NOTTINGHAM: Joe Root and Harry Brook hit hundreds to leave the West Indies needing an imposing 385 to win the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
England were dismissed for 425 in their second innings to force an early tea on the fourth day after Root had made 122 and Brook 109.
It was the first time in 147 years of Test cricket that England had scored at least 400 in both innings of the same match after they made 416 first time around.
But with West Indies having made 457 in reply, the tourists still had some hope of victory.
Brook leads England into strong position against West Indies in second Test
Nevertheless, they would still have to surpass the highest successful fourth innings chase in a Test at Trent Bridge – England’s 299-5 against New Zealand in 2022 – if they were to level this three-match series at 1-1.
Root’s innings saw him leapfrog the West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul into eighth place in the list of Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorers.
His century also left Root one shy of the England record of 33 Test hundreds held by the retired Alastair Cook.
Together with Brook, whose quickfire hundred was his first Test century in England, he shared a fourth-wicket stand of 189 in 41 overs.
The Yorkshire duo came together on Saturday when England were just 99 runs ahead at 140-3 after the loss in quick succession of Ollie Pope (51) and Ben Duckett (76).
England started Sunday’s play on 248-3, already 207 runs in front.
Brook was 71 not out and Root unbeaten on 37, with England bidding to take an unassailable 2-0 lead after a dominant innings and 114 run-win in the first Test at Lord’s.
Brook’s straight-driven four off Seales saw him into the 90s before two more boundaries off Alzarri Joseph took him to 99.
The 25-year-old’s quick single off Alzarri Joseph ensured Brook got to three figures, his fifth hundred in 14 Tests coming in just 118 balls, including 12 fours.
But Root showed there was still a place for the traditional red-ball approach, with the 33-year-old completing a 91-ball fifty.
Brook’s impressive innings finally came to an end when he was caught behind aiming a flat-footed drive off Seales.
It was the start of a mini-collapse, with England losing three wickets for 19 runs shortly before lunch as skipper Ben Stokes (eight) and Jamie Smith (six) both fell cheaply.
Stokes carelessly hooked Seales straight to Alzarri Joseph at long leg before off-spinner Kevin Sinclair had Smith edging to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva.
Root’s typically stylish square-driven boundary off Alzarri Joseph – just his seventh four in 158 balls faced – took him to his sedate century.
The former England captain then reverse-scooped Shamar Joseph over the slip cordon for an extravagant four before he was caught at short extra-cover off Holder.
Seales, who had Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood dropped in the slips off successive deliveries, then cleaned up the tail to finish with 4-97 from 22.2 overs.
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