England v Windies 2017: 2nd Test- Windies Player Ratings

The game of cricket is a great leveller and there is no nothing that comes close to Test match cricket when we talk about the ‘cliffhanger like situations’. About a week and a half back, West Indies crashed to a humiliating defeat. They lost the first Test match by an innings and 209 runs, the experts jumped onto them, and no one gave them a chance. Leave alone a competitive, the pundits had predicted a ‘boring’ series on offer.

They can’t be blamed because the turn around was surreal. It was something a fiction writer would catch a hold of. The hosts were shot down for 258, after all-rounder Ben Stokes produced a breathtaking hundred. Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach shared 8 wickets between them, 4-a piece. West Indies in reply got off to the worst possible start but a 134 by Kraigg Braithwaite and 147 by Shai Hope lifted the visitors to 427.

Giving them a vital first innings lead. England came back hard in the 2nd innings, with the lower order proving to be a threat to West Indies’ chances. Allrounder Moeen Ali led the assault with a majestic 84, as captain Joe Root declared on 490/8. The rest as we say is history, and we now take a look at some of the history makers:

Kraigg Braithwaite: 9/10

The opener was responsible in West Indies getting off to a steady start, as the visitors were 35/3 in the first innings and 53/2 in the second one. Braithwaite scored a remarkable hundred in the 1st innings and followed it up with a 95 in the chase. His partnership with Shai Hope in the 1st inning was the turning point for the visitors, as the duo put up a 146-run stand in crisis and repeated similar work in the 2nd innings too. He also took a few vital catches to make sure that the bowlers manage to keep a grip on the Lions. Overall, he was one of the main architects of the win.

Kieran Powell: 4/10

The 27-year old opener could not support Braithwaite much. He was dismissed by James Anderson for 5 in the 1st innings, with the score just on 11 and failed to fire during the chase too. He managed a 50-ball 23 in the 2nd innings, along with five boundaries, and that somehow laid a decent platform, as the opening pair put on a 46-run stand. He fell victim to pacer Stuart Broad in the 2nd innings.

Kyle Hope: 3/10

Barbados born Kyle Hope is surely a proud brother after this eventful Test match but he can’t really show much of his contribution to the cricket followers. Hope scored 3 runs in the first innings and went back to the pavilion for a duck in the second innings. His sole effective contribution was the catch he took on the 1st day of the Test match to dismiss the former skipper of England Alastair Cook.

Shai Hope: 10/10

23-year old Shai Hope did everything right. But a 10/10 would mean we just might have seen the best of him. Well! hope not. The wicket-keeper batsman scored a 147 off 253 balls, including 23 boundaries in the 1st innings and returned to take his team home with another hundred, this time unbeaten on 118. He got a few lives on the way but that does not take any credit away from the youngster. He kept his calm and got Windies home, registering one of the finest knocks in world cricket. He will play a lot of cricket in the coming years, but this particular Test match has crowned him with a special touch.

Roston Chase: 6/10

25-year old Roston Chase is well known for his crafty knocks. But in this particular match, his right-arm off-break turned out to be the most crucial aspect. He was dismissed for 5 and 30 in this 2nd Test, but his match turning 3/86 from his 32 overs during England’s second innings hurt the hosts badly. He got the wickets of David Malan (61), Ben Stokes (61) and Johnny Bairstow(18), and somehow put a break on the middle order. England still managed to score 490, from there on but Chase’s timing of the strike was important.

Jermaine Blackwood: 7/10

The West Indian played one of the most underrated knock when the going was tough. Jermaine Blackwood has an impressive record against England. He missed out on his fifty by just one run in the 1st innings but his 41 off 45 balls in the second innings was far more effective. He was batting on a T20 mode, missed a few ones from Chris Woakes but kept on going for the shots. With 2 runs to win, Blackwood could have taken his side home but a wild slog resulted in a stumping but then the damage was done, the role was played well.

Shane Dowrich: 3/10

The wicket-keeper batsman was involved in three dismissals, all three of them being catches behind the stumps. But he was on a king pair when he came in to bat with the visitors needing just 2 to win. He didn’t face a ball in the second innings but ran those vital two runs, which saw the West Indies level the series 1-1 and more importantly inspiring the fans all over the world. The Barbados boy gets a 3 rating for his antics behind the stumps.

Devendra Bishoo: 4/10

31-year old Devendra Bishoo is one of the most experienced players in the West Indies line up with 25 Test matches and 88 wickets. The leggie managed just one wicket in the first inning and had to be content with figures of 1/27. He got the England skipper Joe Root for 59, at a stage where it looked liked that Root will take the game away from the visitors. In the 2nd inning too, Bishoo scalped the vital wicket of Moeen Ali, who scored a cracking 84 off 93 balls, taking the home team to 490.

Kemar Roach: 6/10

The fast bowler shattered the opposition in the 1st innings with a 4/71 in the 1st innings. Roach bowled 19.5 overs and picked up the wickets of Mark Stoneman, who was playing in his 2nd Test), Tom Westley ( appeared in his 3rd Test), experienced campaigner Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes, who scored a vital 23 to take England to 258 in the 1st innings. Roach didn’t pick any stick in the second innings, as he bent his back for 24 overs, without any success. But his first inning performance set the tone for West Indies.

Jason Holder: 6/10

The skipper will be mighty pleased with the way his team played and showed character but more importantly, he too played a decent part in the game. Jason Holder ended with figures of 1/45 in the first innings and scored a 54-ball 43 in the 1st innings. The skipper got his opposite number in the 2nd innings and picked one more to finish with 2/95. He didn’t had to bat again but overall he played a vital role in getting the team together getting the best out of the boys.

Shanon Gabriel: 7/10

The 29-year old Trinidad man was at his best in the 1st innings. He picked up four wickets giving away just 51 runs. England were bowled out for 258, and his partnership with Roach with the ball was the turn-around. Gabriel picked up the wickets of skipper Root and Stone man in the 2nd innings and gave West Indies the much-needed breaks at crucial point. He gets a 7/10 for the large hearted performance.