Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes made excellent, unbeaten half-centuries to take England to 231-4 at the close after being put in to bat by West Indies
See you all tomorrow, hopefully.
Here is today’s report:
Related: Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler give England hope as top order falters once again
Ben Stokes speaks “We’ve been really disappointed with the way we’ve batted on this tour. This is still a challenging wicket and to come off only four wickets down … we’re very proud of that.
“I actually watched some footage this morning of when I played at Lord’s. I’ve been thinking about going back to that technique for a while – straightening my feet up and batting on off stump to around-the-wicket bowlers - and I decided to do it today. I think in the back of my mind, watching that footage gave me the confidence to be more positive.
England should be really happy with their day’s work. Most of the top four gave their wickets away, but they battled hard to blunt the new ball before so doing, and the fifth-wicket pair of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes were terrific. Buttler played sensibly throughout, taking a long time to get himself in, while Stokes was much more positive than he has been in recent months.
That’s the end of a really good day for England, who fought hard after being put in and took control during a wicketless final session.
83rd over: England 231-4 (Buttler 67, Stokes 62) Buttler picks up a couple of boundaries, steering Roach to fine leg and then third man. He’s played ever so well today, a proper Test-match innings.
“Hi Rob,” says Simon Davies. “Just want to correct David Mansell – he ought to know that a pedant refers to someone who is excessively concerned with something, not merely concerned. A pedant is concerned too much – when you’re concerned enough to write in about something, then you are concerned too much.”
82nd over: England 223-4 (Buttler 59, Stokes 62) The weary Shannon Gabriel shares the new ball. Stokes plays a series of solid back-defensive strokes, and it’s another maiden. Ten minutes until the close.
81st over: England 223-4 (Buttler 59, Stokes 62) Roach gets the new ball to spit nastily at Buttler, who shapes to play and then aborts the shot. Nobody knows anything, that goes without saying, but I reckon England already have a very useful score. The rest of Roach’s over is on the harmless side.
80th over: England 223-4 (Buttler 59, Stokes 62) The second new ball is available, and Kemar Roach is going to take it.
“A pedant is somebody who cares about using the language with some degree of accuracy,” says David Mansell. “Of course, I shouldn’t expect this of sports commentators, whose daily crucifixion of English pains me.”
79th over: England 221-4 (Buttler 58, Stokes 61) There’s no easy way to break this to you so I’m just going to spit it out: England have had a very good day and are already in serious danger of winning the match.
“A pedant,” says John Starbuck, “is an insect on a bicycle.”
78th over: England 219-4 (Buttler 57, Stokes 60) This is a muted end to the day. West Indies are bowling spin at both ends to improve the over-rate and get to the second new ball, while England are dealing exclusively in low-risk ones and twos.
77th over: England 218-4 (Buttler 56, Stokes 60) A mix-up almost leads to an egregious run-out, but the throw goes to the wrong end and Stokes survives.
“Evening, Rob,” says Phil Sawyer. “It’s an interesting question about milking. Also, of course, a debate that could take in nudging and nurdling. Perhaps an over that goes for five or four could be described as Collingwooded, Whereas anything over six has definitely been Thorped?”
76th over: England 213-4 (Buttler 54, Stokes 57) Brathwaite continues to Buttler, who resists the considerable temptation to boff sixes hither and thither. Instead he milks a single down the ground and Stokes plays out the rest of the over.
75th over: England 212-4 (Buttler 53, Stokes 57) A quiet over from Chase to Stokes, who has started his second innings very watchfully. Both teams are playing for the close.
74th over: England 210-4 (Buttler 53, Stokes 55) The part-time captain Kraigg Brathwaite comes on to bowl some part-time offspin. Stokes has an absent-minded waft outside off stump and is beaten. One from the over.
“Presumably Brian Withington meant ‘semantics’ rather than ‘etymology’,” says David Mansell. “Etymology is the science of the origins of words whereas semantics is about their meaning.”
73rd over: England 209-4 (Buttler 53, Stokes 54) A single from Stokes brings up England’s first century partnership of the series. It’s coming home.
72nd over: England 205-4 (Buttler 50, Stokes 53) Buttler back cuts Paul between second slip and gully for four, a deliberate and well-struck shot. He steals two more later in the over to reach a mature, accomplished half-century. He took time to play himself in, making 22 from his first 62 balls; since then he has struck 28 from 34.
71st over: England 197-4 (Buttler 44, Stokes 53) Stokes had to scramble round to find his helmet and gloves, which he had dumped by the boundary rope.
“I’m intrigued by the etymology and numerical boundaries of ‘milking’ the bowling (67th over),” says Brian Withington. “Back in the day I would have said 3-5 runs an over would have been about right. Even in these adrenalised times, 7 feels a tad racy for ‘milking’, but clearly too low for ‘mincing’ or ‘mashing’. Is there an acceptable intermediary term?”
