SUPERFAST BROAD BAND
Recalled paceman’s burst of three wickets gives England hope of squaring the series
It turns out hell hath no fury like a fast bowler scorned — particularly if he burns with the fire of Stuart Broad. In Southampton, Broad had added to the drama without bowling a ball, telling Sky Sports his dropping was a travesty.
Yesterday in Manchester, he took a test match that was meandering towards a draw and shook it into life, reigniting england’s hopes of squaring the series.
West Indies must still back themselves to escape with the draw that will allow them to retain the Wisden trophy in this country for the first time since 1995.
But Broad’s burst with the second new ball has turned their stroll into a potential stumble.
at 242 for four shortly after tea, the tourists were cruising towards the follow-on target of 270 that represented their first staging post en route to safety.
england had managed three wickets all day — one of them the nightwatchman alzarri Joseph — and the absence of Jofra archer was beginning to tell. the lack of spectators seemed to sum up the state of the game.
Instead, Broad treated the second new ball as a crack at salvation. In the space of 14 deliveries, he trapped Shamarh Brooks for a classy 68, bowled Jermaine Blackwood — hero of the ageas Bowl — for a duck, then pinned Shane Dowrich in front, also for nought.
Broad has spoken of his worry about playing in an empty stadium. But his omission from the first test had provided its own adrenaline rush and teatime figures of none for 59 had not made a persuasive case for selection in Friday’s third game.
not for the first time in his long career, he aimed for the jugular.
It was intelligent bowling, as Broad went cross-seam in search of uneven bounce: the ball that skittled Blackwood barely got above shin height. and it gave england renewed hope after Saturday’s washout had threatened to rob them of any chance of setting up a decider.
Chris Woakes chipped in with the wicket of captain Jason holder, caught at slip by his opposite number Joe Root.
and, although Roston Chase saved the follow-on with a half-century, Woakes then took care of him and Shannon gabriel in the same over. the last six wickets had tumbled for 45 in 16.4 overs.
all out for 287, West Indies trailed by 182, with 38 minutes last night and a full 98 overs today to go. It was game on.
england made clear their intent, sending in Stokes and Jos Buttler, the pair whose 15 runs in the Super over of last summer’s World Cup final had paved the way for archer’s heroics with the ball.
Buttler did not last the first over, dragging on for a duck against Kemar Roach, who then bowled Zak Crawley for 11. But Stokes, who had earlier caused alarm by leaving the field for what turned out to be indigestion, busily took the score to 37 for two with the help of Root.
that is an overall lead of 219. today could be a cracker, with england hopeful of giving themselves enough time to take a second new ball, if needed.
For most of the day, they had felt a wicket or two behind where they needed to be to make West Indies twitchy. early on, Stokes dropped Joseph at second slip, after Crawley put him off by moving across him at third, and more than 45 minutes had been used up by the time Dom Bess had the nightwatchman well caught by ollie Pope at short leg for 32 with his second ball.
But West Indies were in no rush and the day began to drift, enlivened only when Dom Sibley admitted to the umpires that he had applied saliva to the ball moments before lunch. the officials have the power to enforce fiverun penalties for such breaches in the age of Covid-19, but they have to issue a warning first. In this instance, they settled for sanitising the ball with a wet wipe and gently reminding Sibley of the way the world has changed.
not long after the break, Sam Curran employed a clever off-cutter to have Shai hope caught behind for 25, and for a while he looked the bowler most likely to trouble West Indies. It didn’t seem like a coincidence that he alone offered any variety beyond 85mph right-arm seam and orthodox off-breaks.
and as opener Kraigg Brathwaite stoically took his team to 199 for three, england were desperate for a breakthrough. While they had been carefully compiling 469 for nine over the first two days, and while the rain fell on the third, the loss of archer could
be glossed over. Now, not so much.
On Thursday, management were fuming with him for the obvious reason that his unsanctioned trip home could have undermined the ECB’s entire biosecure project.
But they also knew his selfimposed five-day exile had done for Plan A — one where Archer used his pace and venom to unsettle West Indies on a placid track.
Instead, they had to manufacture their menace, with Stokes banging the old ball in from round the wicket during a superhuman 11-over spell that eventually induced a leading edge from Brathwaite on 75.
As Brooks and Chase rebuilt the innings once more, Stokes’ work seemed in vain.
Then came Broad, armed with self-belief and a point to prove.
Thanks to him, England are still breathing... just.