Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 5: Antigua. Leach can’t spin England to victory as Bonner bats out a deserved draw for the Hosts.
Day 5: Antigua. Leach can’t spin England to victory as Bonner bats out a deserved draw for the Hosts.
Before we delve into the cricketing nitty gritty from today’s 5th and final day’s play in the 1st Test Match between the West Indies and England, can I perhaps tempt you with my daily recaps of all 4 previous days play?
Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 1: Antigua. Jonny Bairstow the centurion yet again as England take the honours on the opening day.medium.com
Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 2: Antigua. The hosts hold a slender advantage going into day 3 of this first Test Matchmedium.com
Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 3: Antigua. Root misses a trick as Bonner compiles a magnificent century for the hosts.medium.com
Tea and Biscuits in the West Indies
Day 4: Antigua. Crawley and Root dominate but do England have the firepower to now win the game?medium.com
When England declared their second innings on 349–6 and setting the West Indies are unrealistic 286 runs from 71 overs, I turned to my cricket Editor and only half jokingly stated that England Captain Joe Root should let Jack Leach “wheel away” from one end all afternoon long in the hope he might spin some order out of his cricketing chaos. The odd over here and there aside, Leach did in fact bowl all afternoon and long in the Antiguan evening too as he finished with 3 wickets for 57 runs from his mammoth 30 overs. As in the first West Indian innings, Leach bowled umpteen maiden overs, looked threatening as England’s best bowler and could have had a bagful of wickets rather than the 3 he snagged in addition to the 2 in the first innings. Zak Crawley took a sharp edged catch right on the cusp of the Tea Break to dismiss Sharmarh Brooks for 5 off the bowling of Leach but Crawley also dropped opening batsman John Campbell when he had scored just 1. This was a familiar pattern for England’s spin bowler as he deservedly took wickets and yet with more catches held and the rub of the green going his way with the several DRS reviews he was involved with, he could’ve spun his team to a fantastic Test Match victory.
When Leach had Brooks sharply caught by Crawley his dismissal left the West Indies on 65–3 and just 2 runs later Jermaine Blackwood was brilliantly dismissed by that man Leach again and the hosts were rocking on 67–4 and his side needed just 6 further wickets to win a Test Match that in all honesty they’d only really been in front of and dominating since yesterday afternoon.
My “Man of the Match” award falls to West Indian Nkrumah Bonner who followed his magnificent 123 in the first innings with a priceless and match saving 38 not out here in his second “dig”. He faced 138 balls in his 80 run unbroken partnership with ex West Indian Captain Jason Holder as they doggedly blocked and safely defended their way to a deserved Test Match draw. Nkrumah Bonner didn’t deserve to be on the losing side in this match and with the assistance of Holder (37 not out) and current West Indies Captain Kraigg Brathwaite (33 runs), he wasn’t.
For England, rather than the negatives of yet another Test Match drifting by without a win, an injury to their talismanic fast bowler Mark Wood and the ineffectiveness of bowlers Chris Woakes and Craig Overton, the positives far outweigh these and even on the occasion of a long drawn out Test Match. Collectively they scored 300+ runs in each innings and rather than collapse in their second innings they in fact grew stronger and stronger and edged ahead for the first time in the match. Centuries from Zak Crawley and Joe Root followed that of Jonny Bairstow in the first innings, Dan Lawrence scored 20 and 37 respectively in two swift, attacking innings and the oft mentioned Jack Leach bowled with the confidence afforded him of the attacking fields set for him by his Captain. The injury worry to Mark Wood is a real blemish though and without him, England were never going to take 10 West Indian wickets today.
The X factor throughout this Test Match was the wicket and a strip that was lively for half a day before quickly deadening to a soft blancmange. Quixotically it almost made for an exciting Test Match and would’ve done so if it had deteriorated and broken up. Instead it remained compact, dead, slow, low and frankly uninspiring for both sides, and a deserved draw was agreed upon by all. Each side will see it as a “winning draw”, that quintessentially English phrase that’s always tickled me, but for once, and with positives for each side outweighing the pudding of a wicket they’ve had to endure for 5 days, this was as even a draw in cricket as you could wish to have.
There’ll be some sore bowler’s feet and aching limbs in 4 days time when battle recommences in the 2nd Test.
But it is in Barbados, so, swings and roundabouts!
See you in a few days.