Afternoon all and welcome to the final act of a curious play. It is almost certainly heading towards a draw, and yet, most of the time, it has been far from a bore.
On a pitch pudding, both teams managed to collapse in their first innings before staging a recovery. The West Indies rearguard was quite slow, though impressive in terms of mental strength. His insistence almost brought the game to a halt, only for it to spring back to life in the hands of England’s top order, so often a basket case itself.
A score of 217-1 would normally be a big yawn, but, for Joe Root, it could be just the fresh start he has been desperately looking for. As nearly all of the run has been created by Root and Jack Crowley, it has been a treat to watch – a welcome departure from the plodding inaction of the Silverwood era.
Like Jonny Bairstow, and unlike Nkrumah Bonner, Root and Crowley are good enough to go through gear. After tea they somehow started to rattle in five overs: doing so at Viv is like going ten overs on most Test grounds. Taking the game, getting things done, putting pressure on the bowlers: If only Shane Warne was with us, he would have loved it.
According to Cricviz, there is now a 19 per cent chance of a result (Eng 18, West Indies 1). How will this happen, exactly? England will have to continue the stir with a declaration using an extended morning to set a target of 270 in two seasons and then be brave. Jack Leach, who went from poor to decent in the first innings, will have to be at his best; Root and Dan Lawrence will need to lose a wicket or two with their slow allrts. With Mark Wood unfit, Ben Stokes’ old ball could crack, leg sore, and some canny Darren Gough cutters from the unlikely pairing of Woakes and Overton’s new ball.
Well, upon reflection, a lot of planets would have to be in alignment. But if a sports lover can’t dream, who can? and when you look up England’s most influential bowler in the fourth innings Over the past four years, on average, the top three, ahead of Broad and Anderson, are Woakes, Leach and Stokes.
To make up for the time lost in the rain, the game starts in Antigua at 9.30am, 1.30pm GMT, so join me and see if this New Englander really means business.