West Indies' ray of hope that turned into a disappointing collapse

A flatter pitch that had seen four hundreds in three innings. A target of 385, quite gettable in these conditions. Confidence from the first innings. A bit of history on their side as well. In January, West Indies defeated Australia at the Gabba to level the series 1-1 after a 10-wicket loss in the first Test. 

There was enough to keep the West Indies interested in this Test match. 385 was not a modest total by any standards but it wasn’t a mountain to climb either. 

Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis began the chase post Tea on Day 4 with aplomb. They had a 53-run opening stand in the first innings. This time, they added 61 in no time. 

Brathwaite was unbeaten on 30 after his 25 balls, the most he has scored in the first 25 balls of an innings ever. West Indies were cruising at 54/0 in 10 overs with less than 340 needed. 

KraiggBall? BrathBall? BreathBall??? Call it whatever you want but the chase seemed on. Seven runs in the next three overs and the drinks break took place. 

Wicket after a break has been one of the most omnipresent phenomenon in cricket, irrespective of the format, venue and the teams in the contest. 

Chris Woakes bowled the perfect length – full and just wide enough to draw Louis into the shot. The right-hander poked at the ball tentatively and edged it to the wicketkeeper. 21 off 41 in the first innings and 17 off 40 in the second. He punched the bat in anger, disappointment evident on his face, Louis walked back.  

But little did the Kittitian know that he would be in the company of not only his fellow opening partner but the entire batting line-up in the dressing room by the end of the day. A domino effect followed. 

5, 8, 1, 7, 9, 22, 0, 16, 14. These were not individual scores, but partnerships in the Windies innings after the fall of the first wicket in the chase. As a result, they folded within a session in 36.1 overs. 

Woakes, arguably England’s best bowler in this match, combined with Shoaib Bashir to begin the collapse. 

After the fall of Louis, there was a wicket each in the next four overs. The Warwickshire man sent back Brathwaite in his subsequent over after the drinks break. It was in an identical fashion to Louis with the only difference being the unplayable nature of the delivery. While Louis had enough width to leave the ball, Brathwaite had no choice but to play at it. 

In between those two dismissals, off-spinner Bashir struck twice in his two overs. In retrospect, Both Kirk McKenzie and Kavem Hodge would feel they could have done better. Hodge was trapped leg before wicket for the second time in the match. He got out for a duck following his hundred in the first innings. 

From 61/0 in 13 overs, the visitors slumped to 75/4 in 17 overs. Alick Athanaze followed suit and Bashir had three wickets in his first three overs. It was almost like the last nail in the Windies' coffin. The game was effectively done and dusted there. 

After sweating hard in the first innings, England were much more disciplined in the second. Bowling in the good length area proved to be effective, drawing false shots from the batters and, consequently resulting in wickets. 

Like Brathwaite and Louis, Joshua Da Silva and Alzarri Joseph were simply caught on the crease, getting Gus Atkinson among the wickets. The Caribbean batters' tendency to not get on the front foot came to the forefront, as it did on their previous tour in 2020. 

Bashir, meanwhile, picked all his wickets from the 4 to 6 metre length area. After a brief delay of about six overs, Bashir continued the supply of wickets, snapping the remaining two wickets. 

Jason Holder’s wicket took the cake. When he wanted to take a single on the last ball to retain the strike, Bashir spun it past his outside edge to castle the off stump. Shamar Joseph’s middle stump was the next in his firing line. Thanks to his last wicket, the 20-year-old became the youngest England bowler to pick a five-for at home, surpassing James Anderson, who retired in the previous Test, by a margin of 17 days. 

In a matter of 23.1 overs, England snaffled 10 wickets to seal the Richards-Botham Trophy 2-0. 

It was a disappointing end to a Test match that was burning slow like a Vince Gilligan series. West Indies batted 111.5 overs in the first innings of the second Test. In the other three innings put together in this series, they have batted only 124.5 overs at 25 balls per wicket. Yet again, batting has caused their downfall.

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