England vs West Indies 2020, 1st Test, Day 4: Report - Late Strikes From Alzarri Joseph And Shannon Gabriel Put West Indies On Top

Yet another riveting day transpired at the bright and shiny Ageas Bowl between England and the West Indies. If on day one the skies were gloomy and murky, day three bloomed in sunshine and hope. And on the subsequent day, England got their share of sunlight which they utilized to a reasonably good effect. Yet, West Indies were not as bad, making the English batsmen earn the runs and striking back with late breakthroughs.

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After surviving nervous times at the close of day three, Dom Sibley and Rory Burns comfortably settled in to bring their fifty-run stand within the first hour. It arrived when Burns clattered a boundary off Jason Holder’s short and wide delivery through backward point. But it was also him through who; West Indies got their first opening, twelve minutes before lunch while still 42 behind.

The 104-ball vigil for 42 ended for the southpaw when he sliced a loose delivery outside off from Roston Chase to John Campbell at point. Yet, Sibley and Joe Denly got busy at wearing down the tourists with controlled aggression until the highly eventful 51st over. Shannon Gabriel, who already had Sibley’s number once got to an attritional but a well-deserved half-century against the seamer by clipping him off the pads.

The very next ball the right-handed became the victim for the second time in the game by inside edging a back of a length to the stumps. But third umpire Michael Gough ruled out as a no-ball while Gabriel displayed an incredulous look. Nevertheless, without adding even a run to the score, Sibley squandered his lifeline by edging a leg-side delivery to Shane Dowrich in the 51st over.

Zak Crawley and Denly built another promising stand of 38 wherein the former looked as good as he did in South Africa. But Denly might be the one to make way for Joe Root the next game as he perished for another promising beginning. Chase was the man to strike for the second time as when on 29, the Kent batsman could not find the elevation and instead holed out to short mid-wicket.

Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes nearly bat West Indies out of the game:

England’s stand-in-captain and the most important man came to the crease while they had lost 3-37 but nervously strode through to tea when even a Holder review could not remove Ben Stokes. And during the final session, Stokes and Crawley batted like they were possessed when suddenly it felt like the inclusion of Rahkeem Cornwall may have made the difference.

The visiting captain had Stokes’ number once again when the southpaw departed for missing out on a half-century once more, this time by four runs, which also finished an enterprising partnership of 98. At the other end, Crawley was resurrecting his career to good effect after bagging a duck on debut against New Zealand. And it would not be a surprise if he retains his place when the regular skipper returns for Manchester unless Denly bags a fifer in the fourth innings.

Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph hit back with critical strikes:

Alzarri Joseph returned for his 12th over of the second innings while having no wicket to his name till now and going for nearly three an over. At 72, Crawley treated his third delivery with disdain by hammering a boundary off mid-wicket. But Alzarri had the last laugh when the ball stuck in his hand while the batsman attempted a flick through mid-wicket but instead got an edge. While still a successful over, Jos Buttler greeted Joseph’s delivery with a boundary too.

With five down, the home side still had hope if Buttler could play a Gilchrist-Esque knock and Ollie Pope scampering through difficult times. Joseph made an impact yet again by breaching through Buttler’s bat through to the stumps, who perished after hammering two boundaries for his 9. While Dom Bess was more than credible for inflicting damage with the bat, Dowrich dropping him in the 97th over did not make a monumental difference.

Gabriel eroded not only Bess’ stumps but also the last recognized batsman Ollie Pope’s five overs later that massively tilted the scales in West Indies’ favour. It gave the Trinidadian his third wicket of the innings and seventh of the match. With a lead of 170 and two wickets in the hut, England were already staring down the barrel. It might not be too long before England sleepwalk to a defeat while alarms will raise but not surprises.

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