55th over: England 265-3 (Root 42, Brook 83) Root opens the face to glide a boundary down past point and both batters pinch a single to add a couple more onto the lead.

54th over: England 259-3 (Root 37, Brook 82) Harry Brook taps a single to bring Joe Root on strike for the first time this morning. Root defends back towards Seales with a full blade and then shoulders arms to a wide-ish length ball to end the over.

“One of the great consolations of ageing I have found” emails Martin O’Donovan-Wright, “Is that even as an England supporter I am happier with a genuine contest than a facile victory, even if such a contest should end in English defeat. In that vein, I’d like England to add no more than about a 100 or so runs this morning, leaving WI a target of approximately 320, which i think would be optimum for a balanced scrap for the spoils. As Galeano said about football, “I give thanks for the miracle, and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.” (Unless we’re playing Australia, natch.)

53rd over: England 258-3 (Root 37, Brook 81) Brook really does look in good touch. Positive in both attack and defence. Yesterday’s terracotta terroriser – Shamar Joseph – glides to the crease and bowls full, targeting the stumps and front pad. A muted appeal as a full one thunks into Brook’s ankle but he was well outside the line. A flick off the pad brings Brook two runs and he pinches the strike from Root with a single off the last ball.

“Good morning James, here’s what I would like today: I’d like Harry Brook to ease his way to a delicious 130 odd, not out, while an entertaining clatter of wickets at the other end take the declaration question off the table. A lead of 340 sets up a cracking finale which the West Indies get the better of some time tomorrow afternoon, thereby setting up a belter for next week. Please and thank you.”

You aren’t the only one David Horn…

52nd over: England 255-3 (Root 37, Brook 78) The players spill out onto the pitch in bright sunshine. Jayden Seals has ball and bustles in to bowl at Harry Brook. The cameraman pans to Zak Crawley on the England balcony tucking into a Sunday morning bacon sarnie. Wonder how many times he’s thought about his dismissal yesterday? Evidently consoling himself with some fried pig.

Brook opens the face to guide nicely for two runs, England are off and running on day four. Shot! Brook follows up with an imperious cover drive for four. Hold the pose, lad.

I can see James Anderson prowling around the outfield with his bowling mitt. It still feels very weird to me.

Forgive the shameless pluggery but I just wrote something about Jimmy’s farewell that also served as a paean to my favourite band. There’s about ten minutes before we get going if you want a bit of misty eyed musing to go with your morning coffee.

“Memorise the bathwater, memorise the air
There’ll come a time I’ll want to know I was here
Names on the doorframes, inches and ages
Handprints in concrete, at the softest stages”

Most days during my daughter’s bath time I think of the above lines, tapping as they do into a particular kind of parental melancholy but also the more universal sense of time slipping by, sometimes unappreciated, and of trying to live in the moment.

The title of that song popped into my head last week at Lord’s. It’s called ‘Weird Goodbyes’. It was wasn’t it? There was a sort of awkward pageantry about Jimmy Anderson’s final Test, a prolonged farewell in a one-sided contest that you sensed the man himself was at odds with.”

Bright skies with a bit of mottled cloud at Trent Bridge. It looks a picture. There are ten pound tickets available for Day Five (tomorrow) which could well be a snip if today follows the same pattern as the previous three. A couple of early wickets would certainly put the hen ‘mongst the chickens.

Simon Dennis has come up trumps with the TMS overseas link:

https://m.youtube.com/live/_A0jIm5YZag?cbrd=1

Catch up on yesterday’s action with Ali Martin and Simon Burnton:

Preamble

James Wallace