Jason Holder produced a fine all-round display as the West Indies took three late wickets, including both England openers with successive deliveries, in a stirring fightback on Friday's opening day of the third Test at Edgbaston. Holder's 59 helped turn the West Indies' 115-5 into a total of 282 all out as they looked to restore some pride, having already lost this three-match series at 2-0 down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
And the towering all-rounder then held two fine slip catches as England slumped to 38-3 at stumps, a deficit of 244 runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Zak Crawley fell for eight when he edged a loose drive off fast bowler Jayden Seales, with Holder holding a sharp chance to his left at second slip.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England were now 29-1 off four overs exactly and next ball Crawley's opening partner, Ben Duckett, played on to Alzarri Joseph.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England had sent in Mark Wood as a nightwatchman after Crawley's exit but he fell for a duck when edging Seales low to Holder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Seales had figures of 2-19 in four overs at the close, with Ollie Pope and Joe Root -- who both made hundreds in England's 241-run win in the second Test at Trent Bridge -- set to resume on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"When you look at the pace of that wicket you'd think the batters would get in and go deep," said Holder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Unfortunately none of our batters were able to do that but we got a fair few starts."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- 'Give everything' -<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n But West Indies' total looked far healthier as they hit back with the ball in an action-packed eight overs spanning some 40 minutes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n "It was a bonus to get three wickets," said the 32-year-old Holder, appearing in his 67th Test.<\/p>\r\n\r\n "At that stage the runs are irrelevant, we could just attack. With 40 minutes to bowl you can run in and give everything you can."<\/p>\r\n\r\n England paceman Chris Woakes, like many at Edgbaston, thought it was going to be England's day after he took 3-69 on his Warwickshire home ground.<\/p>\r\n\r\n "When we bowled them out, I was really happy," said Woakes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n "Obviously, to lose three tonight is not ideal, not the perfect end to the day, I suppose."<\/p>\r\n\r\n Earlier, West Indies were well-placed 76-0 after captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss beneath blue skies on a good batting pitch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n But they then suffered yet another of the collapses that had been their undoing in the first two Tests as five wickets fell either side of lunch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Former captain Holder, however, found a solid ally in Joshua Da Silva (49) as the duo kept England at bay with a sixth-wicket partnership of 109.<\/p>\r\n\r\n But the remainder of the innings fell away tamely, with fast bowler Gus Atkinson taking 4-67 in 20 overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n After a watchful beginning, Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis played several fine shots, with the skipper completing a 70-ball fifty, including six fours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n But England hit back when Louis (26) fended at Atkinson to give wicketkeeper Jamie Smith a simple catch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n New batsman Kirk McKenzie, only half forward, was clean bowled by a 91mph (146 kph) full-length delivery from express quick Wood.<\/p>\r\n\r\n And to the last ball of the session, Alick Athanaze carelessly bottom-edged an attempted pull off Atkinson onto his stumps, leaving the West Indies 97-3 at lunch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Brathwaite, 56 not out at the interval, had added just five more runs when he gloved an attempted pull off Wood down the legside to Smith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n And 115-4 became 115-5 when Kavem Hodge, who made a maiden Test century at Trent Bridge, deliberately left a Woakes delivery only for the ball to hit the top of off stump.<\/p>\r\n\r\n But Holder counter-attacked by hitting 20-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who took a match-winning 5-41 at Trent Bridge, for several boundaries including a superb straight six.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Holder went on to a 92-ball fifty, also including six fours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Da Silva, however, fell one shy of the landmark when caught behind off Woakes to leave the West Indies 224-6.<\/p>\r\n\r\n