Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: WI vs ENG: The stats that will make England fans laugh or cry | England flop again in Test cricket, with a 1-0 series defeat in West Indies – the stats
As soon as Joshua Da Silva and Alzarri Joseph dropped anchor in the West Indies’ first innings, any England fan could have been forgiven for thinking the worst. By the time Craig Overton broke the 49-run stand for the eighth wicket, England were only in front by 27, certainly not enough to feel safe after with England’s regular habit of batting collapses in Test cricket.
And they obliged. Joe Root’s team followed up their first innings collapse of 90/8 with 120 in the second to surrender the series. Batting coach Marcus Trescothick pleaded for calm and not to judge England’s batting progress by “one bad day”, but such a comment is laughable given their batting woes of the past few years.
Sure, they scored big in Antigua and Barbados, but the pitches were so flat that Kraigg Brathwaite could have still been batting today. Grenada was the first instance of helpful bowling conditions in the series, and England’s array of loose techniques, lack of temperament and reliance on Root were duly exposed.
Not by Kemar Roach. Nor Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder or Jayden Seales. But by the medium pace of Kyle Mayers. His 5/9 on the third evening was characterised by skilful seam bowling on a helpful track, but it was another example of England succumbing to bowling they should be better against. Remember, a little over three years ago, Roston Chase’s steady-but-unspectacular off-breaks yielded 8/60 in a 381-run victory for the Windies.
The numbers make for horrible reading from an England perspective. Here are some of the stats highlights from another failed Test series for a team well and truly on the slide.
WI vs ENG: The stats underpinning horrible England in Test cricket:
No Test series win for England in West Indies since 2004
West Indies have largely struggled for consistency in Test cricket, except when England come to town. The Windies have lost just two Tests out of 13 against England at home since 2004, with the tourists failing to win any of the four Test assignments in this period.
Worse, England have won just one series in the Caribbean since 1968. They have toured West Indies 11 times since, and while the home side’s domination in the 1980s and 1990s is understandable, England’s struggles since 2004 is of great concern.
One win in last 17 Tests overall
England’s brilliant win over India in Chennai last year brought a renewed sense of hope that this team can climb up the rankings. That victory followed a 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka, where Joe Root and the spinners led the way.
However, it was the calm before a huge storm. Joe Root’s team have won just one of their next 17 Tests, including none in their past nine, namely the final three Tests in India, 1-0 and 2-1 defeats to New Zealand and India at home, before getting blanked 4-0 in the Ashes and 1-0 in West Indies.
Alex Lees scores nearly half of England’s top seven runs
England’s top seven contributed 127 runs in the entire Test, averaging just 9.07 runs per wicket. Worse, Alex Lees contributed to nearly 50% of those runs (62), with only Jonny Bairstow crossing double figures in either innings (22 in the second innings).
It was a new ball pitch, but it was an extremely poor effort by England’s frontline batsmen. They were shown up by Jack Leach (41) and Saqib Mahmood (49) who put 90 for the last wicket in the first innings.
England’s 3rd lowest 3rd innings score in West Indies
England’s abysmal 120 in the second innings is their third-lowest score in the third innings in the Caribbean. This effort sits behind their 51 all-out in Kingston in 2009 and 103 in Kingston in 1935.
Kyle Mayers 5/18 among the cheapest 5-fers for West Indies against England
Kyle Mayers’ 5/18 is the third-cheapest five-wicket haul for any West Indian bowler against England. It is some stat when you consider the number of incredible pace bowlers to come out of the Caribbean.
Mayers sits behind Jerome Taylor (5/11, Kingston 2009), Michael Holding (5/17, Old Trafford 1976) and Kemar Roach (5/17, Barbados 2019).
In the final analysis, it is a wonderful series win for West Indies. Such are few and far between for them, which makes England’s performance all the more disappointing.
Joe Root’s position as captain must be under greater threat now, but the state of their batting is a much bigger issue. England’s supporters in the West Indies are certainly forgiven for travelling to the West Indies for the vibes rather than the cricket. It is truly a shambles.
