West Indies pull off miracle to stun England
Hero Shai leads reborn West Indies to a miracle victory which leaves England skipper Root reeling
WEST INDIES were pinching themselves after Shai Hope inspired them to one of the most astonishing wins in Test history over a shellshocked England.
Set 322 to win, the tourists — who had been thrashed in three days in the first Test at Edgbaston — knocked off the runs for the loss of only five wickets.
Hope added an unbeaten 118 to his first-innings 147 to become the first player to score twin hundreds in the same first-class game at Headingley and set up a decider at Lord’s next week.
‘Someone had to do it and I just put my hand up,’ he said. ‘We knew we needed to stand up.’
If West Indies can now win the third Test, it will cap a remarkable fightback after they lost 19 wickets in a day at Edgbaston.
But England captain Joe Root insisted he would not shy away from aggressive declarations in the future after calling a halt to his side’s second innings on the fourth evening of a dramatic game.
And he insisted his side’s problems had stemmed from a poor performance with the bat in the first innings, when they were dismissed for 258 after winning the toss.
‘I thought we were in a position where we could win,’ he said of his declaration. ‘It was a fifth-day wicket. Maybe I slightly misread it but we had two guys with nearly 900 wickets between them.
‘It was a great Test match but it wasn’t great to be on the losing side. Shai played exceptionally well, against high-quality bowling on a worn wicket. It didn’t surprise me — we know they’re a talented side and at no point were we complacent.’
But Root knew his team’s first-innings performance had been well below par against a side ridiculed after their innings defeat in Birmingham.
‘We were not as good over the first two days as we can be,’ he said. ‘To bat first and make what we did — it was nowhere near what we’re capable of. We fought back to get into a position where we could declare but it was frustrating we couldn’t take the 10 wickets we needed on the last day.’
Asked whether he could have gone on the defensive on the final day as West Indies neared their target, Root said: ‘I thought the best chance of slowing things down was to take wickets. It would have been very easy to set a 7-2 field and try to go at two an over, but we wanted to take the positive option.’
West Indies coach Stuart Law was especially delighted for captain Jason Holder, who had come in for much criticism after the first Test. ‘He cops a lot from external areas,’ said Law. ‘But to get a win in England is a tremendous effort and we’re not bothered about what others think. We’re a work in progress and we move on to Lord’s.’ England will wonder how on earth they could allow West Indies to climb up off the canvas and humble them. But nobody should criticise England’s inexperienced captain for declaring with six overs of the fourth day left. Not many thought he’d got it wrong on Monday. Nobody could blame Root for his confidence, not when West Indies’ biggest names have turned their backs on Test cricket in pursuit of the Twenty20 dollar, leaving those who remain with the thankless task of improving a record of nine wins in their previous 87 away Tests.
Yet they made a mockery of those figures thanks to Kraigg Brathwaite and Hope, who once again conquered an England attack led by Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
There was little hint of the theatre to come in a morning session that followed the expected script of West Indies batsmen struggling against England’s two highest wicket-takers with a moving ball.
The tourists received a slice of good fortunate when Alastair Cook dropped Brathwaite on four — but then saw Broad inadvertently run out Kyle Hope by deflecting a return chance into the non-striker’s stumps.
It followed Broad’s dismissal of Kieran Powell and left West Indies on 53 for two.
When Brathwaite fell five runs short of a second century of his own, he and Hope had become the first West Indians since Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes in 1955 to make stands in excess of 200 and 100 in the same Test.
Only when Cook again failed to hold an edge off a fierce cut from Hope — then on 106 — off Broad did the new batting star of the Caribbean come anywhere close to being dismissed.
West Indies did lose Roston Chase to a diving catch from Mason Crane at mid-on off Chris Woakes but it was too little too late for England.
Jermaine Blackwood then decided to slog his way to victory and provided the most eye-catching moment of an unbelievable day when he backed away and smashed the second delivery with the second new ball from Anderson back over his head for six. The leader of England’s attack was to finish wicket-less — still three away from 500.
Blackwood was dropped by Ben Stokes in the deep when West Indies needed just five before, discarding his helmet, he was stumped by Jonny Bairstow off Moeen Ali trying to finish it in the grand style.
Better the moment of glory should go to Hope before scenes of utter jubilation.