Manchester: England won the first cricket series in four months when it defeated the West Indies in the deciding third test by 269 runs on the last day Tuesday at Old Trafford.
England snatched the bio-secure series 2-1 after losing the first test by 113 runs in Southampton.
The West Indies, resuming the fifth and last day on 10-2, had a tall order to bat out the day to force a series-saving draw, any hope of making 399 to win long gone.
The weather wasn’t going to save the tourists, either, though they stopped for showers three times.
The visitors lost three wickets in the morning session, and the rest within 90 minutes after lunch to be all out for 129. Fast bowler Stuart Broad’s first wicket of the day made him the seventh man in test history to claim 500 test wickets.
The series-winning last wicket gave Broad 4-36 in the innings and 10 for the match, his first 10-for since 2013. In between the milestones, Chris Woakes bowled for 11 straight overs and took 5-50. A run out bagged the other West Indies wicket.
It was a bad end for the West Indies, but the team deserved kudos for agreeing to travel to one of the world’s worst hotspots in the pandemic, following the health protocols, and contributing to a gripping contest.
Cricket’s first international action since March saw the West Indies win the first test, and England the second. Both went down to the last day. For this third test, England chose a four-man pace attack and the West Indies couldn’t resist, falling for 197 and 129 against England’s 369 and 226 declared. It was the first time since 1912 that England pacers took 50 wickets in a three-match series. Broad, angry at being dropped for the first test, proved his point by setting up this victory on Sunday. He took four wickets to finish off the West Indies first innings, then the first two of the second innings in the evening to end West Indies’ slim hopes of batting to win. Instead, the tourists were made to bat to survive. The washout on Monday merely delayed England’s march to victory, and the last day had an air of inevitability. Veteran Jimmy Anderson says his pace colleague Stuart Broad has been “phenomenal” in the last two matches against the West Indies and has “a very good chance” of surpassing him as England’s highest wicket-taker in Tests.
The 34-year-old Broad, who was dropped from the opening Test in Southampton, reached the milestone of 500 wickets when he dismissed Kraigg Brathwaite on the fifth day of the deciding third Test here. Broad became the fourth fast bowler to pick 500 wickets in the longest format of the game after Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh and Anderson.
The 37-year-old Anderson said his fellow pacer is an inspiration. “The way he has bowled the past two games has been phenomenal, and an absolute credit to himself and the work he’s put in over the past few years,” Anderson told Sky Sports.
“I don’t think either of us are that fussed by the wickets tally. What we enjoy doing is winning games and celebrating those moments together. We love bowling together in Tests, we have a really good understanding and bowl well when the other guy is at the other end.” Dropped from the series opener, Broad came back strongly in the remaining games.
“There’s a very good chance he will get more wickets than me if he carries on like this. I heard him say the other day why can’t he carry on until he’s my age, and that’s absolutely true. He’s in great shape. He can go on and get as many wickets as he wants,” Anderson said. He said Broad looked “lethal” with his seaming deliveries during the Test.”
Brief Scores: England 369 & 226/2d (Burns 90, Root 68*; Holder 1/24) vs West Indies 197 & 129 (Hope 31, Woakes 5/50, Broad 4/36) (AP)
