Windies lose 19 wickets in a day!

Birmingham, August 20 

West Indies captain Jason Holder challenged his side to “look themselves in the mirror” after they suffered an innings and 209-run thrashing at the hands of England in the first Test at Edgbaston. The first Day-Night Test in England finished inside three days on Saturday. “It’s been a tough few days, we were disappointing in this Test match. We lacked consistency when we bowled, and we didn’t put up any runs,” said Holder. “We got beaten in three days and just weren’t up to scratch.”

Few had given West Indies much chance ahead of the three-match series but even their sternest critics might have paused before suggesting they would lose 19 wickets in a day.  Yet, that’s exactly what happened on Saturday -- West Indies, who started the day at 44/1-- were shot out for 168 and 137 after being made to follow on. “We have to regroup -- it’s only one Test, and we can’t drop our heads down,” said Holder. “The series is not lost... I have to believe, (because) every team is beatable.  (But) each player has to look in the mirror and see where he can improve.”

West Indies’ bowling was as poor as their batting, with England piling up 514/8 declared as captain Joe Root (136) and his predecessor Alastair Cook (243) plundered runs against a hapless attack. 

Only Jermaine Blackwood, who made a defiant first-innings 79 not out, and persevering paceman Kemar Roach, who bowled better than the figures of 2/86 in 28 overs suggested, could draw some satisfaction from their performance.

Testing time for Windies 

West Indies’ problems in Test cricket away from home are nothing new. Since 1997, excluding matches against the often struggling Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, they have won just three out of 87 Tests away from home, losing 67 and drawing 17. It is a sad statistic for a side that was Test cricket’s dominant force during the 1970s and 1980s. 

West Indies are the reigning World T20 champions and there are fears that Test cricket may never regain the pride of place it once enjoyed in the region. Johnny Grave, the chief executive of Cricket West Indies, accepted that an “awful” amount of work was required to restore the team’s Test fortunes. “I think we are certainly best in the T20 format,” said Grave. “Our system of producing cricketers allows us to compete at that level rather than the longer formats, where the inadequacies of our system are really highlighted.” “Jimmy Adams, our new director of cricket , and I have got an awful lot to do to put in place a professional system underneath the men’s international side to produce better cricketers.” Brief scores: England 514/8 dec; West Indies 168 (Blackwood 79*, Anderson 3/34) and 137 (Brathwaite 40; Broad 3/34) — AFP