TEST MATCH TALKING POINTS: Bravo shows England how it's done as hosts hammer their guests

Done inside three days... England have been blown away by Jason Holder's men in Antigua. OWEN RILEY has a look back on day three

Armbands for Alzarri

Before the start of play, the sad news emerged that Alzarri Joseph’s mother had passed away overnight.

The 22-year-old made the brave decision to play today and put in a spirited performance with figures of 7-4-12-2.

England’s players wore black armbands as a mark of respect and our thoughts are with the young man and his family at this difficult time.

^{Joseph is congratulated by his captain}

Battle hard, or bottle it?

Take nothing away from the Windies attack, it goes without saying this is a talented group of bowlers and they have been great to watch running in. But England are so competent at contributing to their own downfall.

Denly nearly tossed it away on 0, Burns offered fielding practice to the West Indies cordon, Bairstow was cleaned up, Denly leaves one that fires through off stump,Stokes plays a shot borne out of frustration etc etc etc…

The lack of staying power is a huge concern. West Indies’ top four all contributed, each with 40+ scores and facing a combined 556 deliveries in their first innings.

In comparison, England’s top four faced just 255 deliveries across both innings.

^{England's top-order struggles are not going away}

Denly’s debut disappointment 

Waft - out - dropped - no shot - bowled.

Back to the drawing board? Maybe that’s a bit harsh on Joe, but without being able to blame the pitch like some others, the opener has managed to get himself out three times in two innings.

After falling to a wide one from Joseph in the first innings, Denly deserved to fall without scoring in the second when he hooked Shannon Gabriel towards fine leg but Kraigg Brathwaite could not take the catch.

After digging in for 61 deliveries, Denly then shouldered arms to Joseph only to hear his off stump pinging off towards the boundary.

What will England do in the next Test? Does it matter?

☝️pic.twitter.com/3YJM8HKvra

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) February 2, 2019

Bravo, Darren

England could do worse than to have a look at that innings from Darren Bravo.

His half-century came off a determined 215 balls - the slowest fifty by a West Indian and third slowest ever in the history of Test cricket.

A seriously gutsy knock on a surface which even the most sure-footed of mountain goats might have struggled to contend with.

^{Bravo registered his side's only half-century}

Anderson’s groove

The morning session delivered one of the finer sights in sport - James Anderson gliding in and working over opposition batsmen.

Jimmy slipped into a sublime groove, settled there and finally found reward when he located the edge of Jason Holder’s strickerless blade for his first in the match.

A rare high point for England in another day dominated by the hosts.

WICKET! A beauty from Jimmy Anderson takes Jason Holder's edge and England have their first of the morning. Windies 281-7, lead by 94.

📺 Watch #WIvENG live: https://t.co/Larh0Ijzaz
📰 Live blog: https://t.co/qrquIEZhRf pic.twitter.com/IpYyfXuVcw

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 2, 2019