70th over: England 194-4 (Buttler 42, Stokes 52) Well, that was eventful.
It was a no-ball! It took an age for the third umpire to call it, so much so that the new batsman Jonny Bairstow was already on the field.
What a fine catch from Alzarri Joseph! Stokes tried to pull a short ball that was onto him quickly and hit high on the bat. It flew back towards Joseph, who showed superb reactions to grab the ball a split-second before it struck him in the phallus.
69th over: England 191-4 (Buttler 41, Stokes 52) Stokes reaches an excellent fifty from 84 balls with a cut for four off Roston Chase. This has been his best attacking innings since he returned to the side a year ago.
68th over: England 187-4 (Buttler 41, Stokes 48) Stokes pulls Joseph over mid-on for a single. He didn’t middle it but it had just enough to clear the fielder. While most of the England batsmen have decided to sex down their batting today, Stokes has done the opposite.
67th over: England 184-4 (Buttler 40, Stokes 46) Chase continues after drinks and is milked for seven runs.
66th over: England 177-4 (Buttler 37, Stokes 42) Joseph replaces Roach. His first ball is slapped in the air but wide of cover by Buttler, who gets a couple of runs. Later in the over he swivel-pulls emphatically for four, and that’s drinks. After a watchful start, Buttler has changed gear in the last few overs. I think that, of all England’s middle-order glory boys, he is the one best suited to constructing an old-fashioned Test innings.
65th over: England 171-4 (Buttler 31, Stokes 42)Roston Chase comes on to replace Kemar Roach, and Buttler greets him with a savage drive for four. That was beautifully placed, right between extra cover and mid off. England, the contrary buggers, are going to win this game, aren’t they?
64th over: England 166-4 (Buttler 26, Stokes 42)Gabriel to Stokes, round plenty. They had an entertaining little battle in Antigua, which was won hands down by Gabriel, and he is trying to drag Stokes into a metaphorical ruck with a few words and stares. Gabriel swings a delivery down the leg side for four byes, the only runs from an otherwise uneventful over.
63rd over: England 162-4 (Buttler 26, Stokes 41) England have batted with more discipline today, which is reflected by Buttler’s 26 not out from 67 balls. Mind you, the best innings has also been the most attacking, by Stokes, so stick that in your “narrative”.
62nd over: England 161-4 (Buttler 26, Stokes 41) Buttler survives an LBW appeal after being hit by a big nipbacker from Gabriel. Too high. Gabriel ends an otherwise excellent over with a poor delivery: short, wide and slammed for four by Buttler.
61st over: England 157-4 (Buttler 22, Stokes 41) Roach replaces Paul and bowls a maiden to Stokes. And why not?
60th over: England 157-4 (Buttler 22, Stokes 41) A short ball from Gabriel is flashed through extra cover for four by Stokes, who then mishits a pull in the air for a single. Gabriel has a few words with Stokes, which should help to enliven the next few overs. Stokes looks in the mood to take the bowlers on; despite this slow outfield, he has raced to 41 from 56 balls.
59th over: England 152-4 (Buttler 22, Stokes 36) Stokes drives Paul through the covers and charges back for a second. At first that looked like it would be really tight but Stokes is so quick between the wickets. He skims a square drive for three to bring up the 150.
57th over: England 144-4 (Buttler 20, Stokes 31) Paul, bowling round the wicket, gets one to straighten beautifully past Stokes’ outside edge.
“Rob,” says Brian Withington. “Interesting close up of Jos Buttler’s bat - it would appear that his fibre glass tape is just about held together by splintered willow - not sure it’s quite promoting the Kookaburra brand in its best light?”
56th over: England 143-4 (Buttler 20, Stokes 31) Another emphatic stroke from Stokes, who cuts Joseph through the covers for four. Stokes looks really good today. Joseph responds by hitting him on the bottom hand with an excellent short ball. That hurt Stokes, who is still wincing slightly at the end of the over.
55th over: England 136-4 (Buttler 20, Stokes 24) Paul almost slips a fuller, straighter delivery through Buttler, who gets a late inside-edge. A maiden.
54th over: England 136-4 (Buttler 20, Stokes 24) Buttler waves Joseph through extra cover for three, another fine shot that would have brought four on many grounds round the world. Stokes is beaten, chasing a very wide delivery angled across him, but slams the next ball through backward point for four. He looks more like himself today, playing with the controlled aggression that has been missing since he returned to the side a year ago.
53rd over: England 129-4 (Buttler 17, Stokes 20) Ben Stokes push-drives Paul classically through mid-off for four. Gorgeous shot, that. All of his six Test hundreds, and 11 of his 16 fifties, have come at No6. This position just feels right for him; he’s not quite a No5 or a No7. In his Test career, by the way, he has batted everywhere from No3-11.
