A complete fiery bowling attack provided West Indies with a ten-wicket victory over England in the third and final Test, here in Saint George’s, Grenada.
With this win, West Indies have clinched the three-match Test series with a 1-0 lead, as the first two matches ended in a draw. Resuming Day 5 at 103/8, England batters Chris Woakes and Jack Leach tried to anchor the innings for the visitors as they were left with just 10 run lead.
Kemar Roach struck them hard and dismissed the duo and their batting run at 120, thus providing his side with a target of 28 runs. Coming to bat, West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell make it look like a cakewalk and chased down the target in mere 5 overs and ended the match with a ten-wicket victory over the Three Lions.
Earlier, West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Joshua Da Silva scored an unbeaten ton and all-rounder Kyle Mayers scalped five wickets to dismantle England’s batting line-up.
England skipper Joe Root expressed disappointment after his side lost by ten wickets in the third and final Test against West Indies, here in Saint George’s, Grenada. “It has been a frustrating Test match, we showed a lot of fire in the first innings and were still in the game. Yesterday was a very frustrating day, it was a really important day in the series, but we couldn’t manage it well like we did in the first two games where we showed a lot of promise. We took a few strides forward in the first two games, but credit to the West Indies for this match. We didn’t read the surface as well as we could. We had a similar situation in the first Test match in the first innings, but we couldn’t get grips with it this week,” said Root in a post-match presentation.
“There’s still a lot of learning that needs to be done, we need to keep working hard because that’s not going to happen overnight. The most important thing is to make improvements moving forward, there are still some good things to be taken from this series. Jack Leach has been exceptional. Lawrence showed a lot of promise, which is very exciting and those are encouraging signs,” he added. The skipper further said that the team needs to keep up the positive attitude while performing in the upcoming matches.
“I think we have learnt a lot as a group, the most important thing is to keep that attitude. We need to keep approaching things like we have done, that’s the key. I think I made it clear that I am passionate about this team, that has not changed. We are so lucky to get the support that we do (wherever we go),” said the skipper.
Brief score: England 204, 120 (Alex Lees 31, Jonny Bairstow 22; Kyle Mayers 5/9) vs West Indies 297, 28/0 (Kraigg Brathwaite 20*, John Campbell 6*; Chris Woakes 0/13).