ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES -The third test between England and West Indies took place on 24 July 2020 at Old Trafford.
| England Team: Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Chris Woakes, Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson. |
| West Indies Team: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder (c), Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel. |
Toss: West Indies won the toss and choose to bowl first.
DAY 1 (ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES)
The day started off as the players pay their respects to Ruth Strauss’s foundation.
It was started by Sir Andrew Strauss in the memory of his late wife. The players can be seen wearing red caps as a tribute.
Kemar Roach starts off the first session with Rory Burns at the striker’s end.
Roach drew first blood in the last ball of the first over. The centurion from the last game, Dom Sibley was adjudged LBW.
He went without troubling the scorers. Root came in at 3. Shannon Gabriel was off the field after a niggle.
He was back in the field soon after. Root looked quite uncomfortable earlier on.
After playing a considerable amount of deliveries, he was run out by a direct hit from Chase.
Ben Stokes came in at 4. At Lunch, England stood at 66/2 after 27 overs of play.
The first ball after lunch was hit for a four by Burns through point.
Roach was getting some good swing in and out. He finally got one to nip into Ben Stokes.
He was bowled for 20. Ollie Pope came in at 5.
Burns reached his the fifty in tests with England at 104/3.
Rory was set on the crease by this time and Pope just had to support his partner.
Burns fell to Chase and was caught by Cornwall at first slip. In came Josh Buttler at 6.
At Tea, England was at 131/4 after 53 overs of play.
In the final session of the day, Pope and Buttler built a steady partnership.
Pope was saved from an lbw appeal by ‘Umpire’s Call’.
Pope went to 50 with England at 176/4. Buttler led the attack against the spinners by landing some good blows.
They reached their 100 partnership in 172 balls. Buttler reached his fifty with England at 246/4.
England ended the day at 258/4 after 85.4 overs.
The players had to leave due to bad light.
West Indies produced some good chances in this session but it was dominated by England. Roach took two scalps.
Buttler and Pope were at 56* and 91* respectively at the day’s end.
| England | |||
| 258/4 | |||
| Pope – 91 | |||
| Roach – 2/56 |
DAY 2 (ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES)
Gabriel had Buttler plumbed earlier on but it was given a no-ball.
Cornwall dropped Pope at 91, the bowler was again Gabriel.
The next over Gabriel came back and cleaned up Pope with a ripper.
Pope was out for 91, just 9 short of his hundred. Chris Woakes was next.
Woakes dragged back delivery by Roach and went for 1. Roach reached the feat of 200 test wickets. Dom Bess was next to bat.
Gabriel removed Buttler for 67. England were 274/7 at this stage.
Archer came in next. Roach removed Archer and the score was 280/8. England lost 4 wickets in 4 overs.
Stuart Broad came in at 10 and took the attack to the bowlers.
Broad led the charge and reached 50 in just 33 balls. Broad was dismissed while slogging to chase.
He went for 62 off 44 balls. England finished at 369 and lunch was called.
West Indies went very defensive on Broad which led to him taking the charge.
The West Indies came out to bat. Brathwaite fell early to Broad with the score at 1/1.
Stokes dropped a catch off Campbell to Anderson’s bowling. Campbell played some lovely shots before he was dismissed for 32.
Archer got one to rise which surprised Campbell and he top-edged it.
Hope was trying to survive but he was gone to beauty by Anderson.
West Indies’s top three were gone. They were at 58/3.
Chase came in next at 5. With West Indies at 59/3, Tea was taken.
After Tea, Anderson removed Shamrah Brooks.
Blackwood was adjudged lbw soon but his review overturned the decision.
West Indies stood at 73/4 when Broad was brought back into the attack.
He trapped Chase in front with the score at 73/5. Blackwood looked good until he was bowled by Woakes for 26.