52nd over: England 124-4 (Buttler 17, Stokes 16) Another escape for Stokes, who inside edges Joseph just over the stumps for four. It was a fine delivery, which cut back sharply off the pitch to induce the false stroke. This looks like a deceptively awkward pitch on which to time the ball.
“Eoin Morgan barely plays county cricket, bats with a quirky technique, speaks with a non-English accent and averages about 35,” says Gary Naylor. “The question is more how is he not playing for England?”
51st over: England 117-4 (Buttler 17, Stokes 9) Stokes, on the walk, gets a leading edge wide of gully for a couple.
“Well, this is fun, isn’t it?” weeps Guy Hornsby. “I guess we’ve been half better. We’ve been obdurate, but still got out to some filthy shots or filthy luck. What a time to be Joe Root. With Bayliss off soon, you do wonder how much risk there is of permanent damage to his confidence this last few weeks. Whisky please, barman!”
Stokes survives a biggish LBW appeal from Keemo Paul - but Brathwaite has decided to review. I reckon this hit him just outside the line. It was a good delivery, which came back at Stokes from round the wicket and beat him on the inside. Here comes balltracking ... and Stokes survives, but on height rather than line. It would have hit the top of the bails and was therefore Umpire’s Call. West Indies retain their review.
Thanks Tim, hello everyone. This will be an extended evening session, with 40 overs still to be bowled. I think this session is two and a half hours long, so we’ll probably get around 33-35 of those overs.
49th over: England 114-4 (Buttler 17, Stokes 6) Stokes is looking assured, timing the ball well, bruised heel and all. And that’s tea, with the afternoon belonging firmly to West Indies. Can England get out of jail this time? Join Rob Smyth to find out. Thanks for your company, your views on Eoin Morgan, your Sammy Davis Jr rewrites, and your brave new plans for this old game of ours.
48th over: England 111-4 (Buttler 16, Stokes 0) Again, they cope well with Chase, but they have to get better at playing these seamers. Four down, nobody reaching 30: there’s a lot of weight on the shoulders of Buttler now.
47th over: England 107-4 (Buttler 16, Stokes 0) So yet again England lose a wicket close to an interval. And Root is out the wrong side of 50 for the seventh time in a row, equalling his worst streak in Tests. To think we used to be worried that he kept getting fifties.
Here’s Brian Withington again. “Your 44th-over observation on the otherwise magnificent Jason Holder’s commentary skills reminds one of the old adage about never meeting your heroes,” he says. “Sky Cricket’s producers would have been well advised to apply a similar principle to the make-up of its old-guard commentary team. I may mellow at some stage this evening but it was a long way to Loughborough and back.”
Ah what a shame. Root’s struggles continue as he cuts at a short fast one and gets a thin nick off the toe end of the bat. When your luck is out, it’s right out.
46th over: England 107-3 (Root 15, Buttler 16) It must be nearly time for tea as there’s a spinner on. Roston Chase, who suckered Root into a soft dismissal the other day, comes on and gets some drift, but no noticeable turn. Both batsmen do some milking.
45th over: England 103-3 (Root 13, Buttler 14) Five dots, and then Buttler tucks a full one round the corner for a single.
And here’s Robert Wilson. “Excellent shade from Brian Withington there [42nd over] about the wicked cruelty of bringing Morgan back into the Test line-up. If we are going full sadism, why not tie a couple of puppies to the stumps and throw knives at them? Can you even imagine what Morgan’s stance would look like if he survived the first 20 minutes? Plus, when it comes to long-form cricket, does he still remember the rules?
“PS. I’m Irish. I’m allowed to say this.”
44th over: England 102-3 (Root 13, Buttler 13) That’s more like it from Root, spotting a short one from Joseph, dancing deep into his crease, and late-cutting for four. His 13 have come off 46 balls, further evidence of some fine bowling. Jason Holder, banned from this match for slow over-rate, has popped up in the commentary box, where, so far, he’s proving that he can’t do everything after all. Clear plans, blah blah, being as patient as possible, blah.
43rd over: England 98-3 (Root 9, Buttler 13) Roach reckons he’s got Buttler lbw, but it’s probably doing too much and Brathwaite doesn’t review. Then Root is cut in half by a nip-backer that charges through the gate and sails over middle stump. For all their toils, England have lost only one wicket every 14 overs today, a big improvement on the first two Tests, when it was one every five.
42nd over: England 96-3 (Root 8, Buttler 12) Joseph replaces Paul, but the effect is much the same: a maiden to Root, who plays at thin air again. He’s so out of nick now, he’ll probably make a thousand in the Ashes.
42nd over: England 96-3 (Root 8, Buttler 12) Roach drops short and Buttler sees it early enough to thwack him past cover. Captain and vice-captain decide the time is right for a little fist bump.
