England won the Test series against West Indies 2-1. (Source: Reuters)
England registered their second straight series win at home after beating West Indies by nine wickets in the third and decisive Test at Lord’s. With that, England won the series 2-1 to continue from their 3-1 win over South Africa. England captain Joe Root has now won two series since taking over as skipper from Alastair Cook but a tough challenge awaits Down Under. However, Root is positive that the side has the capacity to do “something special”.
James Anderson starred with the ball to reach 500 wickets – first Englishman and sixth bowler overall – and then recorded his career best haul of seven wickets in the second innings. All-rounder Ben Stokes once again proved handy with the bat and the ball to ensure England had a paltry 107 runs to chase at “home of cricket” which they did so with ease to finish the game in three days.
This was England’s last Test before travelling to Australia in defence of their Ashes crown. However, their activity is not done with five ODIs and a T20I to come against the West Indies. “It has been great,” said Root. “We’ve played some really good stuff this summer,” he said after the win.
“There were two difficult weeks, but what is most pleasing is the resilience and character to come back from both of those with two extra strong performances,” said Root in reference to losing the second Tests against South Africa and West Indies both. “That is great to see for what is going to be a very challenging winter.”
Before the Ashes, England need to iron out chunks in their armour with the batting not looking solid. Barring Alastair Cook and Root himself, none of the other spots are still up for the taking. “Plenty of challenges lie ahead — but with those challenges come great opportunities,” said Root. “We should not be afraid of going over there (to Australia), performing at our best and (trying to) do something special. We have all the attributes to go down there and put in a strong performance.”
Root was full of praise for Anderson who finished the seven Tests at home with 39 wickets and had played a key role in England winning the 2011/12 Ashes by a 3-1 margin. “Putting in his career-best figures shows he is still desperate to kick on and do more great things in this game,” said Root. “He is one of most skillful bowlers I have ever played with. The control he has when the ball is doing a minimal amount, or when it is hooping around, is remarkable. This summer has been unreal for him, but I wouldn’t say I’m surprised by how it has turned out.”
The highlight for West Indies would be the five wicket win over England in the second Test at Headingley where Shai Hope scored a twin ton. “I think we’ve got a lot to be proud of,” said West Indies captain Jason Holder. “Credit must go to our bowlers and obviously Shai was outstanding in this entire series, and Kraigg (Brathwaite) did a hell of a job too — especially at Headingley.”
However, West Indies would rue the chances dropped in the third and final Test. “We let ourselves down by dropping quite a few chances and giving good players two opportunities to bat. In international cricket, they’ll make you pay for that. But I’m extremely proud, and can’t fault the guys for
their effort,” added Holder.
