LONDON: West Indies collapsed from 78 for two to 123 all out as England all-rounder Ben Stokes took six wickets to put the hosts in charge on day one of the series-deciding third Test at Lord’s on Thursday.

Stokes finished with six for 22 to post his best match figures of a 39-match career as West Indies added just four runs to their tea total of 119-7 after a dismal middle session during the tourists lost five wickets for just 23 runs.

With Stokes on song with three wickets each on either side of the tea interval, James Anderson was left stranded on 499 Test wickets after the veteran seamer failed to his tally of two wickets before lunch.

Anderson collected both of the West Indies wickets to fall in a rain-shortened first session. Eng­land’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker moved to within one of becoming the sixth bowler to 500.

England missed an early chance when Alastair Cook dropped Kraigg Brathwaite at first slip off Anderson, Cook’s third straight drop after two misses in the second Test defeat at Headingley last week.

Anderson recovered from that disappointment to have Brathwaite caught behind by wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow for 10. He then removed Kyle Hope, brilliantly caught by Bairstow, for a duck.

One more wicket in the second innings will see Anderson join Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh in the 500 club.

Earlier, West Indies opted to bat first in a Test where they could clinch a first series victory in England since the era of Viv Richards in 1988. But early morning sunshine and promising batting conditions turned to helpful bowling conditions with the rain, and England tore through West Indies in the afternoon.

Kieran Powell and Shai Hope — fresh from Headingley scores of 147 and 118 not out, his first two hundreds in Test cricket — added 56 for the third wicket in the solitary notable partnership of the innings.

Toby Roland-Jones, recalled on his Middlesex home ground after being dropped in favour of all-rounder Chris Woakes at Headingley, then got in on the act.

Shai Hope had made 28 of his 29 runs in boundaries when Roland-Jones cut one away from the right-hander and a relieved Cook clung on to a gentle slip catch.

Four balls later held a low caught and bowled chance to dismiss Powell (39) off a hard-hit drive.

Roland-Jones struck again when the impetuous Jermaine Blackwood was bowled middle stump heaving across the line.

Stokes, making up for being given just the five overs by Root in the second innings at Headingley, produced a superb delivery to square up Roston Chase and bowl him with a ball that clipped the top of off stump before removing Shane Dowrich.

The series, England’s last before the Ashes in Australia, is currently levelled at 1-1 after West Indies’ surprise five-wicket victory at Leeds.

Scoreboard:

WEST INDIES (1st Innings):

K.C. Brathwaite c Bairstow b Anderson 10

K.O.A. Powell c and b Stokes 39

K.A. Hope c Bairstow b Anderson 0

S.D. Hope c Cook b Roland-Jones 29

R.L. Chase b Stokes 18

J. Blackwood b Roland-Jones 1

S.O. Dowrich c Cook b Stokes 1

J.O. Holder b Stokes 9

D. Bishoo not out 13

K.A.J. Roach c Anderson b Stokes 0

S.T. Gabriel b Stokes 0

EXTRAS (LB-1, NB-2) 3

TOTAL (all out, 57.3 overs) 123

FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-22, 3-78, 4-78, 5-87, 6-100, 7-101, 8-119, 9-123.

BOWLING: Anderson 16-7-31-2; Broad 12-5-24-0; Roland-Jones 11-4-32-2; Stokes 14.3-6-22-6(2nb); Moeen Ali 4-0-13-0.

ENGLAND: A.N. Cook, M.D. Stoneman, T. Westley, J.E. Root, D.J. Malan, B.A. Stokes, J.M. Bairstow, Moeen Ali, T.S. Roland-Jones, S.C.J. Broad, J.M. Anderson.

UMPIRES: C.B. Gaffaney (New Zealand) and M. Erasmus (South Africa).

TV UMPIRE: S. Ravi (India).

MATCH REFEREE: D.C. Boon (Australia).

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2017