And here’s Brian Withington. I’d been wondering where he was. “Hightailing it back from a 4-3 defeat for Worcester at Loughborough –” aha – “but mightily consoled by the talk of Cap’n Morgan as England’s saviour skipper for the Ashes. Why not recall Mike Brearley while we’re about it, given that red-ball batting form and county cricket is immaterial to Test selection now?” Oof.
41st over: England 91-3 (Root 7, Buttler 8) Root, facing Paul, at his best and worst. A creamy cover drive for four, his first flicker of authority today; a couple of good decisive leaves; and an ugly play-and-miss. Buttler, showing leadership, pulls him out of the firing line by calling for a quick single.
“Is it me,” asks Amod Paranjape, “or are the England batsmen being plainly tentative? I mean, as Rahul Dravid puts it, leaving the ball is also an act of aggression. Dravid must be doing something right. He got KL Rahul back in form.”
40th over: England 84-3 (Root 2, Buttler 8) Kemar Roach takes over from Gabriel and the dots continue to pile up, with Buttler playing like a man who thinks it’s still dry January.
39th over: England 84-3 (Root 2, Buttler 8) Stuck for ideas, England go back to getting ’em in fives, as Paul sprays one down leg and it goes for five wides. That’s the first run of any kind off Paul in this spell. Then, finally, Root gets off the mark with a cover push for two off his 21st ball. Mike Atherton says Paul reminds him of Jofra Archer – who may well be rushed into this England side for the Ashes. Possibly as an opening batsman.
38th over: England 77-3 (Root 0, Buttler 8) Another row of dots punctuated by another edge. Buttler plays a better shot to a full outswinger from Gabriel, but it’s still a slice, and it’s still in the air. If there had been a backward point, he would have swallowed it. As it is, it’s four, and that’s drinks. That hour belonged firmly to West Indies, as England, after patiently building a platform, set fire to it in the face of some fine fast bowling.
37th over: England 73-3 (Root 0, Buttler 4) Now it’s Root’s turn to have a scare, as a textbook outswinger from Paul kisses the edge, but Root’s hands are soft enough to make sure the ball drops short of first slip. You take the high nick, I’ll take the low nick.
36th over: England 73-3 (Root 0, Buttler 4) Tied down, Buttler flashes at a wide one from Gabriel. In a joint effort by first and second slip, who are not very tall, the ball is tipped over the bar. Jason Holder would have caught it, says a commentator – though he’s more likely to have been at third slip, or bowling.
“Don’t ask me why,” says Kim Thonger, “but I suddenly felt the need to alter the lyrics of the choruses of The Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr.” Go on then.
”Who can take a wicket (who can take a wicket)
Sprinkle it with dew (sprinkle it with dew)
Cover it with fert’lizer and a miracle or two
Oh, the Groundsman can (the Groundsman can)
The Groundsman can
‘Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the ball bounce good (makes the ball bounce good)
Who can take an outfield (who can take an outfield)
Wrap it in a sigh (wrap it in a sigh)
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy Duke ball fly
The Groundsman can (the Groundsman can)
Oh the Groundsman can
NB ‘Fertiliser’ only works in the first chorus in a Somerset accent.”
35th over: England 69-3 (Root 0, Buttler 0) So England have their captain and vice-captain out there, both on nought, and both out of form. Root plays out a maiden from Paul, who has sensational figures of 7-5-7-2. He’s been the man of the day so far.
34th over: England 69-3 (Root 0, Buttler 0) Jos Buttler survives the rest of the over, but he’s out of form for the first time in a year. And Gabriel is steaming in – the replay shows that Denly was beaten for pace. His wicket, according to Sky, was the 18th England have lost to a bowled or lbw in this series, compared to West Indies’ four.
Gone! The bat came down crooked and the review only brought three reds. After all that grafting this morning, the collapse is on.
Yet another lbw shout, from Gabriel this time. It’s given, and Denly only reviews at the last moment...
33rd over: England 69-2 (Denly 20, Root 0) Paul sniffs a second lbw in the same over as Root plays outside an inswinger, but it’s going down the leg side. Root then plays a millionaire’s cover drive that could easily cost him his wicket. He said after last week’s debacle that he couldn’t bat for the others. In this form, you wouldn’t want him to.
Gone! What a good review by Kraigg Brathwaite, who missed one early on. It was a full ball from Paul, not doing much, but angled in from wide of the crease and Burns, falling over to off as he is apt to, was aiming through midwicket, with half a blade. He battled hard but never looked comfortable, and 29 is a very Burns-ish score. Mind you, it was quite Cook-ish too.
For lbw, off Keemo Paul, who has just come on. Could be out if there’s no bat...
32nd over: England 69-1 (Burns 29, Denly 20) Gabriel beats Denly with a jaffa. Before that, Burns played another of those crabby nudges of his for a single. He’s playing in binary: 101 balls faced, one boundary.
