No.11 top scores as England respond to early collapse

Tailenders Jack Leach and Saqib Mahmood have dragged England to a face-saving 204 all out at stumps against West Indies with a dogged last-wicket stand on the first day of the series-deciding third Test.

Mahmood, the No.11 batsman, joined Leach, the No.10, when England were a perilous 9-114 straight after tea.

But they batted on and on, frustrating the Windies by combining for 90 precious runs in 36.2 overs in England's best last-wicket stand in eight years.

The team's next best partnership was 24 for the ninth wicket.

They saved England from utter humiliation by becoming the team's highest-scoring batters.

Mahmood, playing his second Test and batting for the first time, was last man out for 49 with two balls left in the day, while Leach posted his second-best Test score, an unbeaten 41.

It's just the 12th time in Test history that a No.11 has top-scored in a completed innings, and the first time since 1885 that the No.10 and No.11 have posted the two highest scores.

Both gave West Indies one difficult chance each – Leach on 10 before tea, Mahmood on 15 – then defended with assurance and grew in confidence to strike back.

The next ball after his drop, Mahmood hit over long on for the first six of his first-class career. He hit four boundaries in his 49 from 118 balls.

"Once I got in it was good fun," said Mahmood.

"It was quite hard work to start with, but we knew if we stuck in there they would have to turn to part-time bowlers before the new ball and that's when we could cash in a little bit.

"We were pretty set when that new ball came along. Our partnership was crucial because it just wore them into the ground a little bit."

West Indies won the toss and bowled first for a third straight Test, but on a livelier pitch than the flat tracks which led to draws in Antigua and Barbados.

By lunch, West Indies had three England wickets, including captain Joe Root, who nicked behind for a duck.

Doubly surprising was he fell to batting allrounder Kyle Mayers, brought in to shore up the batting at the expense of specialist spinner Veerasammy Permaul.

Root tied Mike Atherton for the most ducks as England captain – eight – and Mayers finished his first spell of medium pace with the remarkable figures of 5-5-0-2.

After lunch, England lost three wickets in three overs and 5-37 in the middle session as the West Indies seamers ran rampant.

Ben Stokes was caught and bowled by Alzarri Joseph, and Alex Lees and Jonny Bairstow gave up thin edges to Kemar Roach and Joseph respectively.

Jayden Seales knocked over Ben Foakes' middle stump, and Roach smashed Craig Overton's off stump.

At 8-90, Leach came in and helped Chris Woakes get England through to tea, the second ball after which Woakes was bowled by Seales for 25.

Then Leach and Mahmood comfortably defied a West Indies attack that flagged with the old ball, and even when the home side's spirits and bowling picked up in the last 10 overs with the new ball.