Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

England vs West Indies: Moeen Ali leads fightback but visitors' series hopes left in the balance

West Indies (30-0) trail England (187) by 157 runs: Day two already feels like a moment of truth for this England side - a last chance to seize control of a series that may already be slipping from their grasp

Jonathan Liew
Antigua
Thursday 31 January 2019 22:58 GMT
Comments
Moeen Ali and Ben Foakes helped England avoid another batting collapse
Moeen Ali and Ben Foakes helped England avoid another batting collapse

If there was one comfort for England after another chastening day in the Caribbean, it was that things could assuredly have been worse. They will begin day two with a meagre total on the board and all 10 West Indies wickets to get. But they still remain, just about, in the game.

Even to reach this unpromising position has required a good deal of hustle. On a torrid and erratic surface, pockmarked with little tufts of grass, they slipped to 93 for six shortly after lunch, which in the circumstances was actually a decent effort. Many times in the recent past, England’s batsmen have been the architects of their own chagrin. This was not one of those: had the West Indies bowled as well as they did in the first innings in Barbados, things could once more have got seriously ugly.

Instead, Moeen Ali and Ben Foakes launched a stirring fightback, building on an early blitz from Jonny Bairstow at No 3, and as the pitch flattened out in the afternoon and evening, England could even have scraped their way to 250 at one point. Paradoxically, the West Indies bowled much better against England’s rallying lower order than they did against the faltering top. But the relative comfort with which Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell saw out the remaining 21 overs of the day was a reminder that England will have to bowl outstandingly on day two to avoid surrendering the series here and now.

A brute of a toss, then, for Joe Root to lose. As the teams assembled in the morning the outfield was still lush and slow after an early-morning shower, keeping the ball fresh and shiny, and with movement off the pitch as well as the occasional sharp lifter, the circumstances could scarcely have been tougher for Joe Denly to make his Test debut, a decade after representing England for the first time in one-day internationals.

He made 6, and was probably fortunate to get those. His first ball from Kemar Roach pinned him back on the crease, only the most marginal of Umpire’s Calls saving him. There were some nervy swings at fresh air, a generous cover drive for four. He watched his partner Rory Burns edge to slip. He waited more than 20 minutes for his first run.

Finally, after three quarters of an hour of delicate prodding, he got his first really loose delivery: a gentle loosener from Alzarri Joseph, a full three feet outside off-stump. He edged it. Once Denly had dragged himself from the arena, furiously chastising the toe of his bat as if it were a malfunctioning computer, he will perhaps reflect that part of the challenge of Test cricket is its ability to impair even the most basic of functions.

The pitch was seriously beginning to misbehave now. After a couple of close shaves, Root got a horrible, snorting delivery from Joseph that rapped him on the glove, sent him recoiling like an exotic dancer, and ended in the hands of Shai Hope at fourth slip after being parried by John Campbell at third. Jos Buttler strode out in the No 5 position, having evidently picked it out in the dressing room tombola earlier that morning, and departed just as quickly, advancing down the pitch and finding himself startled by Jason Holder’s extra bounce.

Once again England looked skittish and immature, a bipolar team with two modes: bat time or hit out. In a way, though, it made more sense on this wicket. This was no time for hanging around until a ball arrived with your name on it. Bairstow certainly wasn’t going to die wondering: swinging at anything remotely wide, smashing Holder over cover for six, he launched a spirited counter-attack, bringing up a 59-ball half-century before playing around a full one second ball after lunch.

James Anderson is bowled by Shannon Gabriel on day one of the second Test

Stokes feathered an edge behind after a lively exchange with Shannon Gabriel, and so once more it fell to England’s lower order to make the best of things. The good news was that the pitch had baked a little, flattened out a touch, and with the ball beginning to soften, conditions were getting easier. Moeen rode his luck early on, but found his stride thereafter. Roston Chase, the unlikely eight-wicket hero of Barbados, was despatched over cover for four on his first ball after lunch. It felt purgative, purposeful.

With Foakes digging in and shovelling crudely but effectively to leg, England’s seventh-wicket added a vital 85 in 165 balls, giving themselves a foothold in the game. It may yet prove decisive. Equally, England may yet regret giving up their last four wickets for just nine runs when the going was good. That was underlined as James Anderson and the restored Stuart Broad charged in under a setting sun, searching for the cavities in the pitch that England had so struggled with earlier.

Joe Denly exits the field after losing his wicket to Alzarri Joseph

No luck. There was swing, but very little of the hazardous bounce that the likes of Roach and Gabriel had effortlessly exploited. Broad was particularly unfortunate, bowling seven aggressive overs without reward, turning Campbell inside out with an unplayable Frisbee of a delivery and then adding a couple of words for good measure.

But Campbell was still there at the close, and despite scoring at a rate of barely one an over, so were the West Indies. Given the way this series has lurched and looped so far, it feels foolhardy to look too far into the future. But day two already feels like a moment of truth for this England side: a last chance to seize control of a series that may already be slipping from their grasp.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in