HOPE & GLORY FOR WINDIES
England’s over-confidence, a dire first innings and too many spilled catches helped Shai’s wonderful Windies spring the sporting comeback of the year
SHAI HOPE made cricket history as he led the West Indies to a famous second Test triumph.
Hope produced a masterclass as he inspired the Windies to a fivewicket win to level the series.
He also became the first man to score a century in both innings of a firstclass match at Headingley.
Aided by Jermaine Blackwood’s 41, Hope hit the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 118.
It was the tourists’ first Test victory in England since 2000.
HOPE sprang eternal for West Indies as they eased past England at Headingley with a win for the ages built upon their new star batsman Shai Hope.
Forget Maria Sharapova or Roger Federer, this five-wicket win for the team demolished inside three days at Edgbaston is the sporting comeback of the year as England had their pants pulled down.
With the series poised at 1-1 with a decider to come, yet again an England captain was forced to explain why his side can win so well one week and lose the next.
And although no one in the home dressing room will admit to it, this performance smacked of over-confidence at best and complacency at worst after such an easy win at Edgbaston.
A first-innings score of 258 was simply not good enough after winning the toss and it came back to haunt them on the last day as the Windies reached their target with nearly five overs to spare.
Memories of a Gordon Greenidge-inspired win at Lord’s in 1984 came flooding back as Hope left the field 118 not out, having become the first man to score twin hundreds in the same firstclass match at Headingley in 534 attempts.
They were the ones with calm heads as around them the England bowlers and fielders lost theirs, and questions still remain where the Test side is concerned.
Skipper Joe Root admitted: “If we’re being brutally honest we weren’t good enough first up with the bat. Anytime you don’t get 300 batting first having won the toss you’re disappointed.
“We need to make sure we learn those lessons for Lord’s. The first two days of this game we were nowhere near where we are capable of.
“We showed great character to fight our way back into the game, but it is very frustrating that we weren’t able to take the 10 wickets.
“At no point have I not thought they were a talented side. They want to prove a point and if you’re not at your best they can turn you over.
“Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say you were outplayed and in this game we were. It is tough.”
This was a pulsating Test match from start to finish, and in many ways a terrific advert for the game, but the quality at times has been less than impressive, in particular with the catching from both teams.
A total of 14 dropped catches cost over 400 runs across the game and hurt England badly on the final day as Alastair Cook put two chances down at slip (above).
There were also questions over the declaration since the pitch was a bit better for batting than a five-day one usually is, as was shown by England’s 490-8.
But Root should be applauded for the call. In the end it was the Hope that killed England as they again followed a big win with a defeat. Their one area of real consistency is their inconsistency and they are not learning from their mistakes.
“In hindsight perhaps I could have declared later,” Root (above) accepted. “But I thought it was a positive thing to do and I thought we were in a position to go on and win.
“We didn’t play the conditions very well on the first two days.”
It is about time England worked things out a bit quicker.