West Indies-England
West Indies clinch Test series
||Desk Report||
It is the second time in the last 10 series that West Indies clinched the Wisden Trophy. Even the Caribbeans have not won a Test series against a side other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh since 2012, when they beat New Zealand.
West Indies beat England by 10 wickets in the second test in Antigua to gain an unbeatable 2-0 series lead on Saturday. Kemar Roach and captain Jason Holder took four wickets each.
With fellow pace bowler Alzarri Joseph chipping in with two top-order wickets, including the prized scalp of captain Joe Root, the hosts bowled out England for 132 in the second innings. Joseph’s performance came hours after his mother died following a long battle with a brain tumor.
West Indies needed only 14 runs in their second innings. The openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell took just 13 balls to polish off the meager 14-run target to inflict a massive 10-wicket loss on England and pick up their first Test series win against a top-eight ranked side.
Holder said his West Indies team had played to honor Joseph’s late mother. “We all rallied around one and other,” he said. “We wanted to do it for her. This one is for him and his family.”
John Campbell clinched victory inappropriate Calypso fashion with a six over mid-wicket as batting great Viv Richards, after whom the stadium is named, grinned broadly in the crowd, ever the epitome of cool in his dark sunglasses.
England have dominated over the past two decades with seven series wins, while one was drawn. Root acknowledged that England had been outplayed, placing the blame on the batting. “Scoring under 200 in both innings is not going to win you many games of cricket. It’s been a disappointing performance with the bat here and last week,” he said.
Root had the misfortune of losing the toss, which meant England were always facing an uphill task having to bat first on a green pitch that offered the fast bowlers plenty of assistance early on. Meanwhile, West Indies lead the three-test series 2-0. The hosts won the first Test by 381 runs in Barbados.
Brief scores
1st Innings
England: 187
Ali 60, Bairstow 52; Roach 4-30, Gabriel 3-45
West Indies: 306
Bravo 50, Brathwaite 49, Campbell 47, Hope 44; Broad 3-53, Ali 3-62
2nd Innings
England: 132
Buttler 24; Holder 4-43, Roach 4-52
West Indies: 17/0
Campbell 11*, Brathwaite 5*
West Indies won by 10 wickets
Player of the match: Kemar Roach