All the talk at beginning of play was about how England would fair without their two greatest ever bowlers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad amidst a poor batting display all year round in 2021.
Joe Root decided to bat first at the toss and throw in debutant Alex Lees to open the batting. ‘Project Reboot’ quickly turned into project ‘same old same old.’ No runs at the top of the order, including Root promoting himself to the speculated number three position, left England 48-4, as only Dan Lawrence made it to 20 runs.
England would again have to rely on the middle order to salvage some runs and a dogged display by Ben Stokes and Bairstow gave England hope of reaching that elusive 300 run mark.
a dogged display by Stokes and Bairstow gave England hope of reaching that elusive 300 run mark
140 precious runs from Yorkshire’s Bairstow would be England’s salvation in this test match, as handy partnerships with Ben Foakes and Chris Woakes enabled the ODI opener to reach his tonne and beyond. England’s first innings target of 311 would be an adequate score for the Windies to chase down. Although, leaving over 1000 test wickets at home would evidently prove costly, as England’s mid-paced seamers did little to trouble the home batters on a flat track.
The determination for Woakes to replicate his home form abroad is unwavering, but the worst economy, bar from Root and one wicket has left fans pondering over the persistence to pick Woakes abroad. A century from Nkrumah Bonner and an opening half century from Kraigg Brathwaite led the West Indies to a lead of 64, as England’s unwanted reputation of struggling to dismiss bottom orders continued.
After a poor year all round for Crawley, being dismissed on his third ball for LBW would have English head in hands, but as the series rhetoric went, the umpire’s decision would be overturned by DRS. Crawley would channel the double century performance of 2020 against Pakistan and smash an impressive tonne alongside his captain, who didn’t take too long to get his either. England would boldly declare on 349/6 on the morning of day 5, seeing Root praised for a possibly well-timed declaration in search of a win.
The pace of Mark Wood is vital in order to salvage wickets on a deflating track, but injury left him unable to bowl. An 80mph ‘bump’ bowler in Jamie Overton wouldn’t leave too may batsmen worried and so it was up to spinner Jack Leach to find the wickets. Leach could only muster up three wickets, seeing the test match end with the West Indies 147/4, with Jason Holder being a nuisance with the bat once more, as he was 37 not out at the close.
Although England managed to pass the 300 mark in successive innings, fans shouldn’t be too ecstatic as the pitch was woefully flat. If England are to win the next test in Bridgetown, they will desperately need the likes of Saqib Mahmood to come in and impress for the injured 90mph bowler Mark Wood, as they crave those 20 wickets that win test matches.