England v West Indies, 1st Test, Day 3: 5 Talking Points

The 3rd day of the first Test between England and the West Indies was marked by some marvelous bowling display from the Englishmen. The West Indies batting order was rattled by the English bowlers on the day not once, but twice. England registered a mammoth victory over the visitors by an innings and 209 runs.

After the series victory over South Africa at home, England continued their stellar form in the Test format with this victory. Skipper Joe Root kick-started his second series as the leader with a win after defeating the Proteas in his debut series. Alastair Cook was handed the Man f the Match award for his exceptional performance with the bat. The senior cricketer played a 243 run knock which became the highest individual score by a batsman to take the DRS while getting out.

The West Indian batting performance completely portrays the dismal state of West Indies cricket at the moment. England now lead the three-match series against Jason Holder and his men. Here are the 5 talking points of the day that summed up the on-field action:

1. Jermaine Blackwood’s one man show:

25-year-old Jermaine Blackwood played a gutsy knock of 79 runs in the first West Indian inning on the 3rd day’s play. Blackwood was the lone warrior in the entire lineup remaining unbeaten until the end. The aggressive Jamaican stuck to his natural style of play and showed signs of great maturity as he stayed glued to the crease while the wickets kept falling at the other end. The batsman who replaced the experienced Marlon Samuels to earn a Test berth smashed 9 boundaries and 2 maximums in the process.

Blackwood took just 76 balls to get to his score of 79 but the lack of support from the other side saw the West Indies get bundled out for a mere score of 168 in the first innings.

2. Stuart Broad goes past Ian Botham

England pacer Stuart Broad had a splendid time with the ball on Day 3 just like his other colleagues. The baby-faced bowler picked up 5 wickets on the day which contributed massively to England’s emphatic victory. In the process, Broad grabbed the second spot in the list of England’s all-time leading wicket-takers in Test cricket. He went past the legendary Ian Botham who picked up 383 wickets in his Test career that stretched from 1977-1992.

Broad now has 384 Test wickets under his belt and is only second to teammate James Anderson who has a staggering 492 wickets to his name. Broad has been a revolution in England along with the new ball along with his partner Anderson. However, James Anderson was equally brilliant in the Test match picking up the same amount of wickets as Broad.

3. 19 wickets in a day for England

The Three Lions secured a gigantic defeat over England by an innings and 209 runs owing to a scintillating display from its bowlers. The bowlers combined to pick up 19 wickets on a single day which is bound to be a warning for all the other teams in the scenario. The West Indian batting lineup got bundled out twice in one day, which saw skipper Joe Root mark the beginning of his second Test series as the captain with a win.

Speedsters James Anderson and Stuart Broad were brilliant leading the attack as the duo picked up 5 wickets each on the 3rd day’s play. Newcomer, Toby Roland-Jones was not far behind as he got his share of 4 wickets in the match – 2 in the first inning and 2 in the second. Ben Stokes was not particularly good in the first inning but he was brilliantly economical in the second. He conceded just 9 runs in his 9 overs and also picked up a wicket. Moeen Ali played his part in the Test match correctly picking up 3 wickets on the day.

West Indies were bundled out for scores of 168 and 137 in the first and second innings respectively giving us a hint of the lethal English bowling department.

4. England’s third biggest win in Tests:

Joe Root and his men entered the record books with the colossal victory straight away. The victory by an innings and 209 runs is the third biggest in England history. It also marks the fourth biggest victory by a team in Tests between the West indies and England. England’s biggest Test victory against the West indies came in the year of 2007 at Leeds when they defeated West indies by an inning and 283 runs.

England also defeated the West Indies in a Test by an innings and 237 runs at the Oval in 1957 which stays as the 2nd biggest win by England in a England-West Indies series.

5. Alastair Cook’s 243, the highest score by a batsman getting out by DRS

Alastair Cook stormed back to form by playing a magnificent knock of 243 runs which helped England put on a total of 514 runs. As he slowly crawls towards Sachin Tendulkar’s record of highest Test runs, Cook is breaking a number of records in the process. He became the Englishman to score highest runs on home soil surpassing the legendary Graham Gooch in this Test match.

His 243 run knock is also the highest score by a batsman to get out by the Decision Review System. He went past Pakistani legend Younis Khan who scored 218 before falling victim to the DRS.