BROAD IN THE SWING
England on top with Stuart one off 500th Test wicket
PLANNING may be under way for the bowling attack for the Ashes in 18 months and there are clearly elements of England’s selection panel who think Stuart Broad a marginal call.
But if Joe Root needed reminding the 34-year-old can still swing a game England’s way, he provided it again with two irresistible spells to put his side on the brink of series victory and himself on the cusp of history.
Just 24 hours on from a barnstorming 62 with the bat, Broad’s morning destruction of the West Indies lower order with 4-11 in 22 balls ensured the hosts grabbed a 172-run lead at the halfway mark.
After England extended that advantage to 398, declaring on 226-2 to leave a testing 20 minutes for the tourists, Broad fired out two more in a ferocious burst at the death to leave West Indies listing badly at 10-2.
Six wickets on the day and eight in the match moved him to 499 Test victims, one away from becoming only the fourth quick bowler to reach 500 behind Jimmy Anderson, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh.
Given the way his legs have been pumping since he was deemed surplus to requirements in the first Test, not even his staunchest doubters would back against him joining the elite before the end of this match.
Broad’s wickets in the morning were doubly satisfying given he was kept back 55 minutes while
Root gave Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer the chance to finish off the lower order.
That proved beyond them, but Broad got the job done.
England stretched their lead with Root declaring after good work from Rory Burns, with 90, Dom Sibley’s 56 and the captain himself, unbeaten on 68.
Burns needs no reminding of how fine the margins are between success and failure.
It was his bad luck before the second Test in South Africa last winter to go over on his ankle playing pre-match football, which ruled him out of not only the remainder of that tour but
the Sri Lanka trip that followed.When he walked off the field yesterday he might have whispered a quiet ‘we’re quits’ to cricket’s fates for a helping hand.
Burns was excellent in helping construct the platform for England, but he did enjoy two fairly large strokes of luck.
With West Indies going down like flies yesterday – at one stage four of them were off the field getting treatment – Burns made the most of it.
Wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich was one casualty after letting a sharp rising ball from Shannon Gabriel through his gloves onto his lip.
His replacement, back-up wicketkeeper Josh Da Silva, missed a golden opportunity to stump Burns when he was on 12, slipping with his standing foot and seeing his swipe at the wickets miss by inches with
Burns nowhere. Later, captain Jason Holder, who has barely missed a chance to review not out lbw calls, was off tending to a sore ankle. Burns survived a leg before appeal against Rahkeem Cornwall on 75 which Kraigg Brathwaite failed to challenge. Replays showed it hitting the top of middle.
Burns lost his wicket chasing his hundred, having had the nod from his captain that their excellent partnership did not have long to run.
It left England 20 minutes to have a crack at theWest Indies.
A fired up Broad, left, moved to within one of the milestone producing pearlers to dismiss John Campbell, for a duck, in his first over then nightwatchman Kemar Roach in his second.
One of the other West Indies players will surely become the answer to a quiz question either today or tomorrow.