An email comes in from St Lucia, of all places. “Whilst enjoying the vibes here in Beausejour,” says John Brunt, “I’ve been giving some thought to seizing opportunity from the jaws of ineptitude.
31st over: England 68-1 (Burns 28, Denly 20) Roach strays onto leg stump and Denly gets a flick on it, which is all it needs to go for four. And that’s his highest Test score, beating 17 in the previous game. He’s been more purposeful this time, standing outside his crease and meeting the ball earlier. The last ball of this over is a nasty one, and he meets it with his rib cage, or perhaps his glove. Painful either way.
30th over: England 64-1 (Burns 28, Denly 16) Gabriel is looking to tempt Denly into a hook, with two men out there. He bowls a bouncer, which is calmly ducked, then follows up with something so far outside leg that it beats the keeper and goes for five wides. England are getting ’em in fives.
29th over: England 56-1 (Burns 27, Denly 14) Denly flashes at Roach and gets four. He’s keeping the slips interested, but he’s still there.
28th over: England 51-1 (Burns 27, Denly 9) Gabriel bowls to Denly, who pushes into the covers for a single – and picks up a five, as a scatterbrained shy at the stumps races away to the boundary. So, finally, the England fifty comes up. They’ve been reasonably boring.
27th over: England 46-1 (Burns 27, Denly 4) Kemar Roach returns with a maiden, his sixth of the day, as Rory Burns digs in again.
“I was wondering,” says Richard Graveling, “if this current England selection situation reminds anyone else of the wonderfully establishment-shaking 1990s and the gentlemanly tussle between Alec Stewart (a batting part-timer) and Jack Russell (a Proper Wicketkeeper) that threatened at the time to overthrow the MCC and democracy in general?
So Denly gets to enjoy his lunch, just. And Burns survives too, though he has only been a little more convincing than his opening partner, Jennings. For West Indies, Roach was excellent, Gabriel flaky at first then formidable, Joseph testing and Paul almost as good as the man he’s replaced, Holder. But the story of the morning is the dog that didn’t bark: England haven’t collapsed. See you in half an hour or so.
Denly did glove it – but the glove was off the handle. Now that’s what I call a narrow escape.
For caught behind down the leg side. Not given by the umpire, but there may be some glove...
26th over: England 46-1 (Burns 27, Denly 4) Denly clips Gabriel to leg for a single, and then Gabriel produces a big effort ball for Burns – a bouncer angled in above off stump, which is ducked at the last second. Burns regains his composure to shovel a single to long leg.
25th over: England 44-1 (Burns 26, Denly 3) Keemo Paul has been Denly in reverse: a young player performing like a veteran. He beats Burns all ends up by angling the ball in and moving it away.
24th over: England 44-1 (Burns 26, Denly 3) Gabriel returns and finds his radar, which went missing at the start. Denly survives an LBW shout close to off-stump, then edges just short of second slip, and finally pulls at thin air, when the ball was wide of off and crying out for the cut. He’s playing like a man of 32, going on 22.
23rd over: England 43-1 (Burns 25, Denly 3) Denly plays out a maiden from Paul, who turns out to have a handy bouncer as well some swing.
The mention of Reds Pereira (20th over) strikes a chord with David Stewart. “Had the pleasure of meeting the old boy at the ground yesterday morning. My two colleagues had no idea who the great man was – till I said I had listened to him on TMS as a teen, back in the 1970s. A bit unsteady on the pins these days, but sharp as ever between the ears; and that demerara voice...”
22nd over: England 43-1 (Burns 25, Denly 3) Another nudge from Burns, another couple of runs. His temperament seems better than his technique, which is probably the right way round.
21st over: England 40-1 (Burns 23, Denly 3) Denly wafts at Paul. For a seasoned pro, he does seem a little shaky outside off – which is exactly the problem he’s been brought in to fix.
20th over: England 40-1 (Burns 23, Denly 3) A single apiece off Joseph: a gritty nurdle from Burns, an elegant push-drive from Denly.
And an interesting point from Kandukuru Nagarjun. “Much has been said of the decline of West Indian Test cricket over the last two decades, but relatively less about the downswing in Caribbean cricket writing. The greatest writer of them all, CLR James, was West Indian. People like Tony Cozier, Reds Pereira, Tony Becca and Hilary Beckles were ornaments to the game, especially in the ‘80s high noon. But where are their successors? Fazeer Mohammad, Donna Symonds and Vaneisa Baksh seemed worthy, but seem to have disappeared. Ian Bishop and Mikey Holding are very good experts in the commentary box, but where are the proper professional writers? Would you know of any to keep an eye on?
