No regrets for Stokes as England fall short in first_Test defeat

Jermaine Blackwood scored a matchwinning 95 as Test cricket’s big return ended with the West Indies chasing down 200 to defeat England by four wickets in the eerie silence of the Ageas Bowl ‘bubble’ yesterday.

Blackwood would almost certainly have been an onlooker for the #raisethebat Series opener had Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo not chosen to miss the tour over coronavirus concerns, but it was his opportunistic innings which wrestled the spotlight from England’s would-be hero Jofra Archer.

The Jamaican’s only Test century in his previous 28 Tests came against England five years ago in Antigua and, though he fell just short this time, the result will taste even sweeter despite the limited fanfare from almost empty stands.

Archer did his best to deliver victory in Ben Stokes’ first match as captain, taking two cheap wickets early on, forcing opener John Campbell to retire hurt and breaking the decisive partnership with the delivery of the day, but the cause was undermined by mistakes.

But for an error of judgment Stokes might have caught Blackwood for five and the batsman was also put down on 20 by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. Rory Burns failed to put a hand on another edge soon after but replays suggested Stokes would have been called for a no-ball regardless.

At the lunch break the opposite result was firmly on the cards, with the score 35 for three, but Blackwood’s carefree style provided the perfect antidote as he shared stands of 73 with the sturdy Roston Chase and 68 with Shane Dowrich.

England set their target by squeezing 29 from the last two wickets to finish 313 all out, Shannon Gabriel getting both to complete a five-wicket haul.

Stokes later insisted he harboured no regrets after his first outing as captain.

Stokes was leading his country for the first time at the Ageas Bowl – and did not duck the hard calls.

First he opted to go into the game without the benefit of Stuart Broad’s 138 caps and the 485 wickets that come with them and then he chose to bat first under heavy cloud cover on Wednesday morning.

Both decisions have attracted plenty of debate – with a searingly honest interview from Broad fanning scrutiny over his omission in favour of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer – and the tourists’ four-wicket victory denied Stokes any hope of delayed vindication.

“I’ve really enjoyed the responsibility of leading the team and making decisions. We lost but I’m not going to look back with any regrets,” he said.

“We’re obviously disappointed, but I think we know where the moments were in the game where we lost it. I can’t fault anybody, they’re all absolutely exhausted in the changing room.

“The message I delivered to everybody today is that you leave everything out on that field, for the badge and the number under your badge. So I’m proud of each and every one of the lads out there.”

Far from being disconcerted by Broad’s mid-match intervention, during which he told television viewers he was “frustrated, gutted and angry” about being overlooked on home soil for the first time in eight years, Stokes welcomed it.

He said: “He is nowhere near done and if he plays in that second Test match I really hope he walks off that field with a bit of an ‘Up you’.”

Whether he plays and who he replaces will now be a matter for Root to take on when he rejoins his team at Emirates Old Trafford ahead of the second Test, which gets under way on Thursday.

Ben Stokes had plenty to ponder in his first Test as captain.