West Indies don’t often go into matches against England as favorites, having missed out on last year’s ICC World Cup and suffering an embarrassing defeat at India earlier in 2019. But they entered this match as favorites.
But they’re fighting hard, taking heart from an impressive history in this rivalry, and can draw strength from it to finish this match 3-0 and take the series.
England were overwhelmed on their white-ball tour to the West Indies this winter, so their aim now will be to complete an emphatic 3-0 Test series win and redeem themselves by adding Durham fast bowler Mark Wood to their 13-man squad for Thursday’s second Test at Trent Bridge – live on Sky Sports! Additionally, James Anderson will bid farewell to red-ball cricket by retiring after this match.
England are on their way to victory, though it will not come easily. Their first-innings lead of 332 is enough for them to secure series victory, although at one stage Joe Root and Harry Brooks kept England afloat on an unpredictable pitch that presented bowlers little opportunity.
But in the final session, things turned tense with umpires debating lighting conditions at one point. Jayden Seales led West Indies bowlers with four wickets – Zak Crawley and Tom Curran were taken by him, with Curran having his edge caught by Holder at slip before Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis struck to end their innings quickly.
England’s batsmen, however, remained unswayed by this setback and responded in style. Pope and Duckett played impeccable cover drives to punish any hint of width from off-spinners while swinging their way to a second-wicket partnership of 119 runs.
Root and Da Silva scored 60 runs together in the third over, with Root hitting Alzarri Joseph straight to the boundary and Da Silva pulling another short ball for sixes – but it all proved in vain and Windies were able to gain momentum as they approached their record target.
England’s batting inadequacies were highlighted once again when they slumped to 299/6 at lunch. There were however positives to take away, with Gus Atkinson making an eye-catching debut at Lord’s and Jamie Smith and Mikyle Louis making impressive Test debuts.
First Test
On Wednesday, England and West Indies met in Lord’s for their inaugural Test match. England won the toss and elected to bat on an overcast day; soon afterwards though they established themselves with an impressive first innings total of 457-7; many pundits predicted England would coast through it but ultimately they managed a miraculous comeback and ended the day on 79-6, trailing by 171 runs.
Kraigg Brathwaite and debutant Mikyle Louis both managed half centuries for the tourists; however, their efforts were wasted as Gus Atkinson and Ben Stokes quickly destroyed their top order. Stokes achieved something only two other players have managed; also becoming only the third fastest bowler behind Jimmy Anderson and Jacques Kallis to reach this landmark milestone.
West Indies were left reeling by England’s early blows and failed to offer any resistance in reply. Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge provided some hope at one end, yet were dismissed before making much headway.
Anderson and Woakes managed to take four wickets before lunch despite an otherwise lifeless pitch, providing little in terms of swing for their new-ball bowlers to work with, with both taking an impressive 4-1 wicket haul from an innings that went from 61-0 to 82-5 within one session of bowling new-ball deliveries.
Brathwaite attempted to recover from a slow start by hitting some hard shots before being caught off a no-ball from James Stokes for 62. Subsequently, wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow scored an unbeaten fifty which helped bring up the score to 285.
Chris Woakes and Stokes both nabbed another wicket before the close, further consolidating England’s victory. A late burst from West Indies’ lower order gave hope of an unlikely comeback, however Kirk Mckenzie was caught lbw by Shoaib Bashir to seal victory for England and ensure a healthy lead going into their second Test match against West Indies 141 runs ahead of schedule.
Second Test
England showed remarkable resilience on a hot afternoon at Trent Bridge to take an insurmountable lead against West Indies and set up a 2-0 series win. West Indies made hard efforts but eventually succumbed due to some poor bowling performance and missed chances with bat and field.
The day opened with an emotional tribute to legendary cricketer Jimmy Matthews when a plaque in his memory was unveiled at the pavilion end. England quickly found their feet, with Ben Duckett smashing four fours off two overs as part of England’s opening batting attack and adding 76 runs to their first innings total, alongside Ollie Pope who scored 51 not out before finally being caught behind for one run nearing the end.
After an explosive start from its top order in the morning session, England began to slow before picking up steam again in the afternoon session. West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite had encouraged his side to show more discipline with both bat and ball; unfortunately they gave away too many chances with both.
James Athanaze and Shamar Joseph’s late runs enabled the visitors to close on 249-3 with one session still to play, leaving Joe Root to surpass 100 for a third time in this Test, almost out on his very first ball from Alzarri Joseph but instead pushing it towards slip for an easy catch.
Drama unfolded as an astounding collapse flipped the match on its head and saw Windies tumble from 61/0 to 91/6 within moments, thanks to Chris Woakes ripping through their top order and Gus Atkinson taking two wickets more on debut than was originally promised on debut. England now have hope that their fourth consecutive series victory against Windies may occur at home!
Third Test
England have taken an impressive lead going into the final day of the Third Test and appear set to close out this series easily. After recovering from early losses to Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, England reached 376 runs on day 3, featuring Jamie Smith’s incredible 95 and half-centuries for Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes – truly, madly and deeply England’s day!
West Indies batsmen occasionally flashed up but couldn’t sustain their momentum during the afternoon session, and Jason Holder’s side have yet to reach the required standard for long Test matches on this surface.
Kavem Hodge and Mikyle Louis both struck half-centuries as they looked to steady England’s innings – unfortunately without receiving enough time.
Mark Wood ensured the batting side were never in any trouble during his series-clinching spell of bowling, starting off with an impressive full toss that hit Louis’ bat outside edge and quickly picking up two more wickets before moving into his groove to collect them all quickly in rapid succession.
Paceman Mitchell Johnson continued his threatening performances, striking Alzarri Joseph on the back leg before breaking through his middle stump with a reverse-swinging yorker; Hawkeye later confirmed the umpire’s decision.
Motie then attempted a loose shot to midwicket where Stokes took an excellent diving catch at his second attempt. Hodge edged Wood’s delivery into gully and fell for 52, thus ending an unsuccessful period for West Indies cricketers.
Gus Atkinson delivered an effective over to prevent further damage, and England reached tea with an impressive 168-run lead. Following tea, Smith drove loosely through square leg for a single and then shared an unbroken partnership of 106 with Woakes, who reached 50 off 59 deliveries en route to becoming England’s 363-9 total after 73.3 overs; their partnership helped propel England towards an emphatic series win on Barbados. England are looking forward to an historic final-test triumph. If you want to know more about sports like: football, cricket, kabaddi, polo and many more just follow us: https://sportskhabar.co.uk/
