One Win in 17
After losing the Ashes 4-0 to Pat Cummins’s Australia it seemed that England had surely reached that dreaded rock bottom point, but the last game of the series against the West Indies proved that England still have a long way to go if they want to see any improvements within their test side.
English fans may have seen a glimmer of hope after two test matches in which they were able to post five centuries including an aggressive 120 from the returning Ben Stokes. Unfortunately, on these two occasions they were unable to force a result due to the unforgiving pitches in which they were bowling on.
However, by the third and final game of the series we saw the return of what we had come to expect over the past couple of years: defeat. Joe Root’s men were all out for 204 in the first innings and it could have been a lot worse had Saqib Mahmood and Jack Leach not put together a partnership of 90 for the final wicket.
Day two did see a fight back, with England reducing West Indies to 128-7 before Tea. The final three wickets of the innings though saw a further 169 runs put on and a century from wicket keeper Joshua Da Silva who was able to accelerate his innings effectively.
After a chastening morning on day three, Root surely couldn’t have seen it getting any worse, but that it did. The golden arm of Kyle Mayers ran through the England batting line-up, along with support from the usual Windies bowling unit to leave the sorry Leach and Chris Woakes out there on a miserable 103-8.
The test was quickly wrapped up before lunch on day four as England finished on 120 to give them a measly lead of 26. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell saw off the England total with ease and left Root with five test series without a win.
Where Next?
“Development towards an improved or more advanced condition” is the definition of progress but it feels more than ever that the lack of development has left English cricket in its worst position since the 1999.
The ECB has a huge job in making sure that they select the correct Director of Cricket and Head Coach. In the past couple of years, it has felt that the England players have had a much larger say in team selection than they should warrant. Ex Australian head coach, Justin Langer has been heavily linked with the job and he would certainly be more stringent than Chris Silverwood. His strict analysis is what led to him resigning from the role in Australia as the players had felt that they had outgrown him. But it is a very different picture for England, who are in desperate need of an outside voice giving them instruction.
Captain Joe Root is also under an immense amount of pressure as well, his batting may have thrived over the past 18 months, however his captaincy has not. Whether it be late declarations, cautious fields, or his inability to tackle the evident problems in the England set up, he just hasn’t been the perfect fit. The blame cannot be solely on Root though as he is often let down by those around him, this was perfectly encapsulated by the first wicket of the third test match when Zak Crawley threw a loose drive to extra cover on just seven when this sort of shot wasn’t required. Once again though there just aren’t that many options, only one other man could fill that role in the current squad and that is vice-captain Ben Stokes. Stokes is certainly on that superstar level of Root but may be reluctant to take this role, after what has been a difficult couple of years for him off the field where we saw him take a break from all forms of cricket.
Broad and Anderson
Throughout the series it felt that England were missing two players: James Anderson and Stuart Broad and that they were. Had England selected their first and second all-time leading wicket takers it could have been a much different story. Anderson has taken 36 wickets at an average of 24.80 in the West Indies and Broad has managed 26 at 31.15, having both been outcasted after the Ashes defeat surely the ECB have seen the error of their ways. They certainly deserve a lot more respect this summer and most fans would expect to see them reintroduced for the tests against New Zealand, India and South Africa in conditions which they thrive on.
Well bloody said