NOTTINGHAM, England – In a dramatic turn of events, the West Indies surrendered the Richards-Botham Trophy after a catastrophic collapse led to a 241-run defeat against England in the second Test at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
Set an improbable target of 385 for victory, the West Indies appeared steady at 61 without loss after the first hour, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite (47) and opening partner Mikyle Louis (17) successfully weathering the new-ball attack from England’s fast bowlers.
However, the match took a devastating turn when Louis edged the first ball after the drinks break from seamer Chris Woakes (2-28) and was caught behind. This wicket triggered a dramatic collapse, with the West Indies losing 10 wickets for 82 runs, ultimately being bowled out for 142. The defeat, with a day to spare, left the West Indies trailing 2-0 in the three-Test series.
Twenty-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, in only his fifth Test, tormented the West Indies with a career-best five for 41, becoming the youngest-ever English bowler to take a five-wicket haul at home. Gus Atkinson, the hero of the first Test, supported with two for 49.
Not good enough
“A win was on our minds as a team, but pretty much we lost all of our wickets in one session, so we know that was not good enough,” said Brathwaite. “To be honest, the pitch was quite good today, so I felt as though it was still a good pitch. We just didn’t bat well enough. I’m disappointed because obviously, I knew we could do a lot better than we showed today. But the main thing is to learn from it. It’s gone, it’s history, we can’t bring it back.”
England resumed the fourth morning at 248 for three in their second innings and consolidated their advantage before being dismissed on the stroke of tea for 425, thanks to former captain Joe Root’s 122 and Harry Brook’s 109. The pair extended their fourth-wicket stand to 189 before being separated. Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with four for 97.
Faced with a challenging total to chase in the last four sessions of the match, the West Indies seemed poised to push the game into the final day on Monday as Brathwaite and Louis laid a solid foundation with an intelligent half-century opening stand. However, Louis’s dismissal opened the floodgates for England in the final hour, resulting in a rapid succession of wickets.
The final Test of the series is scheduled to begin at Edgbaston next Friday, where the West Indies will seek to salvage some pride and avoid a series whitewash.