West Indies ended up at 137/6 at the day’s end after playing 47.1 overs. Bad light was again the spoilsport.
| England | West Indies | ||
| 369 | 137/6 | ||
| Pope – 91 | Campbell – 32 | ||
| Roach – 4/72 | Anderson – 2/17 |
DAY 3 (ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES)
At 165/6, Holder survived a dismissal with a no-ball by Woakes. Holder was dismissed for 46 by Broad.
He got the better of Cornwall too, soon after. Roach followed him soon with a duck.
Dowrich fell for 37 and was the final nail in the coffin.
Stuart Broad who was left out in the first test had ended up with 6-31. West Indies were all out for 197.
At lunch, England were 10/0.
Dowrich got hit on his face and was replaced by Joshua De Silva (sub).
The new rules allow keepers to be brought on as substitutes. Burns and Sibley looked to build a solid partnership.
They went on about 2.5 runs per over. At Tea, England stood at 86/0 after 32 overs.
Sibley reached fifty with England at 106/0. Burns followed him shortly.
Sibley fell to Holder at 56. Joe Root came in with England at 114/1.
Root charged at the bowlers from the word go. The weather forecast had predicted rain for the next two days.
They wanted to score quick runs and build a big lead. The West Indies were already under immense pressure.
With wickets getting dry and the lead getting bigger they were faltering.
Root and Burns were smashing the bowlers to all parts of the ground.
Root reached his fifty with England at 202. Burns fell to Chase at 90. This is when the declaration came.
Root stayed not out on 68. West Indies had to bat for 6 overs to get through the day.
Broad picked up Campbell and the nightwatchman Roach. The day ended with West Indies reeling at 10/2.
| England | West Indies | England | West Indies |
| 369 | 197 | 226/2 dec | 10/2 |
| Pope – 91 | Holder – 46 | Burns – 90 | Hope – 4* |
| Roach – 4/72 | Broad – 6/31 | Holder – 1/24 | Broad – 2/8 |
DAY 4 (ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES)
As predicted, Rain came on to spoil the day’s play in Manchester. Not a single delivery was bowled.
West Indies being in a bad situation would hope the rain to continue for a day more.
England would look for any opportunity possible. Broad might get through the line up in a matter of time.
We look forward to Day 5 with West Indies requiring 389 runs and England 8 wickets to win.
| England | West Indies | England | West Indies |
| 369 | 197 | 226/2 dec | 10/2 |
| Pope – 91 | Holder – 46 | Burns – 90 | Hope – 4* |
| Roach – 4/72 | Broad – 6/31 | Holder – 1/24 | Broad – 2/8 |
DAY 5 (ENGLAND vs WEST INDIES)
It was sunny at the start of the day’s play.
Broad trapped Brathwaite in front marking his 500th scalp in test cricket. Brooks came in at 5.
Hope top-edged one from Woakes and went 31. West Indies were struggling at 71/4.
Woakes picked up Brooks soon after for 22.
At 23.3 overs rain came down and players had to go off the field. Lunch was taken with the score at 84/5.
Bess ran out Chase for 7. Holder was plumbed for 12. England was 3 wickets away from victory.
Woakes further dismissed Dowrich and Cornwall. Broad picked up the last wicket.
West Indies were all out for 129. England won the game by 269 runs.
| England | West Indies | England | West Indies |
| 369 | 197 | 226/2 dec | 129 |
| Pope – 91 | Holder – 46 | Burns – 90 | Hope – 31 |
| Roach – 4/72 | Broad – 6/31 | Holder – 1/24 | Woakes – 5/50 |
Ending of Third Test
All in all, West Indies have been lackluster since their first game.
They showed their spirits and gave us hope. This test single-handedly dominated by England.
They were on the move right from the first day.
They had a plan and they executed it. Being left out on the first test, Broad came back strong.
England were 0-1 after the first game.
They won the last two and retain the Wisden Trophy.
Stuart Broad was made man of the series for England.
Roston Chase was made man of the series for West Indies.
This is the first series that took after a long gap.
Amidst the pandemic, we at Crick Academy hope for more cricket soon.
Let us know if we missed something. Till then, stay safe and take care.
