The first international cricket played since the start of the coronavirus pandemic has not disappointed. The Test series between England and the West Indies is level at 1-1 going into the final match on Friday after the home side completed a superb 113 run win today. Here are a few talking points I’ve found from the second Test.
First innings runs were key
England were bowled out for 204 in their first innings in the first Test at the Rose Bowl, a match they went on to lose by 4 wickets. They arrived at Old Trafford knowing they needed to post a bigger total and they did so, amassing 469-9 before declaring on the second evening. It was slow going – they took 162 overs to score those runs and Dom Sibley’s 120 came from 372 balls, the third slowest ever by an England batsman in a home Test. I have read a few pieces criticising Sibley for batting too slowly – frankly, that’s ridiculous. England have been crying out for a solid opening batsman ever since the retirement of Alastair Cook and now they’ve got one we must not start moaning at him. Remember, they tried to turn limited overs opener Jason Roy into a Test batsman last summer and the experiment was a total failure. The value of building a big first innings total cannot be overestimated, no matter how slowly it comes.
Stokes just gets better and better
What a cricketer Ben Stokes is. We already knew that after last year – England would not have won the World Cup without his innings in the final and he batted them to a quite simply miraculous victory in the Ashes Test at Headingley. The way he has resurrected his career since that incident in Bristol could have so easily killed it has been incredible, and how lucky we are that we haven’t lost a player of his calibre.
In the first innings Stokes scored 176, but said he was ‘more buzzing’ to have faced 300 balls in his innings because ‘it’s something I never thought I would be capable of doing’. In the second innings, when England were looking for quick runs to set up a winning position, Stokes was sent in as opener and cracked 78 off just 57 balls. Later in the day, after fielding a ball on the boundary off his own bowling at one point, he took the crucial wicket of Jermaine Blackwood on the stroke of Tea – just as the West Indies looked like they might be settling in for the draw. Stokes is quite simply indispensable.
Write off Broad at your peril
Stuart Broad was dropped for the first Test at the Rose Bowl, the first time that had happened to him in a home Test for eight years. The 34-year-old said he was ‘frustrated, angry and gutted’ to have been left out, so when he was brought back at Old Trafford while James Anderson and Mark Wood were rested he was determined to prove a point. On the fourth afternoon, with the draw the most likely result, Broad took 3 wickets for one run with the new ball to turn the game in England’s favour. He took 3-42 in the second innings. His powers are certainly not waning and he is now just nine away from 400 Test wickets.
Who do England pick for the third Test?
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the English cricket season to include six Test in seven weeks, and the third Test against the West Indies starts in just four days’ time. Do England go with the same eleven, adhering to the old adage that you ‘never change a winning team’? Or are there decisions to be made?
The batting line up was impressive in the second match, putting a big total on the board in the first innings and being versatile enough to whack 129 in just 19 overs in the second. In Rory Burns and Sibley they have two solid openers, Zak Crawley looks a decent prospect at number three although he is still finding his feet, Ollie Pope is a fantastic young talent and they are all supported by the experienced heads of Stokes and the captain Joe Root, who returned for the second match having missed the first to be at the birth of his daughter.
The England team and the selectors clearly love having Jos Buttler around, but he just doesn’t seem good enough with the bat in Test cricket to warrant a place in the side. Especially not when a top keeper and perfectly good batsman in Ben Foakes is waiting in the wings. Buttler is a magnificent player in the shorter formats but he still only has one Test century to his name in 43 matches. He was given the perfect opportunity to go full on One Day mode in the second innings as he was sent in to open with Stokes but played on for 0. It won’t happen but I’d pick Foakes ahead of him.
It would seem like insanity to drop Broad again so the question is whether Chris Woakes, Sam Curran or indeed both make way for Anderson, Wood or Jofra Archer. Archer would have played in the second match had he not breached the bio-secure protocols that have enabled this series to take place at all by popping home to Sussex before arriving in Manchester. His pace would no doubt have caused problems to the West Indies batsmen, and England may be tempted to bring him in.
All in all, this was a superb Test victory for England and one of the most entertaining final days you could ever wish to see. With the whole of Saturday washed out by rain, the home side have done brilliantly well to force a positive result and it feels like they may now have the momentum heading into the third match, which will decide the winners of the Wisden Trophy.
LEE PAYNE 