5 things West Indies should do to improve

Things have been tough for West Indies Cricket of late. While the experienced players have been ignored by the Cricket board, the youngsters have failed time and again to perform against good teams.

After losing to India in the shorter formats at home, the Caribbean team was thrashed, by an innings and 209 runs, by England in the opening game of the 3-Test series at Edgbaston in what was also the first day-night Test in the country.

After winning an important toss, the England captain, Joe Root opted to bat on what looked like a good batting surface to start with. Windies, however, made two early inroads, dismissing debutant-Mark Stoneman and Tom Westley, the new number three for England.

But that was all that went well for the visitors on the first day. Captain Joe Root and the former captain, Alastair Cook put up an outstanding 248-run partnership for the third wicket. While Root got out after a scoring a brilliant hundred (136 off 189 balls), the experienced left-hander went on register his fourth double ton (243 off 407 balls) in Tests.

David Milan batted patiently for his 65 to help England cross 500-run mark. The hosts declared after putting up 514 on the board, as Root decided to make use of the new ball under lights.

For Windies, nobody apart from Kemar Roach looked even close to threatening. The pace was not there and neither was accuracy, as the England batsmen piled up the misery on the lackluster bowling attack.

As far as their batting is concerned, the less said the better.

The inexperienced batting unit could only last for 47 and 45.4 overs in the first and the second innings respectively. The James Anderson-Stuart Broad pair was too good for the visitors. The experienced duo picked up 10 wickets in the match.

The lone spinner in the England bowling line up, Moen Ali was excellent once again, as he troubled the batsmen throughout the match with his wily variations. Toby-Roland-Jones, too, impressed with his seam bowling and bagged four wickets in the match.

For the visitors, the only bright spot with the bat was Jermaine Blackwood’s fighting inning (79* off 76 balls) in the first innings. Carrying from the overnight score of 44-1, the Windies batsmen looked at sea against the moving ball and succumbed to disciplined bowling by the hosts. The Caribbeans lost 19 wickets on the third day alone and handed an easy win and a 1-0 lead to England.

There are plenty of issues that the Windies need to address before the next Test. And the change needs to happen quickly, as another loss means the series is lost.

So, let us look at the five things that the Windies should do to improve.

5. Believing in themselves to deliver

The young Windies team should start believing in their abilities

For most of the players in the West Indies side, this is the first tour to England and that can be a problem. It can take some time to get used to the conditions, to adjust one’s game. And the form that the current England team is in is also a cause for concern for the West Indies.

But there is enough talent in the team to compete if not win against the home side. The Coach and the Captain will have to lead way in reinstating self-belief in the players.

The last time England toured the Caribbean, the hosts came out on top in a Test match and if they can deliver to their potential, the West Indies definitely can beat England in England too.

4. Fielding needs to be lifted

West Indies were below par in the field in the first Test

Despite it being a young side, the team's fielding level in the first game was surprisingly below par by the West Indies. Particularly during the marathon partnership between Cook and Root West Indies were very disappointing in the field.

If their bowlers struggled to break the partnership, the fielders made matters worse. There were quite a few mishaps and extra runs conceded. Notably, Cook reached his 100 after the fielder at deep square leg let one through his legs.

There needs to be a significant improvement in the fielding in the coming games for results to turn around.

3. Batting for longer periods

The openers will have to see out the new ball and help their batsmen

The fact that the visitors lost as many as 19 wickets in a single day tells the story: they just didn’t bat long enough to give themselves a chance to score big. Part of reason for this failure was the brilliant bowling by England. But, the main reason was that the young Windies batsmen didn’t apply themselves.

Life is hard for a batsman against a moving ball in English conditions. But if you are willing to dig deep and be patient there will be bad balls to score off.

For them to succeed, the openers will have to shoulder more responsibilities and see out the new ball for the team. The Windies’ batsmen will have to be mindful of it if they want to stage a fight back in the series.

2. Lengths need to be fuller in England

Kemar Roach was the only one who looked threatening with the ball for Windies

There was enough movement on the first day of the Test and the Windies’ bowlers do have the skill. But the lengths they bowled didn’t help their cause.

Considering the fact that they bowl at around 135kmph, only Roach touched the 140 kmph mark on occasions, all the others needed to bowl full and trouble the England batsmen with swing. But sadly, the visitors bowled too short. And the balls that were full were too full to cause any trouble.

Jason Holder bowled most of his overs to Cook from around the wicket, trying to nip it into the left-hander. But, like his bowling partners, the Windies skipper kept it on the shorter side and that, in turn, gave Cook enough time to adjust. Also, this ploy saw a number of deliveries drifting onto Cook’s pads and gifted easy runs to the southpaw.

The key to trouble the batsmen in England is to bowl fuller lengths, even if it means you get driven for runs. Moreover, the current bowling attack of Windies is rather inexperienced and they would only learn from their mistakes.

1. Minimizing boundary balls

Joe Root sent the West Indies bowling to the rope more often than not

After picking up two early wickets it appeared as though, West Indies bowlers took the foot off the pedal. There was no pressure exerted. The discipline was lacking and there were too many boundary balls on offer - and Cook and Root didn’t miss out on them.

Kemar Roach, who was bowling with aggression and intent, didn’t find the support from the other end. Alzhari Zoseph, who is playing his first Test in England struggled for control and was found wanting against the quality batsmen. The youngster conceded 4.95 runs every over and couldn’t get any wickets.

Even skipper Jason Holder bowled the wrong lines. The tall bowler sprayed too many deliveries onto Cook’s pads and the veteran opener, being a strong player on the on-side, pounced on the opportunities almost every single time.