2nd Test Match: England win by 113 runs – Series tied at 1-1
Early on day 5, Ben Stokes hit a massive 6 into the empty seats at the biosecure Old Trafford. He would end up plundering 78. That was when I wondered if England were going to pull off a victory. On Sunday afternoon, I could not see an England win being possible until Stokes’ endless short pitched bowling finally removed Kraigg Brathwaite for 75. None of this was possible without Stokes, who scored 176 in the first innings. Did I mention Ben Stokes?
On day 5 at Old Trafford Joe Root and his team did almost everything perfectly. The only blemish was the failure to review when Shamarh Brooks was given not out having clearly edged the ball behind (and this was another mistake by umpire Richard Illingworth). Over the 4 days (with one day washed out) England played the game that Root has often talked about:
- Build a good first innings total around solid batting by the top order. Generally, a 400+ score is not a losing score.
- Attack with the ball and if this does not work immediately, apply pressure over a long period by finding a way to keep the scoring rate down.
- Later in the game allow the strokemakers to attack and score quick runs meaning that you have enough time to take 20 wickets in the game.
Nothing remarkable in that game plan, but it is hard to think of another example of a single player having such an impact on a game in so many different ways. You could talk about Headingley in 1981 – but of course Sir Ian Botham played aggressively throughout. Perhaps in 2005 at Edgbaston Andrew Flintoff had an even greater impact on the game (debatable) but again the style was largely aggressive. We already know that Stokes is adaptable. Let us not forget that at Headingley in 2019 Stokes finished day 3 having scored on 2 off 50 balls. In the first innings here he batted for over 300 balls with a strike rate just under 50, before he batted for 57 in the second innings at a strike rate of 136. I know that by now, we should be used to the exploits of Ben Stokes, but this was another astonishing performance.
Only 5 times in history has a player taken 3 or more wickets and scored 250+ runs. Ben stokes is now one of them.
Stokes would say this was a team performance – and he would be right. He was clearly well supported, most notably by Dominic Sibley and Stuart Broad, though others also made important contributions. Without Sibley’s 120, England did not win this game, simple as that, and I hope the ludicrous criticism of his strike rate now goes away. Broad ripped through the West Indies late on day 4 which was vital. However, Stokes just underpins the whole game.
I think we need to give Root some credit as well. I have to admit that I would not have opened up the second innings with Stokes and Jos Buttler – I thought that was bound to fail. Some felt he should have declared earlier on day 5, though I thought he got it just right. I was very critical of Root in 2017, when he clearly declared too early. However, he has not let that game impact his decision making, and we did not see a repeat of Sir Andrew Strauss declaring too late in 2009 in the West Indies.
This was a lucky escape for England, who needed the win. If they had gone into the final game of the series in a situation where they could not win the series, this would have been viewed as a failure. As a Manchester local, it pains me to say it, but the Manchester weather also was against England from the start – though once again Old Trafford came up with a great pitch. But England have dodged a bullet. This failure to win the first game of a series is a real problem which nearly cost England the series here.
England now need to win again and keep that strong record against West Indies in England – were England have not lost a series since 1988.
My team for the third test match – but with a ‘get out’ clause between Sam Curran and Jofra Archer
Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root (c), Stokes (v/c), Pope, Buttler (w/c), Bess, Curran/Archer, Broad, Anderson
Cricketed 