West Indies team defeats England in three days

The West Indies completed an emphatic victory over England with a brilliant team performance that left the visitors shaken and fallen on the third day of the second Test, regaining the Wisden Trophy which they last held in 2009.

It was a moment that the West Indian people had long been waiting for and the manner in which they won was truly impressive. The West Indies dominated the second Test showing that the form they showed in Barbados was not a fluke as they won there in four days. Outplaying England in all three areas, the regional side won the second Test match by ten wickets as they were made to chase 14 runs for victory in their second innings to lead the three-Test series 2-0.

England is ranked way above the West Indies team and few gave the host a chance of winning a match, furthermore winning the series. Coming into the match West Indies lost their last two Test Series, which were against India and Bangladesh. In contrast England won their last two Test Series, only losing one game in the process as they defeat India and Sri Lanka.

But the West Indies were ready and from the onset shone brightly in every aspect of the game.

West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat on the first day and bowled them out for 187 runs.

Once again it was the four-pronged pace attack that was the undoing of England. Kemar Roach took four wickets in the first innings and Shannon Gabriel captured three, while Alzarri Joseph took two and Holder one.

With some discipline by the home team’s batsmen, West Indies replied with a first innings total of 306 to give them a lead of 119 runs.

Once again four batsmen made over 40 runs, showing the effort and consistency of the team.

Kraigg Brathwaite fell just shy of his half century, but blunted the new ball and the spirit of the English bowling attack as he shared a 70-run opening partnership with John Campbell, who scored 47.

Shai Hope also reached 44 and a history-making half century by Darren Bravo kept the England side at bay. Bravo showed his application in facing 216 balls stead in the middle for five hours and 42 minutes for the slowest batsmen to reach a half century.

But this is Test Match cricket and it is all about endurance, which he applied having been away from this format of the game for two years.

The West Indies bowled accurately and with discipline, moving from the back-of-the-length deliveries to fuller ones they found the breakthrough and never let up.

Roach took four wickets in the second innings, three of which struck the stumps and one adjudged lbw as he finished the match with eight wickets.

Holder added four wickets to his one from the first innings as he was the first bowler to find the breakthrough when he had Rory Burns caught in the slips off his first ball of the day.
As the West Indies held on to their chances in the field, England narrowly made it over the deficit to give the host a target of 14 runs.

Brathwaite and Campbell knocked off the runs in only 13 balls as Brathwaite struck a four in the first over while Campbell brought up the winning runs immediately after surviving a review for lbw. Campbell smacked James Anderson for six to start the celebrations.

Speaking after the victory Holder said that the team, which has been together for about a year-and-a-half, has been hungry for success.

He praised them for their allround effort, which was made even more emotional as one of their team members received the devastating news of his mother passing away moments before the start of the game.

The series now heads to St. Lucia as West Indies look to complete a sweep. (CG/Photo credits: CWI Media)

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