Gabriel inspires ‘fearless’ West Indies to victory over England in first Test as cricket returns with a bang
It did not even need to be this good. Cricket fans would have taken anything. Just the chance to see a little bit of live action again, for the first time in such a long time.
Literally, anything would have been better than the nothingness that had pervaded during the recent troubles. What they got was a classic – accessible maybe only from the sofa and with negligible ambience – in glorious high definition.
West Indies had already given the sport a gift just by turning up. By leaving behind their relative Covid-haven at home, and entering a hotbed instead.
By agreeing to enter quarantine for weeks, to social distance, to follow the arrows, just to play a bit of cricket.
Then they provided another offering that cricket fans the world over will be salivating over: the confirmation that West Indies are back, with a four-wicket win over England.
OK, so they won the series last time these two teams had met, anyway. Plus, the series is nowhere near won yet, not on the basis of their show in Southampton. But winning under the conditions and in the manner they did at the Ageas Bowl warmed the soul.
It was so good, it had the likes of Michael Holding and Ian Bishop, the West Indies greats so often left careworn by the struggles of those who have succeeded them, eulogising about them.
Eulogising about their character and their grit. About finding a will and a way to get the job done when the top was going, when Jofra Archer and Mark Wood were bowling bombs, and Ben Stokes was being Ben Stokes.
It was a Test match that was bookended by Holding choking back emotion. Victory meant that much to him.
After that poignant first morning, every Holding utterance thereafter felt like a state of the union oration. Even if it was just discussing the limited catering options in the biosecure bubble. So when he was signing off by acclaiming a side that fans can believe in again, it was good to hear.
They had a number of heroes. Shannon Gabriel had started this tour under an injury cloud, and had to prove he was clear of ankle trouble before being named in the squad ahead of the first Test.
He ended with the match award for nine wickets in the game, which included four vital ones either side of stumps on the fourth evening that meant his side needed a round 200 to win.
Getting there was no easy task, with Archer bristling from his mid-match social-media dispute with former West Indies quick Tino Best.
It is not clear what “bowling toothpaste” – Best’s description for Archer’s first-innings offering – means.
But it probably does not include the sort of fare that brought him three wickets on Sunday, as well as a possible broken toe for John Campbell.
Jermaine Blackwood led the resistance, though, with a 95 that ended in typical fashion – a flashy drive to James Anderson at mid off, just as he had perished in the first innings – but got the job done.
Jason Holder, another of the Caribbean heroes, described Blackwood as “fearless” for the way he marshalled the tourists through the nervy final day.
“From these kind of cricketers you can expect big moments, and today was his big moment,” said Holder, who just about edged his own battle of the captains with Stokes.
This was West Indies’ big moment, and maybe cricket’s, too.