If Hope was English, he’d have been axed
That is one of the great turnarounds in cricket — and, arguably, in any sport. To walk off the field at Edgbaston having lost 19 wickets in a day, then come here and chase down 322, is a phenomenal effort. I doff my cap to the West Indies. and what about Shai hope? he came into this game averaging 18 in Tests, so if he had been English he would have been dropped ages ago. But the two hundreds he made here are a reminder that if you stick with someone for long enough, you never know what might happen. Kraigg Brathwaite, too, showed a lot of composure and character. These are two calm and mature young men. Given the events at Edgbaston, where West Indies were a rabble, it reflects even better on their efforts. England may look at hope in particular and realise they must continue with their policy of giving batsmen a decent run. For that reason, Tom Westley should get another chance at Lord’s to prove that he is good enough at this level. West Indies stuck with their youngsters despite the flak they were getting and it has produced one of the greatest wins in their history. Much was made of West Indies’ white-ball players going off to the IPL and leaving the Caribbean behind, but the reaction when the winning runs were scored showed that the red-ball game means a lot to these youngsters. It’s great to see. as for England, I had no problem at all with Joe Root’s declaration on the fourth evening. In fact, I think he got it spot on. Previous captains would probably have batted on, but everyone expected the pitch to deteriorate, and Root had the likes of Jimmy anderson and Stuart Broad at his disposal — and Moeen ali to bowl on a pitch we all thought might help him. Where England really lost this game was in scoring only 258 on the first day, and that stemmed from the inconsistency of their top order. It was always going to catch up with them at some point but nobody thought it would be now. Then, when they bowled, they were not full enough — which is a crime at headingley. Perhaps they just took their eye off the ball a little. Lord’s suddenly becomes a huge game — which is brilliant for Test cricket.