ENGLAND ON A KNIFE-EDGE
West Indies bowlers strike back to leave battered England under pressure
JUST as Ben Stokes seemed to again be defying all the odds and dragging England towards justifying the big decisions that have marked his first match as captain, West Indies came bursting back into the box seat in what has become a compelling first Test.
When England’ s temporary leader, perhaps stung by seemingly making the wrong call at the toss and compounding it with a controversial selection, was adding 98 with Zak Crawley, English optimism was growing of an against-the-odds victory.
But, with Stokes on 46 and going through his expansive gears, the man who is still rated above him as the world’s best all- rounder in Jason Holder made a breakthrough that could prove the pivotal moment of cricket’s big return.
Holder leapt high in jubilation when, for the second time in the match, he snared his opposite number as Stokes tried to again come down the pitch and turn him to the leg-side but could only steer tamely to gully. The whole complexion of the fourth day and perhaps this first of three Tests dramatically changed.
Shannon Gabriel, only officially added to West Indies squad on the eve of the series after injury, and Alzarri Joseph led a charge of the tourists as five England wickets came crashing down in the last hour.
It leaves England, at 284 for eight, just 170 ahead and needing Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Jimmy Anderson to eke out as many runs as possible this morning to give them a fighting chance on a dry pitch that should prove difficult for batting on the last day.
And it promises to be a thrilling climax to the first game of this decimated season if England’s quick bowlers in Wood and Archer can find the uneven bounce and their spinner in Dom Bess can produce the turn that Stokes gambled on when he batted first.
At least if England learn nothing else from this ground- breaking match they will surely know now that Crawley is worth investing in as they plan towards an Ashes future.
It is all very well them picking their two fastest bowlers in Wood and Archer with an eye on Brisbane 2021 and leaving out one of their best practitioners in English conditions in Stuart Broad for this first Test against West Indies.
But the same principle must apply now with their batting and Crawley should be given the chance to establish himself at No3 ahead of Joe Denly when England captain Joe Root returns for Thursday’s second Test at Emirates Old Trafford. Crawley yesterday seemed to be lifting England towards a position of superiority in the company of Stokes with his best performance yet in a fledgling international career that has seen him get better with each game.
It looked certain Crawley’s first home Test would feature his maiden century when he reached 76 as West Indies’ attack began to toil in far less friendly bowling conditions than those handed to them by Stokes at the toss.
But just after Stokes had fallen to Holder, Crawley was undone trying to turn Joseph to leg and instead offering a sharp return catch. The English collapse was on. That should not matter when the selectors, who have come under fire for the surprise decision to leave Broad out here, sit down to decide who has to make way when Root returns from his paternity leave after the birth of his daughter Isabella.
If Crawley, at 22, is on an upward graph after making his debut ahead of schedule for England in New Zealand last winter, then Denly has surely run out of chances to prove he has a long-term future in the top order. Denly desperately needed a big score as England tried to recover from a 114- run firstinnings deficit by giving their bowlers enough to work with on a last-day pitch today.
After Rory Burns had given his wicket away, cutting a Roston Chase long-hop straight to point, and Dom Sibley had fallen in what is becoming a familiar fashion down the legside after reaching 50, came a similarly predictable demise for Denly.
England have made much of the Kent man’s ability to soak up a large number of deliveries at No 3 to pave the way for the middle order stroke-makers in coach Chris Silverwood’s back-to-batting-basics policy.
The trouble is that Denly keeps getting starts and then failing to go on to the big scores that a Test No 3 must make, here lobbing the innocuous off-spin of Chase gently to the leg-side for 29 off 70 balls. And, at the age of 34, he is not getting any better.
Another who owes much to the faith placed in him at Test level by national selector Ed Smith is Jos Buttler who could have taken the Test away from West Indies with one of his dynamic counterattacking bursts after the quick fall of Stokes and Crawley.
Although he was reprieved after one of the few bad decisions that initially went in West Indies favour was found by technology to be missing the stumps, Butt lerw as immediately bowled by Joseph.
It is less likely that England will concede defeat on their backing of Buttler in time for the second Test than Denly but one of their most talented players will be playing for his red-ball future in the last two games on his adopted Manchester home ground.
For now England must hope there will be another twist today when West Indies face what will still be a tricky chase. Otherwise Holder and his emerging side will have taken a huge step towards their first Test series win in England since 1988.