West Indies 289 & 127-6; England 77 all out
On a bewildering second day there was a stampede of batsmen returning to the Garfield Sobers pavilion shaking their heads in exasperation. In all 18 wickets fell and amid the carnage England will be left with a huge victory target in the context of this match.
The tourists’ batsmen came and went more rapidly than those from the West Indies. On a deceptively serene afternoon England were bowled out for 77, a deficit of 212 runs after the completion of two innings. The hordes of English fans looked on in a state of silent shock. After all, this was the 21st century and such a procession of disconsolate English cricketers against West Indian pacemen was no longer meant to be around every corner.
Then the home batsmen were infected as they lost five wickets for nine runs in the final session against the combination of Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali. But powered by the irrepressible Shimron Hetmyer with spirited assistance from Shane Dowrich in a 59-run partnership, once again the West Indies held a mighty lead of 339, though Hetmyer fell to Sam Curran late in the day.
Seventy-seven was not the lowest score cobbled together by an English team touring the Caribbean yet this capitulation was certainly more shocking than the 46 all out in Trinidad in 1994, an experience that may not have been forgotten by England’s batting coach, Mark Ramprakash. Then the predictable tormentors were Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.
In 2009 at Sabina Park England were dispatched for 51 at the hands of Jerome Taylor and Sulieman Benn, a less likely source of humiliation. Here Kemar Roach in a devastating spell after lunch of 5-13 from eight overs was the architect of England’s hapless downfall. Jason Holder supported him brilliantly, yielding nothing and picking up two vital wickets. Then at the end of the innings the West Indies’ two fastest bowlers, Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel, chipped in with three late scalps just to ensure that their confidence is high when they start bowling again. To no one’s surprise West Indies declined to enforce the follow-on, not a decision that would have been taxing Holder overnight even though his side had only been in the field for 30.2 overs.
So despite that flurry of West Indian wickets in their second innings this represents a horror scenario for the tourists and the unsmiling visage of James Anderson provided vivid confirmation. He and Stokes had finished off the West Indies’ first innings in the morning, albeit after more exhilarating strokeplay from Hetmyer. As he left the field Anderson might have been quietly content with figures of 5-46 from 30 overs, his 27th five-wicket haul, which equals Ian Botham’s record. Now at last he could put his feet up – for about two hours as it happened.
Before the lunch there was no sign of the mayhem to follow. Keaton Jennings departed for 17 slicing a catch to Shai Hope in the gully off Holder, an occupational hazard perhaps and no great surprise. It transpired that Jennings would be the highest scorer in the innings. With England 30-1 there seemed to be all to play for in the afternoon but the batsmen were mesmerised by the unrelenting discipline of Roach and Holder allied to some uneven bounce. There was no catalogue of rash strokes, though Moeen Ali’s instinctive hoick against a first-ball bouncer was a vivid encapsulation of England’s ineptitude, which will remain a painful memory of a chaotic afternoon.
Roach bowled Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow, the ball ricocheting from the former’s bat and the latter’s elbow. Then Holder snatched the wicket of Joe Root, who was lbw to a delivery that jagged into his pads, a familiar mode of dismissal for the England captain and one which was so plumb that it was not worth reviewing. The West Indian celebrations now started in earnest for Root is the most coveted wicket. Now they sensed a golden opportunity.
Even so it was surprising that no one could hinder them thereafter. Stokes was strokeless against the relentless Roach and lbw for a duck to his 17th delivery; Jos Buttler was stunned by a lifter before Joseph and Gabriel mopped up in time for an early tea. No matter how many of their line-up could boast first-class centuries, which applies to everyone except the forlorn Anderson, England had exhibited the solidity of a marshmallow at the crease.
Moreover the raised eyebrows at some of their decisions before the match had given way to raised voices. Now it was hard to avoid the conclusion that some of those tough ‘gut’ calls taken by Root had not worked out. For the West Indies the four pacemen had prevailed with staggering ease. All four ran in rhythmically and hit the wicket hard and they found enough movement to defeat tentative batsmen. All except Roach exploited their height and Gabriel, in particular, caused some consternation with his short deliveries, especially the one that dismissed Curran.
Meanwhile England had put so much faith in the capacity of this Duke ball to swing that they preferred Curran and Rashid to Broad, who may well be of the opinion that he might have bowled quite effectively on this track. And he may well be right. Broad – and Chris Woakes – would not have witnessed their team’s collapse since they were not at the ground. There is an enlightened policy of giving squad players some time off on a rotational basis on what was optimistically described as ‘batting days’. Well, they had a couple of hours off. – Guardian service
