HOPES REST WITH BROAD
Stage is set for England linchpin to redeem himself
STUART BROAD admitted he was “frustrated and angry” after being dropped for the first Test but he ended yesterday partially vindicated after giving England a sight of an improbable victory.
Full vindication may require him to reach into his back catalogue and produce one of his greatest hits if England are to level the series.
But with an explosive morning likely to give way to full-on attack with the ball – England were 37-2 in their second innings leading by 219 at the close – the stage is tailormade for him.
It was his three-wicket burst in 15 balls in the final session of a frustrating day that opened cracks in the West Indies first innings – cracks that Chris Woakes crowbarred to full fracture.
Despite the pair’s six late wickets, stubborn resistance from Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase ensured the tourists were not forced to follow on.
But trailing by 182 after both sides had batted, it resurrected
hopes that England might just scramble a win to level the series in a rain-shortened match.
England made clear their intention to put as many on the board as soon as possible by sending in Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.
Losing Buttler for a duck playing on in the first over was not the start they wanted but, if they get themselves to a lead of 300 inside 10 overs this morning, they will have a chance, particularly if they sacrifice a few runs to ensure they get hold of two new balls tomorrow.
On a fifth-day pitch, spinner Dom Bess will be key to their chances and will have to bowl better than he did yesterday when he struggled to find the right length and went for more than three an over.
Broad will need to have a good day but you don’t get to 488 Test wickets without rising to a challenge and, just days after saying he was “gutted and angry” with the selectors’ decision to drop him, he has been handed the perfect stage to shine.
Broad took three wickets for one run in 15 balls with the second new ball to break open the West Indies tail. But the fact he ended with 3-66 said much about the frustrations of the day.
The fast bowler deserves credit for bowling to captain’s orders early in the day inviting the drive with a full-length delivery and then bowling short to bespoke plans at Chase and with little regard for his own figures.
Resuming on 32-1, West Indies had some luck throughout with England spilling a couple of chances. But they found it hard going with the old ball on an unresponsive pitch and, with Bess getting turn but not really offering his captain the control he needed, they will need to find a different way to make the ball move. Dom Sibley became the first cricketer to fall foul of the saliva ban when absentmindedly applying spit to the ball before confessing his crime to umpires, who disinfected it with a wipe.