West Indies Win the First Test of the Series- England vs West Indies, Test 1, Day 5
England needed to push on early if they were to get their lead above 200 in order to place the West Indies under pressure.
England didn’t get off to the best of starts, with Wood being caught behind for only 2 off the bowling of Shannon Gabriel.
Archer looked to accelerate England’s total but was soon caught behind once again off the bowling of Gabriel. Archer departed for 23, with England all out for 313. Giving them a lead of 199.
The West Indies will have believed that this was an achievable total and that they would be able to reach it. It was up to England to be precise, controlled and attacking in their bowling attack if they were to restrict the West Indies and if they were to get a result in the first test match of the series.
The West Indies began their innings with a target of 200. This seemed like a difficult task from the outset with wickets tumbling. Opening batsman Braithwaite was bowled by Archer for only 4. His opening partner Campbell was forced to retire injured after a yorker that hit him on the toe.
The session did not get better for the West Indies as Shai Hoe was bowled by Wood. With Brooks also departing before lunch. Brooks was out for 0 after getting hit on the pads by Archer.
Despite this tricky opening to their innings the West Indies formed a strong partnership between Blackwood and Chase. This partnership swung the balance of play in the West Indies favour.
However, this partnership was soon broken by the bowling of Archer. A quick, vicious bouncer caught Chase off guard. The extra bounce hit high off the bat and saw Chase caught by wicketkeeper Buttler. This wicket broke the partnership and provided some hope of a positive result for England.
However, ever since the West Indies controlled the game frustrating the England bowlers. Slowly inching towards the England total. Blackwood was the motor behind the West Indies batting performance.
Stokes thought he had given England a lifeline after Dowrich was caught behind. But Stokes was deemed to have bowled a no ball. A couple of balls later in the same over, Stokes got his man. A beautiful delivery tied Dowrich up in knots and was caught behind by Buttler. This wicket gave England a lifeline in what was seemingly a futile effort.
The West Indies continued to work towards England’s total. With Blackwood and Holder at the crease the West Indies were in full control of the match. Blackwood was soon despatched for a superb 95, but this would not have caused any panic in the West Indian ranks as opening batsman Campbell returned from injury with only 11 needed to win.
But the result was in no doubt, the West Indies knocked off the remaining runs easily. In the afternoon and evening session the West Indies were not placed under any pressure and eased to the finish line.
Review
This was a victory that would not have happened without the brilliant innings from Blackwood. He never looked in any difficulty and was in firm control.
From the first innings of the match, the West Indies looked in firm control of proceedings. They restricted England to 204 in the first innings and to a lead of 200 in the second. The bowling combination led by Gabriel and Holder in the first and Gabriel in the second restricted took the initiative away from hosts.
By far the biggest talking points of the match surrounded decisions made by England. The first was the selection of the team. The selection committee of National selector Ed Smith, Head Coach Chris Silverwood and Captain Ben Stokes decided to drop experienced bowler Stuart Broad. Broad who has 485 Test match wickets and took the most wickets in England’s tour of South Africa in the winter, but Mark Wood and Jofra Archer were preferred for this match.
Leaving such an experienced bowler such as Broad out was always going to be a controversial decision. This decision was intensified as the match went on, as the pitch began to slow and did not offer any massive advantage to the pace bowlers, a bowler of skill and experience would have been much more useful. Both Wood and Archer have extreme pace, but on this pitch and conditions that did not offer much for pace bowling, the decision will come under more and more scrutiny.
The second biggest talking point of the match that was provided by England was the decision at the toss. England Captain Ben Stokes chose to bat in overcast and cloudy conditions that perfectly suited bowling. The West Indies were able to capitalise on these conditions and get early wickets which placed the England innings under pressure.
It is not possible to say whether the result would be different if Stokes had chosen to bowl and if Broad had been selected. But it definitely does provide food for thought for the England selection committee and the decisions made throughout a test match.
This victory is a momentous one for the West Indies as it marks significant progress for a side that have faced financial trouble and trouble in the way that team that have not reached their full potential. It provides as base for this young team to progress.
It is also a momentous victory in terms of the series as well. This is only a short three match Test series; they now formally have control of this series and it will be very difficult for the hosts to get back into the series. It will be an uphill battle if England are to win the series.
