Ben Stokes is confident England can take the 19 wickets to win second Test against West Indies

Ben Stokes expressed confidence that England are capable of taking the 19 wickets required to win their first Test for over a year after his century put the tourists in the ascendancy.

Matt Fisher had a dream start, taking a wicket with his second delivery after England had declared on 507, but West Indies battled through the evening session to close on 71 for one.

Stokes’s extraordinary hitting before lunch demonstrated the nature of a placid surface, but he claimed afterwards that England’s inexperienced seam attack, featuring debutants Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, could force a first win since Joe Root’s side beat India in Chennai last February. 

Ben Stokes (right) is confident England can take the 19 wickets needed to win their first Test in over a year 

‘We know that the wicket is good, but the pitch is different here from Antigua because it has a little more carry,’ Stokes said. ‘It’s changed a bit over the last session and a half. Our seamers felt they were in the game.

‘You feel pretty good when you get a hundred so it was a good day. Joe (Root) and Dan (Lawrence) set the day up yesterday and allowed the middle order to free their arms.

‘We tried to put pressure back on the West Indies bowlers and it worked out well that we got a little bowl at them this evening.’

Stokes, who hit a century off just 114 balls, claimed England’s seamers ‘felt they were in the game’