England led home by Cook after Jimmy Anderson rips up West Indies

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/25/england-alastair-cook-jimmy-anderson-west-indies

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A Test match that had seemed dead and buried after four days came to life on the final day as England secured their first win in the Caribbean for more than 11 years. Back then in Bridgetown, it was Andrew Flintoff’s five first-innings wickets, Graham Thorpe’s hundred and Matthew Hoggard’s hat-trick that sealed an eight-wicket win.

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This time it was a victory founded on an innings of youthful brilliance from Joe Root and an inspirational performance on the final morning from Jimmy Anderson, who tore the heart out of the West Indies innings by taking the wickets of the overnight centurion Kraigg Brathwaite, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels, with the second new ball; took a brace of well-judged catches at mid-off; and, just for good measure, ran out Jason Holder, also from mid-off, with a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Cometh the hour, and all that.

Anderson’s intervention, finishing as he did with four for 43, and three wickets for Moeen Ali, ensured that the West Indies innings subsided from 202 for two at the start of play to 307 all out, the last eight wickets falling for 83 runs. It left England 143 to make and 59 overs in which to do it, and although they lost Jonathan Trott without scoring, to the third ball he faced – just fleetingly reviving memories of the Trinidad Test of 1994 when Curtly Ambrose blew England away when they were faced with a low total to win – Alastair Cook, 59 not out, and Gary Ballance, 81 not out, unencumbered by any real pressure of time, took England home with an unbroken second-wicket stand of 142.

There were almost 18 overs still left when Ballance struck the winning boundary. What had seemed a difficult task at the start of play had been reduced to a simple one. It is England’s fourth win in their last five Tests, which for a side that is undergoing a rebuilding process is a good result.

So England will now go to Barbados for the final match secure in the knowledge at least that they cannot lose the series. West Indies have not escaped unscathed physically, for the giant pace bowler Jason Holder twisted his left ankle badly in a foothole while bowling to Ballance, and collapsed in agony on to the pitch. It required West Indies support staff and the England team doctor Nick Peirce to carry him from the ground on a stretcher.

Fortunately the ankle was shown to be not broken, but suffering a lateral ligament strain, for which the recovery period can be quite short. It left the West Indies a bowler down, although the outcome of the match may not have been affected. He now has less than a week to get fit before the final Test begins on Friday, but any optimism should be tempered with the knowledge that the left foot is the one on which he pounds down in delivery, a shock absorber: it would still be a surprise were he able to play.

Even in winning the match England have issues they must ponder, largely centred around Trott and probably Stuart Broad as well. The decision to bring the former back into the team following his illness suffered in Australia always looked a gamble, particularly as an opener, a spot unfamiliar to him. He has not had a happy time, dismissed cheaply by Anderson in England’s second warm‑up match in St Kitts, scoring 0 and 4 against Jerome Taylor in the first Test in Antigua, and another nought now.

If his half century in the first innings, during which he shared a century opening stand with Cook, played an instrumental part in helping England to a significant first-innings lead, then it was scarcely fluent batting, or even particularly comfortable, his penchant for the legside still not lessened.

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This time, Trott was close to being lbw with his first ball, from Shannon Gabriel, as he hurtled himself across his crease to try to work the leg side, was closed out by his body on the second so that his bat had to come round his front pad rather than straight down (the ball was played comfortably enough) but then pushed tentatively at the next with an angled bat, and chopped on to his stumps.

Sadly he has enhanced his credentials not one bit, nor is he said to have lost the intensity bordering on obsession that must have played a part in his departure from Australia. Adam Lyth now must surely be given an opportunity in the final Test.

Broad is struggling, unable to raise his pace to order, it seems, and gaining little from the pitches as a result. Following his four first-innings wickets, he claimed to have discovered and rectified a technical glitch, and upped his pace by 10 per cent as a result.

There has been no sign of him generating that sort of speed since. England have discovered in these first two games, not least by the manner in which Taylor came at them with the new ball in Antigua, that genuine pace has to be an advantage, and one of Mark Wood (preferably given his skiddy trajectory) or Liam Plunkett could get a game.