consecutive failure when he edged Gus Atkinson behind.

Mikyle Louis was dropped on 9 by Stokes and sent sprawling by a Mark Wood yorker that crushed his boot, rendering it a game of survival by stumps.