West Indies cricket is alive and well

Now let’s hear from our fictional correspondent, T. Wayne Mark, at Trent Bridge: “The rumours of the death of West Indies cricket have been exaggerated – again!” Which is not to say they aren’t still prepared for that situation three days after the second Test.

And we won’t get into the structural inequalities that require them to regularly perform miracles to silence the noise about their continued viability as a test nation.

These facts cannot be overlooked, but neither should we overlook another display of courage and determination that helped keep this contest in balance until the fourth day.

Certainly, Kraigg Brathwaite’s side may not be the most likely to claim victory, and they are expected to be called upon to make a record run at this ground.

There is also an element of regret, given the first-day errors that prevented them from seeing off England by 300-350, and how that could have tipped the balance.

It is also true that (spoiler alert) a mention of Tino la Bertram Best, the former fast bowler whose charisma eclipsed his record during a colourful international career that ended a decade ago, does not evoke the halcyon days of West Indian Test dominance on these shores in the way other names might. But bear with me.

That West Indies were able to build on the fine platform provided by Kavem Hodge’s maiden Test hundred and surpass England’s first innings total to post 457 – their highest overseas score since Dunedin 2013, and their highest in England since The Oval 1995 – ultimately came down to a cheeky counter-attack from Joshua Da Silva and last-man Shamar Joseph that had the crowd running for cover and Ben Stokes scratching his head.

Their score of 71 from 78 balls included a powerful shot from Shamar that crashed into the roof tiles of the Larwood & Voce bar and sent debris raining down on the crowd below. “He’s going to have to pay for that,” Da Silva joked afterwards.

It is the second-highest tenth wicket haul for the West Indies in Tests against England, although it is still some way short of the top spot – the 143 added by Best and Denesh Ramdin at Edgbaston in 2012.

The best memory of that match was his 95, at the time the highest score for a number 11. It was also, strangely enough, the last time before this that England went to a home Test without James Anderson or Stuart Broad in their XI.

Da Silva, for his part, was thinking of another recent encounter: the deciding Test of England’s 2022 tour, when his maiden century turned the screw on a beleaguered opposition. “It was pretty much what I expected,” he said of England’s tactic of spreading the pitch for him, seemingly focused solely on getting Joseph out. “The same thing happened in Granada, so I was just trying to replicate the innings I played there.”

There’s nothing like a tail bump to scatter the pigeons and get things moving, and Joseph lived up to his reputation as an agent of chaos. The momentum fluctuated in this Test, but West Indies seemed to be meekly weakening after losing 4 for 31 in just over an hour’s play on the third morning. Enter Joseph, with his dazzling smile and an Acme hammer straight out of a Warner Bros cartoon in place of a bat.

After seeing Chris Woakes’ hat-trick ball fly by, he quickly demonstrated some of the strokes that have made his position at No.11 in the order – below Jayden Seales, who was bowled by Woakes’ first ball – an anomaly.

A joyous 36 off 41 on debut in Adelaide six months ago was the precursor to his exploits with the ball in this series and, while we are yet to see the best of his bowling in England, it was another slice of pugnacious brilliance from the Baracara boy.

Joseph scored 32 of his 33 runs in the boundaries, with Gus Atkinson taking the brunt. Two bounce attempts from the smaller man disappeared into the stands in the space of three balls: the first was a flat drive into the Fox Road stand that could have been hit by fellow Guyanese Roy Fredericks, followed by an exuberant hoy over deep backward square leg that left its mark on the roof.

Here’s another echo of Tino, a moment to watch out for the windows, but with England as the punchline instead. As the West Indies galloped to an unexpected lead, there was cause for celebration for those wearing maroon dotted around the pitch, particularly for a group of supporters in the lower stand at Radcliffe Road.

“He was pretty confident but I still had to protect him because he’s still a number 11,” Da Silva said. “He backs himself up with the bat, he played some great shots, he broke a few tiles, it was good to see. But ultimately it was my job to try and take the team as far as possible.”

Woakes, while conceding that the partnership had eluded them, said England were happy with the final result after West Indies resumed on 351 for 5.

“Once a player gets out, it’s easy for a bowler to not try to get (the batsman) out and try to think about No.11,” he said. “But at the same time, you don’t just want to give easy boundaries, and I think here at Trent Bridge it’s easy to give boundaries away, especially when a player is on the field and the field is set. So that was our mindset, and you don’t always expect No.11 to hit a few balls into the stands.”

“Good for them, I think they played pretty well. (But) I think we put in the work long enough and we got rewarded in the end.”

With Zak Crawley removed as a substitute in unfortunate circumstances early in England’s second innings, there was a frisson of tension around the pitch. And while the hosts regained momentum in the afternoon, West Indies played better in the containment fields after tea, another change of ball helping Alzarri Joseph dislodge both batsmen in set position.

England could still shut the door on them, thanks to an unbroken late stand between Joe Root and Harry Brook who took the lead after 200 – but surely we have all learned not to write off the West Indies just yet. (ESPNcricinfo)