Blackwood shines in victory
SOUTHAMPTON: The West Indies beat England by four wickets on the final day of the first international test since the Covid19 break yesterday, taking a 10 lead at the Ageas Bowl in a threetest series thanks to a 95run knock by Jermaine Blackwood.
England made early inroads into the West Indies batting lineup on day five as the visiting side targeted 200 to win, reducing it to 27 for three before Blackwood began to set the foundations for a big win for the Caribbean side, albeit behind closed doors.
When opener John Campbell retired hurt following a toecrushing yorker from Jofra Archer, Blackwood came in before lunch and began to anchor the innings, sharing a 73run stand with Roston Chase, who made 37.
‘‘It was a nervewracking start after losing quick three wickets and Campbell to injury,’’ Windies captain Jason Holder told BBC.
‘‘But Roston and Jermaine put on a good partnership and settled the nerves. From there, we could build on.
‘‘I missed the Barmy Army but it was a level playing field without the crowds.’’
The Barbadosborn Archer, who finished with three for 45, troubled the batsmen throughout with his pace and bounce but
England was unable to dismiss danger man Blackwood.
In the end, the 28yearold Jamaican narrowly missed out on his second test century when he tried to lift a Ben Stokes delivery over the infield, only to give James Anderson a catch.
Campbell then returned to the crease with West Indies six wickets down to join Holder, who played a patient knock of 14 off 36 balls, to guide the West Indies home in the final session.
Earlier, England was bowled out for 313 in its second innings after resuming on 284 for eight with overnight pair of Archer and Mark Wood failing to offer much resistance.
Shannon Gabriel finished with figures of five for 75 — his sixth fivewicket haul in tests — while Chase and Alzarri Joseph picked up two wickets apiece.
‘‘Ideally, we would have liked to have got more runs in the first innings,’’ England captain Stokes said, adding he stood by his decision to bat first.
‘‘We got ourselves into great positions at times with the bat to kick on and get 350 or 400, and we weren’t ruthless enough. We didn’t manage to grasp the game as we would have liked.’’
The second and third tests will be held in Manchester, also without fans in attendance.— Reuters