5 things West Indies should do to improve

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.