19th over: England 38-1 (Burns 22, Denly 2) Burns is still looking awkward. He edges Paul for four through the slips, then nudges to leg and calls Denly for a crazy single. It would have been out if Hetmyer had hit.
“A couple of things,” says Peter Salmon. “First, I do like the fact that the current picture at the top of the page, with Jennings leaving a ball outside off stump, is captioned ‘Keaton Jennings plays a shot from the bowling of Kemar Roach’. I understand that leaving the ball is technically a shot, but it does seem very Keaton.” Ha.
18th over: England 33-1 (Burns 17, Denly 2) Chin music! Joseph gets a lovely tune out of this slow pitch, and Denly does well to jag out of the way.
Meanwhile, a very short email arrives from David Bertram. “Ian Bell nailed on to bat three for the Ashes?” You would think so. Jennings was handed a gift of a second chance today and he blew it.
17th over: England 32-1 (Burns 16, Denly 2) Joe Denly, who spent ages on nought in his first Test, wastes no time in his second, cover-driving Joseph for a couple. His bat was some way from his left pad, so the slips may want to stay on their toes. A great start from Keemo Paul, who is tall, relaxed, already swinging it both ways, and the first person today to understudy Jason Holder with any success.
Oh, Jennings. First ball after drinks. First ball from Keemo Paul. Same old stroke – a loose drive at a regulation Test-match delivery. Same old result: catching practice for first slip.
16th over: England 30-0 (Burns 16, Jennings 8) Two more twos for Burns off Joseph. A lot of Josephs in this match: England, possibly for the first time ever, have one at three, one at four and one at five. And that’s drinks, with the openers just about doing their job of seeing off the new ball.
“Hello Tim.” Hello Kim Thonger. “I’ve thought for some time that Test cricket would benefit from a radical shake-up. How about allowing a squad of 15 to be selected for each Test, and giving the captains the ability to select 11 from the 15 for the first innings, and then a DIFFERENT 11 for the second innings. Imagine how that could alter the strategic flow of the game. All sorts of calculations and game plans become possible.
“My other thought is that as very few two-innings five-day matches now last the full five days, why not have three innings per side? Or even two normal innings and a ‘power play’ third innings of say, five batsmen, selected by the captain to be either attacking or defensive depending on the state of the game.” Kim, there’s a job waiting for you at the ECB.
15th over: England 26-0 (Burns 12, Jennings 8) Jennings, facing Roach, remembers that today is all about being boring, and plays out a maiden. His eight have come off 42 balls.
More on the captaincy. “I would be very intrigued to see Morgan as Test captain,” says Toby Sims, “though I’ve no idea what that would do to Joe Root’s psyche. I would hope that he would relax into batting like a demon. I’m very with Abhijato’s point – a specialist captain I think is an undervalued role, someone either sensible (Paine) or talismanic (Morgan?). As long as they can contribute *something* with the bat (or ball), it could make a huge difference.
14th over: England 26-0 (Burns 12, Jennings 8) Alzarri Joseph comes on to replace the wayward Gabriel. Burns helps himself to two, two and two – but very nearly gives short leg a catch in between. Short leg is square and not that short, and paid the price as the ball reached him on the half-volley.
13th over: England 20-0 (Burns 6, Jennings 8) Jennings survives, again, but he keeps getting squared up by Roach. Does anyone know why he became an opener? He’s far better against spin and seems more suited to going in at five or six, congested as that zone may be.
12th over: England 20-0 (Burns 6, Jennings 8) Gabriel strays on to Burns’s leg stump again, and that’s four more to leg byes, which have made a more confident start than Jennings and may well get the nod for the Ashes.
Following John Starbuck’s riposte to Romeo (6th over), we now have Romeo’s retort to Starbuck. “John, I agree that a statement of rationale would help. I searched for ages, in vain, for such a thing. I only found anything to this effect in a press notice, and it didn’t give any reasoning. The regs are very, very written, with a very firm biro. It seems the computers all said no. The regs need looking at for match situation etc., and give the referee more leeway.” Seems to me that the phrase “very, very written” could catch on.
11th over: England 15-0 (Burns 6, Jennings 7) Another beauty from Roach, full and swinging away from the left-hander, proves too good for Burns, who prods at thin air. Later in the over, he manages to lay bat on something similar and picks up two to third man.
Here’s Abhijato Sensarma, picking up on Rob’s point about Eoin Morgan being a potential Test captain. “Following a year of sensational Test selections, until this series happened of course, I think bringing in Eoin Morgan will be a hugely controversial, but a potentially team-saving decision! While it’s more of a hope and a step too far even for the pyrotechnics of the ECB selectors, Morgan could be Paine-esque. Not the best player for the role he will occupy in the line-up itself, but a calm head and a brilliant captain in sudden times of uncertainty! Like a superhero film which drops into movie theatres a month before announced (never happens), here’s to hoping Morgan flies into the English Test side for the Ashes!” If any captain of today is worth a few exclamation marks, it’s Morgan.
