West Indies thrashed England by ten wickets on Day 4 of the third and final Test to win the three-match series 1-0 on Sunday (March 27), at the National Cricket Stadium, St George’s, Grenada. It was a hard-fought Test series where the Joe Root-led visitors had their moments, however, they failed to capitalise on them before Kraigg Brathwaite-led Windies emerged on top in the series decider to win the series 1-0.
Talking about the third Test, West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first. Riding on Jayden Seales’ 3 for 40 and contributions from Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Kyle Mayers, the hosts bundled out England for 204 all-out in the first innings. In reply, Windies were 177-8 but a maiden ton from Joshua Da Silva rescued them and took the team total to 297 all-out; enabling a vital 93-run lead.
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England fell flat in their second essay, being dismissed for 120 courtesy Mayers’ 5 for 18 as Brathwaite & Co. chased down a paltry 28-run target with ten wickets in hand. After the Test series, here’s a look at the updated ICC World Test Championship points table:
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Post Windies’ series win, home captain Brathwaite said at the post-match presentation, “I feel fantastic. Feel even better that we have won. Want to thank the fans for coming in here at the Grenada stadium, that’s very pleasing. Main thing was working on my balance, more on my top hand work. Been working on it for the last two years. A total team effort, it is a total team effort. I must commend all of my team-mates. Bonner and Jason in the first Test, Blackwood in the next Test and then Roach. Alzarri bowled those short balls yesterday. The effort from the guys was remarkable.”
On the other hand, a dejected Joe Root, who now has joint third-most losses as a Test captain, said, “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. 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).”
