West Indies battle on

After the first two days were washed out without a single ball having been bowled, captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and put West Indies in to bat under leaden skies with both sides battling against time in search of a result.

Fast bowlers Steven Finn and Graham Onions each made long-awaited returns to the side at the expense of the rested Stuart Broad and James Anderson, respectively, as the pair shared the wickets around with Tim Bresnan over a long day in which 98 overs were bowled.

Marlon Samuels starred for West Indies with a fluent 76, while wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin was left unbeaten on 60 at stumps alongside tailender Ravi Rampaul.

While England made two team changes, West Indies made four. Off-spinner Sunil Narine was handed a debut in place of Shane Shillingford, Narsingh Deonarine replaced the injured Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Tino Best came in for his first Test in three years in place of the injured Kemar Roach, while Assad Fudadin replaced the out-of-form Kirk Edwards.

Opener Kieran Powell was the first wicket to fall for 24 as he edged behind to Graeme Swann off the bowling of Bresnan – who took the new ball in preference to Finn – and England were buoyed.

Ian Bell, fielding at slip in place of the omitted Anderson, squandered two regulation catches as he twice handed Barath reprieves, and Strauss was also to ground a simple catch later in the day.

But Onions, recalled to the Test team for the first time in 30 months having recovered from a career-threatening back injury, claimed the first wicket of his return as he trapped Barath lbw for 41.

The out-of-form Darren Bravo gave a return catch to Finn as he departed for just six, and the tourists’ effort was quickly unravelling with the assured presence of the injured Chanderpaul – the top-ranked batsman in the world – sorely missed.

Debutant Fudadin batted combatively for 110 balls before he fended a Bresnan bouncer tamely to Bell, and this time the Warwickshire batsman made no mistake in taking a simple catch.

Deonarine edged Onions to Strauss at first slip as he was dismissed for just seven, and Samuels was left to battle on with wickets falling around him.

The middle-order strokeplayer again looked elegant at the crease and unfurled 10 boundaries and a six in his 114-ball innings. In the series to date, his scores are 31, 86, 117, 76 not out and 76 in Birmingham.

Bresnan eventually picked up the crucial wicket of Samuels as he trapped the Jamaican lbw with a review from the batsman not overturning what was a very marginal call.

Captain Darren Sammy attempted to steady his side with a gritty 16 off 35 balls, but Finn’s pace and potency was too much for him as Strauss was presented with a regulation catch at slip.

Narine was the final wicket to fall in the day as Onions clean-bowled the debutant with a full delivery which zipped through and demolished the lower-order batsman’s woodwork.

Rampaul accompanied the excellent Ramdin for the final four overs of the day, with 98 rattled through in an attempt to make up for some of the lost play on the opening two days.

There is a mixed forecast for Sunday and Monday, but neither side will entirely discount the prospect of securing an improbable positive result if the weather holds in their favour.

England, who lead the series 2-0 and have already secured the Wisden Trophy after wins at Lord’s and Trent Bridge, are seeking a whitewash, while Sammy’s side are keen to end a disappointing tour on a high.