England level the series in a vital second Test- England vs West Indies, Test 2, Day 5
England started the last day of the Test with a lead of 219.
Stokes and Root attacked the West Indian bowling attack, scoring quickly. Taking quick singles and rotating the strike.
Ben Stokes was very aggressive in his approach. Walking down the wicket and hitting the ball back over the bowler’s head. Stokes passed his half century and continued to flourish.
Root was run out when trying to rotate the strike but in hindsight, the fall of his wicket did not impact England’s innings.
Stokes and Pope then saw the lead surpass 300. Joe Root declared with a lead of 310. This declaration gave England 85 overs and two new balls to bowl the West Indies out.
The West Indies innings got off the worst possible start. Broad beat the outside of edge of Campbell’s bat. There was an appeal from Broad and the slip cordon which was turned down by the umpire. Captain Joe Root appealed the decision in the last second on the DRS timer. Ultra-edge showed a faint edge and Campbell was given out for 4.
England got their second wicket of innings in the eighth over. Woakes trapped Braithwaite of the crease and got the West Indian batsman out plumb lbw. Brathwaite is a crucial wicket for England as he had the potential too bad throughout the day, his wicket was a key breakthrough for the hosts.
The morning session got even better for England. Stuart Broad got his second wicket of the innings. The ball hit the top for off stump, removing the bales and with-it dismissing Shai Hope for 7. West Indies had lost three wickets in nine overs, England had their tails up.
Broad struck again soon after lunch getting his third of the innings. Chase left a ball from Broad; it clipped the top of his lad and he was given out lbw. Hawkeye showed the ball clipping the top of off stump.
It was some time before England struck again. The West Indies began to build good partnership and looked secure. Blackwood and Brooks both got a half century and were calm at the crease.
Stokes struck in the final over before tea on the final day. Stokes’ short ball saw Blackwood edge the ball through to Jos Buttler. This was very much the wicket that England needed heading into the final session of the Test.
England struck again in the first over after tea, Chris Woakes struck the pads of wicketkeeer Dowrich and dismissed him for 0.
Brooks and Holder steadied the ship for the West Indies after a couple of quick wickets. Sam Curran then dismisses Brooks, trapped on the crease Brooks had nowhere to go. His innings came to an end with a score of 62. The departure of Brooks meant that England got into the tail end of the West Indies.
The match was firmly in their grasp.
The final wickets fell quickly with two to the spinner Dom Bess. Bess first bowled Jason Holder and making the visitors right down. Joseph was then caught by Bess off the bowling of Stokes. The spinner then got the final wicket, Roach tried to turn the ball around the corner but got a leading edge. Short leg Olly Pope made a fantastic catch to dismiss Roach.
With that England won the second Test of the series. This was a brilliant bounce back performance from the hosts, they controlled every day and every session, and the West Indies didn’t seem like they were in contention for a victory at any point during the Test at Old Trafford.
Review:
England were fantastic from start to finish. From the very first innings England placed themselves in firm control. Sibley’s brilliant first innings sured up the batting line-up, providing security for England’s middle order.
The partnership of Stokes and Sibley provided a brilliant platform for England, with both getting centuries, England were able to set a commanding lead in the first innings.
England then followed up the brilliant batting performance with an equally impressive bowling performance. They bowled in the right areas and put the West Indies under immense pressure.
The magic spell from Stuart Broad with the new ball allowed England to constrict and run through the middle order of the West Indies.
The West Indies avoided the follow on but due to the commanding first innings total by England they fell well short of the target.
England captain Joe Root was then rightly aggressive in his captaincy. England played aggressively and scored quickly giving themselves a chance of a positive result.
Another stunning bowling performance saw the hosts win the Test.
This was a fantastic performance from England. They were aggressive in their approach and it worked to perfection.
They had the right plan which saw them bowl in the correct areas that troubled the West Indies. This along with the correct decision was made with team selection. Broad, Woakes, Curran, Stokes and Bess were the perfect bowling attack for this pitch.
They bowled a full length that enticed the batsman into drives and into mistakes. They judged their lengths to perfection along and the fields set allowed them to execute their bowling plans.
England were brilliant, the aggressive way in which they played put the West Indies on the back foot. Despite the loss of one day the hosts dominated the Test.
The key for both sides will be working out their team for the final deciding Test that starts on Friday. England will need to work out the best bowling attack for the Test, is there a place for Jimmy Anderson to return? Will Jofra Archer come back in? Or will England keep the same attack that worked so well in this Test match? Will England be able to put in the same performance that saw them dominate in the second Test?
The questions are much bigger for the West Indies. Will they be able to fix their batting order with many batsmen out of form? Will the visitors change their bowling attack that look lethargic and tired? Will Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph keep their places despite fitness worries?
Both sides have question marks heading into the final Test match. This makes the final Test an intriguing match and a massively important one for both teams.
