Poor weather may lend a hand, but West Indies will still have to bat their way to safety and a drawn series
Nagraj Gollapudi26-Jul-2020As per the weather forecast, Monday could well be a washout at Old Trafford. If that does happen then West Indies will need to bat out the final day of this series. Should they manage that, the Wisden Trophy will be theirs forever (Going forward the contest will be for the Richards-Botham Trophy).Regardless of the weather over the next two days, can West Indies’ batsmen be trusted to last the time left in this Test? Can they survive against England’s fearsome foursome in overcast conditions?Last Monday, West Indies had to bat 85 overs to deny England the opportunity to level the series. The 312-run target was out of reach, but the visitors managed to bat just 70.1 overs in a demoralising defeat. On the penultimate afternoon, around tea, West Indies were sitting pretty at 242 for 4 in their first innings. With the third day washed out, West Indies seemed to have found the path to a draw. But they were defeated by Stuart Broad and the second new ball.ALSO READ: Series still on Roach’s mind amid emotion of reaching 200Jason Holder has won the toss twice in Manchester, but elected to field both times on a bat-first pitch. It tells you how much confidence he really has in is batsmen. Despite chasing down a 200-run target to win the first Test in Southampton, West Indies batting order has been flaky, inconsistent, vulnerable and, in the case of Shai Hope, miserable.Not a single centurion for the visitors. Just a solitary 100-run partnership. Barring a 43-run alliance in the first innings of the first Test, West Indies’ opening pair of Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell has been a total failure. Brathwaite has two half-centuries, but both in the first innings. The vice-captain has been haunted by low scores in the second innings for some time, including in this series. Campbell, as he once again proved in a three-ball stay, has been a liability. Another man seemingly serving his notice period is Hope, whose highest score in five completed innings has been 25.So far West Indies’ top four have scored an aggregate of 462 runs from a total of 24 innings at an average of 22. That includes Alzarri Joseph’s 32 in the second Test, when he came in as nightwatchman in the first innings.In contrast, the engine room – Nos. 5-8 – has compiled 624 runs in 20 innings at 32.84, comprising five half-centuries and including the match-sealing 95 from Jermaine Blackwood in Southampton.So can West Indies be trusted to survive? England just had 23 minutes late in the afternoon on Sunday. They took just nine balls to send back Campbell. Broad’s precision has damaged West Indies’ confidence badly. Before he came on for his first spell on Sunday morning, Holder and Shane Dowrich had confidently seen off the charge from Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes. But Broad picked up quick wickets in succession, and despite passing the follow-on, for the rest of the day Holder and his men looked listless and wounded.
If Holder’s men need inspiration, they should listen to the immortal words of former US senator John Lewis: ‘Don’t give up, don’t give in. Keep the faith, and keep your eyes on the prize’
There is nothing much Phil Simmons and his interim batting coach Floyd Reifer can do overnight to work on the technical deficiencies of West Indies batsmen. It is the mental battle that they have to win.The key will be if they can play one ball at a time, instead of worrying about what plans Broad, James Anderson, Archer and Woakes come at them with. As Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Ben Stokes and even Joe Root have shown – if you survive the first 25 overs then the old ball gets relatively easier to deal with. Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase and Blackwood have experienced that. But it was their inability to extend their vigils that hurt West Indies ambitions.West Indies last long. In the first innings of the first two Tests, they batted for 100 overs. They now have one last chance to redeem themselves.There is plenty at stake, including valuable points in the World Test Championships. This is only their second series in the WTC. They lost the first one last year 2-0 against India at home.If West Indies manage to draw this series, both teams will get 53 points each. If the result is a tie, each team gets 60 points. But if England win the series 2-1, they pocket 80 to West Indies’ 40 points.This series has been played to the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, reignited following the death of George Floyd. West Indies have shown solidarity, with Holder speaking emotionally on the first day of the series. Both teams have taken the knee at the start of each of the three Tests.Last week John Lewis, one of the towering figures of the Civil Rights movement in the USA, passed away. If Holder’s men need inspiration, they should listen to Lewis’s immortal words, uttered each time he saw something wrong in society: “Don’t give up, don’t give in. Keep the faith, and keep your eyes on the prize.”Can West Indies keep their eyes on the prize?