10th over: England 13-0 (Burns 4, Jennings 7) England find calmer waters as Gabriel bowls a maiden, conceding only a leg-bye.
“Hi Tim,” says Cosmo The Average on Twitter. “I hope you’ve got another TV for the rugby at the moment.” I haven’t. “It’s a belter.” Ah.
9th over: England 12-0 (Burns 4, Jennings 7) That was actually two lives for Jennings, as he’d just been smacked on the pad by a full straight one. It was given not out, perhaps because there were two noises, and West Indies didn’t review. Hawk-Eye showed it was plumb: the two noises were one pad, then the other. So the Windies missed Jason Holder twice in two minutes – as a reviewer, and a safe pair of hands at third slip.
Keaton Jennings, surprised by the bounce from Kemar Roach, pops one off the shoulder to third slip, where Roston Chase is surprised too, and spills a straightforward chance
8th over: England 8-0 (Burns 4, Jennings 3) Thanks Rob and afternoon everyone. England have one task today: to rediscover the art of being boring. So far it’s going pretty well – one run per over, two dogged left-handers, slow surface, sheaves of leaves. Rory Burns sees off another over from Shannon Gabriel, who seems to be bowling for a non-existent leg slip.
7th over: England 8-0 (Burns 4, Jennings 3) Jennings offers no stroke to a ball from Roach that jags back to thump him in the box. It was too high for an LBW appeal, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he left it on length. Roach is still struggling to make the batsmen play, and figures of 4-3-2-0 flatter him.
That’s it from me for now. Tim de Lisle will be with you for the next few hours – you can email him or tweet @TimdeLisle. Bye!
6th over: England 6-0 (Burns 3, Jennings 3) Gabriel resumes his third over with a lifter that is left on length by Burns. Although he has modest figures this winter - his average is 26 - I think Burns has done enough to stay in the team for the start of the Ashes. He looks comfortably batting at different tempos, and so far today he has 3 from 23 balls.
“Thanks, Romeo, for looking up the rules about slow over-rate penalties, but my main point still stands,” says John Starbuck. “They don’t publish their reasoning and scoring. In an age when we can hear the third umpire’s words for DRS, it would help everybody, including offending teams, if we all knew what was actually going on. Secrecy invites conspiracy theories.”
Play will resume in five minutes’ time.
The covers are coming off. Woot and, indeed, woot.
“Hi Rob,” says Romeo. “John Starbuck asks who makes these decisions. I looked it all up last week. There are lots of rules. It’s the first three umpires, who ‘can’ refer it to the match referee, who has quite a lot of discretion as well. There’s a table of allowances for wickets, drinks etc. I suspect the umpires feel they have to go by the regulations and refer, but the person who actually makes the decision and applies whatever sanction, if any, is the match referee. It was Jeff Crowe in Antigua, as it is for this game.”
“I think the complaints about the output of Root, Buttler, Stokes and Bairstow miss the point slightly,” says Phil Harrison. “The problems at the top have a knock-on effect. Root is constantly coming in at 30-2. Buttler at 50-3. Stokes at 70-4. And so on. Of course that’s going to be harder than coming in with the shine off and the bowlers into their second and third spells. Sort the top three and the rest falls into shape.”
I agree up to a point. This middle order would love to have the 2011 versions of Cook, Strauss and Trott above them, but they still aren’t good enough at scoring tough runs. Middle-order batsmen like Graham Thorpe, Robin Smith, Nasser Hussain and Paul Collingwood scored a helluva lot of runs from 30-2 and 50-3. England also had a very good start before they collapsed to Roston Chase at Barbados.
“I think Jennings should not be opening for England,” says Don Wilson. “Nothing to do with his form (or lack thereof), but just for shaving his head and looking such a bloody idiot.”
Well...
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“I have come to the conclusion that, nine times out of ten, England collapse due to the pressure they face,” says OB Jato. “This is very dangerous for any side, especially one which is a favourite to win the World Cup. What if they collapse in the knockouts of a global event like they did in the Champions Trophy semi-final? Their entire focus has been on the ODI side since the 2015 disaster. If they don’t win, and the Test side continues with its unorthodox without being particular success, I am sure heads will roll...”
Heads are already scheduled to roll, aren’t they? I’m not sure I completely agree with your first point, though I accept there’s a psychological fragility in the Test batting line-up. They have collapsed in all circumstances and formats, including dead rubbers, and I think they have become much better at dealing with pressure in ODIs.
5.1 overs: England 5-0 (Burns 2, Jennings 3) There’s a bit of mizzle in Gros Islet, and the umpires have decided to protect the pitch before it gets worse.
