ENG vs WI | No play possible on Day 3 as incessant rain mars proceedings

Brief scores: West Indies 32/1 (Alzarri Joseph 14 off 18 and Sam Curran 1/8) trial England 469/9 dec (Stokes 176, Sibley 120 and Chase 5/172) by 437 runs. 

England were dealt a major blow in their bid to level the series and keep their hopes of reclaiming the Wisden Trophy alive as Day 3 of their second Test versus West Indies at Old Trafford was completely washed out by rain. West Indies finished Day 2 on 32/1, still trailing England by a mammoth 437 runs with opener Kraigg Brathwaite and nightwatchman Alzarri Joseph at the crease, but the Day 3 washout has now remarkably ended up strengthening their position in the series, as they would now have to lose no less than 19 wickets over the course of the next two days to throw the 1-0 lead they gained at the Ageas Bowl.

While rain did mar Day 1, with the match being subject to a delayed start, the weather was completely clear on the second day in which Ben Stokes and Dominic Sibley dominated proceedings. Stokes (176) and Sibley (120) both struck fantastic centuries after weathering an early Roston Chase storm and the duo put on a gargantuan 260-run for the fourth wicket to blunt the Windies bowling attack. A Chase five-fer was the only silver lining for the Windies as England posted a mammoth 469/9 in their first innings before inserting the visitors into bat for the last hour of Day 2. While the Windies did lose John Campbell early on to the bowling of the returning Sam Curran, Brathwaite (6*) and Joseph (14*) ensured that the side got to stumps without encountering any further damage. 

With the Windies leading the series 1-0, and with them being the current holders of the Wisden Trophy, a drawn series would be enough for them to retain the Wisden Trophy that they claimed last year. The good news for England, though, is that there is only a 10% chance of rain for the next two days and thus, should weather permit, they would be banking on their bowlers to bowl them to what now looks like a pretty unlikely win.