Two weekends ago celebrations erupted across the Caribbean as the West Indies defeated England in the Third Test at St George’s in Grenada, to win the series 1 – 0, and secure the first lien on the Botham-Richards Trophy. While some die-hard fans are still basking in the afterglow of the victory, the time has arrived for the tough questions.
Was this series victory a lucky shot in the dark? Or is it the dawn of a new chapter in the history of West Indies Test cricket? Has the team finally figured out the difference between one-day cricket and Test cricket? Only time can definitively answer those questions. At the moment one can only examine the team’s performance in the series and speculate on the immediate future.
The odds were clearly in the favour of the West Indies prior to the start of the series, and no doubt the pressure to deliver the victory weighed heavily on the players. Beside the fact that England have won only one series in the Carib-bean since 1968, the visitors had just received a severe Ashes thrashing Down Under, and inexplicably, the English selectors, who were under the microscope, opted to omit their two most experienced bowlers, James Anderson (640 Test wickets) and Stuart Broad (537). With the jury still out on Joe Root’s role as England’s captain, and the team in disarray, everything pointed to a West Indies series win.
Test cricket isn’t always true to form, and over five days a match can swing back and forth, evolve into the unexpected whilst taking on a life of its own making. Former England Captain and Chairman of the Selectors Ray Illingworth in his book, One Man Test Committee, sums up a Test match as five days out of the players’ lives, an all-consuming affair which allows for no distractions, with fortunes in a match, or a series, (as in this instance), quickly shifting in a session or two. This hard-fought series, which could have gone either way, was one to be savoured, not only by West Indies cricket fans, but Test match fans the world over.
In the first two drawn contests, the home side displayed true grit and determination not to concede, as was often their wont in recent times when confronted with the difficult task of batting in the fourth innings to save a match. In Antigua, with the home side floundering on 67 for four, Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder held the fort for almost two and a half hours to earn an admirable draw. A week later in Barbados, Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva adequately fulfilled the role of defiance.
The Third Test was a battle of wills, as both sides squandered glorious opportunities in the first innings to seize control of the match and ultimately the series. With England on the ropes at 67 for seven, the West Indies allowed the tail to wag, as the visitors crawled to an improbable 204. When the home side slumped to 128 for seven, it appeared that the tide had swung in England’s direction, and West Indies’ fans hung their heads in despair, expecting the inevitable. However, young Da Silva had other ideas, as he imposed his will upon the contest. In guiding the West Indies to an improbable first innings lead of 93, he displayed the values of application and patience in shot selection. Da Silva’s maiden Test century was not the swashbuckling effort of a Viv Richards’ or a Brian Lara’s innings, but bore the equivalent effect of grinding the opposition down. His 257-ball innings spread over a day’s play less five minutes, proved to be not only the match winner, but the series decider.
West Indies fans should temper the urge to reach for the champagne bottle just yet. Yes, there were quite a few crowning moments which will no doubt be the cause for rare celebrations: Brathwaite’s leadership, his marathon century at Kensington Oval and his series leading 431 runs, and the other century makers, Bonner and Jermaine Blackwood. More important than the individual performances was the elevated standard of fielding by the entire team and the fighting spirit displayed throughout the series when confronted with adversity. The latter characteristic has been sadly lacking for the past several years.
At the same time, there are shortcomings of due concern. There is the inability of the middle order to produce runs on a consistent basis, and likewise the failure of the bowlers to dismiss the opposition’s lower order and terminate innings quickly. The coaching staff and the players still have a lot of work to do in these two areas, as the West Indies Test cricket fans who emerged from their hibernation in large numbers during the Grenada Test match will be keeping a close watch.