West Indies paceman Jason Holder believes his team's pressure paid off late on day one of the third Test against England.

Ben Stokes (22) and Alastair Cook (105) fell late on Friday as England were reduced to 240-7 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Holder, who took 2-34, lauded his bowlers for continuing to put the tourists' batsmen under pressure.

"If you build pressure, these things happen," he told a media conference.

"You'll have certain days where things don't click for you, but I thought we were very patient the way we bowled today, we didn't give much away. We kept things relatively tight.

"I thought our spinners did a wonderful job, mixing in the overs, trying to keep the fast bowlers as fresh as possible.

"I thought that was the difference in the last two Tests, as opposed to how we started today."

Those late wickets have given West Indies the upper hand in a series England lead 1-0.

Holder said it was an excellent first day for his team on a pitch not doing much in Bridgetown.

"We're very pleased after today's performance," he said.

"To get seven wickets on a pretty flat pitch and keeping them down to 240, I think we'll take that on any given day."