SMILES BETTER

Battling draw may be spark England need

THIS could just be the day when England’s red-ball reset began to take shape.

It was not quite a famous victory after the misery of the Ashes — but England and their under-pressure captain showed enterprise, belief and positivity to get as close as they could to a last-day first Test win.

This game seemed to be going nowhere after four low-key days on the sort of dreadfully slow, flat pitch that really should be outlawed for the health of Test cricket.

But England came into the last day determined to back up their pledge to go all out for victory.

And even though the surface remained dead as a dodo, they put pressure on West Indies right up until a draw was called with five balls left.

That was too long for some pundits who believed Joe Root should have shaken hands much earlier but when you have been as starved of success as England surely you have every right to go as long as you can in search of a win.

By then, West Indies had steadied their ship to finish on 147 for four, first innings centurion Nkrumah Bonner again bringing calm after Jack Leach had taken three wickets and Ben Stokes had inevitably claimed another to leave them wobbling on 67 for four.

The sight of Stokes straining every sinew with the ball when he was supposed to be easing his way back after a side strain — he ended up bowling 41 overs in the match — was both an encouraging one and one that made you hold your breath, especially when he could be seen slipping in his run up towards the end. But, to be fair to Root, if his talisman insists he is fit to bowl then why would he not use him?

England can take heart from this after their run of just one win in their past 14 Tests had led to a postAshes cull and the self-inflicted pressure created by leaving two champion bowlers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad at home.

First, England came flying out of the blocks to add another 132 runs in 25 overs, with Root joining Zak Crawley in making a century before both perished in the pursuit of making enough runs to give themselves time to bowl West Indies out.

Then Root sprung a surprise by declaring 20 minutes before lunch and seemingly giving West Indies a chance to repeat their famous run chase at Headingley five years ago by leaving them 286 to win in 70 overs. It was a declaration made even more bold by the absence of England’s best bowler in Mark Wood.

The reality was that a West Indies side just as brittle as England never came close to their target but they were forced on to the back foot by an England attack that had looked completely underwhelming throughout the first innings.

At the centre of that was a man playing for his Test future in this series in Leach. All too often over the past couple of years, England have given the impression they do not truly believe the Somerset man is of Test calibre but they have vowed to give him a proper chance here and encouraged him to have a bigger voice in the team.

Leach was not able to fully seize that chance because he was not able to bowl West Indies out on a final-day pitch but he has done himself a lot of good, both in his first innings containment and second innings attacking role.

What has never been in doubt is the quality of Root — and now he set more records with his 24th Test century, moving above Kevin Pietersen, and his 13th as captain, one more than Alastair Cook’s previous best tally.

And this time he celebrated by kissing a necklace made for him by his children, just as he told his son Alfie he would. But England got ahead of themselves a little when they lost four wickets in five overs and Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes had to regroup before Root decided, with 300-plus on the board for the second time in the Test, he had enough even on this dead pitch.

It was a declaration in contrast to the lack of enterprise at the start of last summer that set the tone for much of what has followed, England making no attempt to chase 273 in 75 overs against NZ at Lord’s.

And it could have been an inspired one had England reviewed a not out lbw shout against Jason Holder which technology showed would have hit the stumps.

If West Indies had lost the giant Holder then, at 89 for four, who knows what might have happened.

But it was to prove England’s last hope as Holder and Bonner held firm. Honours even ahead of Wednesday’s second Test in Barbados but it is England who will have more of a spring in their step against most expectations.

‘I’m really proud of the team,’ said Root afterwards. ‘I thought the attitude throughout the week was fantastic and to respond how we did after that first hour was a really pleasing performance. It will do a lot of guys a lot of good.’

The mood of optimism at the end of this long all too often dull Test was only punctured by the injury to Wood that seems certain to rule him out of the rest of this series and quite possibly beyond to his £735,000 IPL contract with Lucknow Super Giants.

England were encouraged by the sight of Ollie Robinson bowling at full pace in the middle during lunch and tea yesterday, but it could be that Saqib Mahmood makes his Test debut on Wednesday. Liam Norwell of Warwickshire is the favourite should England send for a replacement, with neither Anderson nor Broad on stand-by.

The absence of the big two will continue to cast a cloud over England as they seek to start again here. But for now at least they provided something else to talk about