West Indies will need to dig deep in order to beat England © AFP
Trailing 1-0 in the Test series, the West Indies will have to get their act together to challenge a resurgent England, when they take on the Alastair Cook-led team in the third and the final Test at Bridgetown, Barbados starting Thursday.
England won the second Test by nine wickets to take a commanding 1-0 lead in their ongoing three-match Test series, and the West Indies, who admittedly have played better cricket than they were expected to, will have an uphill task to get the better of their opponents. England will not leave any stone unturned in their bid to fly home with a series win in the bag.
The West Indies have shown tremendous intent and character in their efforts so far in the Test series, but one bad session on the final day saw England rampaging towards their first overseas victory in about 29 months. James Anderson was the architect of England’s win as he sparked a collapse with a three-wicket burst early on in the final day, and he then carried on with a splendid show in the field to help his side bowl out the West Indies.
For the tourists, Anderson has been excellent with the ball as he has bagged 10 wickets in the first two Tests. Stuart Broad too has had a good run with eight wickets in two matches. In the batting department, Joe Root and Gary Ballance have been England’s stars, averaging 162 and 96.66 respectively, with one century and two half-centuries each.
The hosts too have played good cricket, but it is their bowling which has not really clicked on the slow pitches that were prepared for the first two Tests. The track at Bridgetown too is not expected to be a bowler-friendly one, which implies that the troubles that the hosts have been facing on the slow decks are likely to persist.
The form of the veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul will be a huge concern, as the venerable cricketer has been far away from his best in the first two Tests. Chanderpaul is renowned for holding the innings together in the lower-order, but with 67 runs at a forgettable average of 16, he has cut a sorry figure so far in this series.
For the West Indies, it has been heartening to see the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Marlon Samuels, Jermaine Blackwood, and Jason Holder slamming centuries, given that the major issue with the Caribbean batting line-up in the past couple of years has been the fact that their batsmen have fared miserably. The grit shown by Holder in the first Test should continue to inspire the hosts, as they have it in them to at least stop England from causing further damage.
The West Indies’ character would once again be tested, especially their bowlers,’ who have not been able to make an impact. Jerome Taylor leads the list with five wickets in two Tests, but that has not helped his side much. Kemar Roach too has five scalps, but the hosts need their fast bowlers to take a leaf out of England’s book and try and learn the tricks of performing even on docile tracks.
Squads:
West Indies: Denesh Ramdin (c&wk), Devon Smith, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Jermaine Blackwood, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Shannon Gabriel, Carlos Brathwaite.
England: Alastair Cook (c), Jonathan Trott, Gary Ballance, Joe Root, Ian Bell, Jos Buttler (wk), Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid, James Tredwell, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Jordan, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Jonathan Bairstow.
Time: 10.00 local | 14.00 GMT | 19.30 IST
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)