Second Rothesay Test (day four of five), Trent Bridge
England 416 (Pope 121; A Joseph 3-98) & 425 (Root 122, Brook 109; Seales 4-97) West Indies 457 (Hodge 120; Woakes 4-84) & 143 (Bashir 5-41)
England won by 241 runs
England surged to a series win by dismantling West Indies in a single session on the fourth day of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
Set 385 to win or four sessions to save the game, West Indies disintegrated from 61-0 to 82-5 in a blur of five wickets in six overs.
Chris Woakes found the edge twice to remove openers Mikyle Louis and Kraigg Brathwaite, while off-spinner Shoaib Bashir bowled a magical spell to claim 3-8 in 15 deliveries.
The only question remaining was whether the game would last until Monday. Mark Wood bounced out Kevin Sinclair, Gus Atkinson struck twice in three balls, and Bashir took the final two wickets to end with 5-41. West Indies were 143 all out, beaten by 241 runs.
All this came after Joe Root and Harry Brook each made centuries to lay the platform for England’s victory push.
Root’s 122 was his 32nd Test hundred, one short of Sir Alastair Cook’s England record, while Brook added 109 for his first Test ton in this country.
West Indies’ target might have been larger had England not lost 7-96, but the regular fall of home wickets also gave Ben Stokes’ side enough time to wrap up the game with a day to spare.
It gives England their first series win since the tour of Pakistan in 2022. They will look for a 3-0 clean sweep when the final Test begins at Edgbaston on Friday and have named an unchanged squad.
Swift end to a superb contest
The rapid way this match unraveled in the final session of the fourth day was at odds with everything that came before when these teams had wrestled for control.
Even with the runs Root and Brook scored in the morning session, there was still a ray of light for West Indies, who clung on by taking 3-19 just before lunch.
In the end, the target always felt likely to be beyond them, despite the great spirit they have shown in responding to a heavy first Test defeat at Lord’s and the fact the pitch showed no huge sign of deteriorating until West Indies began their chase.
Suddenly, England were getting the ball to shoot and spit, particularly from the new Stuart Broad End. Woakes exploited some uncertain footwork, while Bashir hinted at why England had chosen him ahead of Somerset team-mate Jack Leach.
By this point, free entry for the fifth day had been offered to spectators, much like the last men’s Test at this ground, when England thrillingly beat New Zealand in 2022 on the day their Bazball style was born.
The fifth day was not required, but the outcome is the same: an England win and an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
Awesome England dismantle West Indies
Given the conditions, England might have expected a similar slog to the first innings when they needed almost 112 overs to dismiss West Indies for 457.
Instead, this was a collective display of brilliance by the home attack, who dismantled the Windies in 36.1 overs of mayhem after tea.
Brathwaite, in particular, had looked in solid touch for 47 in his opening stand of 61 with Louis, but once Louis was drawn into an edge by Woakes, the implosion was swift and dramatic.
Kirk McKenzie somehow edged a Bashir half-tracker to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, while Brathwaite’s edge was almost a replay of Louis’ dismissal to really expose the tourists. Kavem Hodge was lbw playing back to Bashir, who then found gorgeous turn to draw the edge of left-hander Alick Athanaze. West Indies had lost 5-21.
The four-day finish was a possibility, made a reality when fleeting resistance from Sinclair was ended by a brutal bouncer in another terrifying spell from Wood.
Atkinson pinned Joshua da Silva lbw and scuttled one through Alzarri Joseph before Bashir produced his best, one that turned to end Jason Holder’s defiance on 37.
When last man Shamar Joseph was bowled having a swipe, 20-year-old Bashir became the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a home Test and the first spinner to take five in an innings at Trent Bridge since 2006.
Root and Brook set England on course
Root and Brook, a master-and-apprentice pairing at four and five, had guided England from danger on the third evening and resumed on 248-3, leading by 207.
Neither of the Yorkshiremen was troubled as they blunted any possibility of the early wickets that would have gotten West Indies back in the game.
Brook, appearing to have so much time, either waited for the ball and guided it through the third man or played beautiful straight drives. This was the 25-year-old’s fifth Test hundred and first in 17 months.
Root accumulated in trademark fashion with pushes, deflections, and clips. The seven fours in his hundred are the second-fewest in all of his Test tons. A fifth hundred in Nottingham is his joint-most at any venue and equals the record for centuries on this ground, shared by Michael Atherton and Denis Compton. He celebrated by reverse-scooping Shamar Joseph for four.
Just as England were set to accelerate, Brook flapped an edge off Jayden Seales to end a stand of 189. Captain Stokes pulled the same bowler to long leg and Smith edged off-spinner Sinclair.
The home side never fully regained the momentum, but in reaching 425 to go with their first-innings 416, this was the first time England had passed 400 twice in the same Test.
‘It’s not good enough’ – what they said
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, speaking to BBC Test Match Special: “It’s a tough loss, we pretty much lost 10 wickets in a session. It’s not good enough.
“It was obviously better than Lord’s but with the ball we weren’t as consistent as we should have been.”
England captain Ben Stokes talking to TMS: “I didn’t see it happening that quickly after the opening partnership. You could see at the end of our innings the wicket started misbehaving, I thought the way we fought back after that first wicket was impressive.
“I think we can get better, really looking forward to the next four matches.”
Credit: BBC Sport
