England v Windies, 2nd Test- 5 Talking Points

The second Test between England and Windies was a great advertisement for Test match cricket. England had delivered a thrashing over the visitors in the first Test match of the series. Similar things were expected from the rest of the series and very few gave Windies a chance to make a comeback. But spirited visitors came with a point to prove in the 2nd Test.

They dismissed the hosts for just 258 in the first innings and then batted brilliantly in the first innings to take a healthy lead. England batted well in their second knock but losing quick wickets in the late-middle order meant they were in a spot of bother at 327/7. Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes built a great partnership to put England in the driver’s seat.

When the England score read 490/8, Joe Root declared the innings with 6 overs still left in the 4th day’s play. It was a sporting declaration which left Windies with 96 overs to chase 322. They played out the six overs on Day 4, without any loss. Today, the stage was set for a thrilling contest and the crowd did get their money’s worth. Windies batsman looked to be on a mission with Shai Hope scoring his second century of the game.

A century from Hope and contributions from the likes of Brathwaite, Blackwood ensured that Windies won the game by 5 wickets and levelled the series. Let’s take look at the 5 talking points of the match:

1. First innings failure

England batting lineup made the visitors toil for close to five sessions in the first innings of the first match. The same line-up simply failed to turn up in the first innings of the second Test. At one stage they were at 71/4 and it appeared that they might not even manage to post 200.

But half-century from Joe Root and a century from the all-rounder Ben Stokes meant England reached a respectable score of 258. Apart from these two, the highest individual score in the innings was 23 by Chris Woakes which tells the story of the failure of the English batsmen who couldn’t apply themselves in the first innings. Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel were destructors in chief taking 4 wickets each.

2. Partnership between Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite

After dismissing the hosts for a modest score, the visitors needed their batsmen to fire to build a healthy lead. But they got off to a bad start as James Anderson was on fire. At one stage they were at 35/3 with Anderson taking all 3 wickets. Then Hope joined Brathwaite at the crease and those two built a huge partnership.

Both of them got to their respective centuries in the 246-run partnership, which put them in a great position. Before the stand was broken West Indies already had earned themselves a 23-run lead and platform was set to build a huge lead.

3. England tail wagged in the second innings

English batsmen gave a better account of themselves in the second innings. The middle-order made important contributions with Root, Dawid Malan and Stokes scoring half-centuries. Then they suffered a mini-collapse losing 3 wickets in quick succession. When wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow got out, they only led by 158 runs and had lost 7 wickets.

But then their tail came to the rescue, with Moeen Ali swinging his arms at regular intervals. He scored a quickfire 84 before being dismissed while trying to hit another boundary. Chris Woakes proved to be a good support remaining unbeaten at 61.

4. Declaration by Joe Root

England was in a great position leading by 321 runs with 2 wickets in hand. The visitors looked demoralized after failing to capitalize on the collapse. Root sensed an opportunity and declared the innings, making demoralized Windies batsmen bat 6 overs in the dwindling light.

This was a sporting declaration as the target of 322 in 96 overs was chasable, but Root backed his bowlers to get the job done. The West Indian openers seemed determined and played out the remaining overs without any loss.

5. Heroic performance from Shai Hope

Like the first innings, Shai came out to bat in the second innings when his team was in a state of bother. When he joined Brathwaite at the crease the score read 55 and the target of 322 seemed too far. Shai Hope, launched a counter-attack scoring at a brisk pace, while Brathwaite held the other end. These two built a great partnership of 143 and that got them on course of a win.

Brathwaite, unfortunately, missed out on his century and got out for 95. Hope changed his role from there, he started grinding his runs while holding the end up.  He allowed the likes of Blackwood and Chase to play their shots while he walked his way to his second century of the Test. And stood there till the very end to register a historic win!