5th over: England 5-0 (Burns 2, Jennings 3) Roach offers Jennings a few tempting deliveries well wide of off stump, all of which are politely ignored. When he tightens his line with the final delivery, Jennings can’t resist a leaden-footed groundhog drive that takes the edge and lands a fraction short of second slip. Roach has figures of 3-3-0-0.
4th over: England 5-0 (Burns 2, Jennings 3) Burns gets off the mark with a couple of runs off Gabriel. It’s been a low-key start to the game. Mind you, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre began quietly.
“On the over-rate suspension of Holder, yes, they do have to do something, but they could be more open about it,” says John Starbuck. “Who exactly took this decision? And why don’t they exercise discretion? There ought to be a checklist of considerations, such as how much time is taken attending to injuries, recovering the ball from the boundary big sixes, umpire dithering about the weather and so on. The third umpire should be required to add mitigating comments before such a decision, rather than the powers-that-be relying on crude figures; anyone would think this was the DWP.”
3rd over: England 2-0 (Burns 0, Jennings 2) Roach hasn’t got his line right yet. Burns is constructing his innings on a need-to-play basis, which means he has barely put bat on ball. A poor over from Roach is therefore a maiden.
“Isn’t it clear,” begins Andrew Hurley, “that Root preferred not to drop one of his buddies and didn’t have the character to stand up to Bairstow?”
2nd over: England 2-0 (Burns 0, Jennings 2) Shannon Gabriel starts to Keaton Jennings, who clips a full ball off the pads to get off the mark. If Jennings gets a hundred today, England’s selectors won’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Rob,” says Colum Farrelly. “In your preamble aren’t you just being polite in saying ‘you could argue’ that this team is ‘thinking they are better than they actually are’. Is it not sticking out the proverbial mile the team is so afflicted?”
1st over: England 0-0 (Burns 0, Jennings 0) Kemar Roach starts with a quiet over to Rory Burns. Ther was a little bit of movement off the greenish pitch but nothing alarming, and Burns left most of the deliveries outside off stump.
“I’m with you on finding the Foakes omission hard to like but far from finding it easy to understand,” says Geoff Wignall. “Get a towelling and drop your form player? In favour of the guy whose every public pronouncement of late has been undermining of the form man? Yes, Bairstow’s a good but not great batsman (inadequate at No3) - but with no great run scoring record when keeping wicket and seemingly incapable of accepting that Foakes is easily the superior gloveman. I see it as a ridiculous and grossly unfair selection, one that doesn’t reflect well at all on Root.”
“Dear Rob,” says Robert Wilson. “I’m guessing you don’t want my nineteen-page J’Accuse about the Jason Holder balls-up (God forbid that the suicidal entity called cricket should exploit effortlessly charismatic and likeable young players in their attempt to seduce new generations into liking this weird and discomfiting sport!). Without him, this becomes a test of where the Windies are at. If they do well, it’s proof of organic and permanent vigour. If it goes wrong, then maybe Holder will get some of the long-overdue kudos for what a sensational skipper he quite clearly is. So it’s a win-win (though hugely annoying).”
I’m torn on this. They have to do something, don’t they, when over-rates are so slow?
Ben Stokes has passed a fitness test and will play. West Indies have brought in the bowling allrounder Keemo Paul to replace Jason Holder, which means we’ll have to wait to see the exciting Oshane Thomas.
England have made two changes to their XI - Mark Wood and Keaton Jennings for Sam Curran and Ben Foakes - but there have been multiple changes to the batting order.
Ooh hoo, this could be fun.
England have dropped Ben Foakes, a decision that is easy to understand but much harder to like. If I were Foakes, I’d be emitting a serious amount of righteous heat just now. I still think Ed Smith and his selection team are comfortably in credit after their first year, but they have had a bit of a shocker on this tour.
When you try to revolutionise selection, as England have in the last nine months, a few mistakes and contradictions are unavoidable. There is also not much they can do about the fact that, on any given day, England’s tail can start at No1. Yet even allowing for this, and the understandable reasoning behind each individual decision, the cumulative effect is a rare old mess.
Pre-match reading
Related: England’s attempt to atone against West Indies starts in some confusion | Vic Marks
Related: Keaton Jennings returns as England sacrifice Ben Foakes in tactical rejig
Hello. The England Test team are like one of those viral brain teasers. You know, #TheDress, that sort of thing. Everyone who looks at this side sees something different. Are they an enormously talented group with the potential to be the world’s best once they find a top three? An entertainingly ramshackle collective who have breached Pakistan’s copyright of the word ‘mercurial’? A shower of good-time Charlies who can’t be bothered to do the hard yards? Or all the above before 9pm tonight?
At the moment I see them as the team that never quite grew up. The middle-order spine – Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali – are all aged between 27 and 31, yet we still talk about their potential. Perhaps they have realised their potential; perhaps this, give or take, is as good as they will ever be.
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