West Indies vs England 2019: 4 things we learnt from the Test series

After a very long time, we saw West Indies put up a solid display in two successive matches and win a Test series against a Test-playing nation other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. Last year, they had even failed to beat Sri Lanka at home despite the visiting side going through a rough time.

This victory, the first one for Windies against a major Test nation since they defeated New Zealand at home in 2012, is seen by many as the possible beginning of a resurgence of West Indian Test cricket.

It is hard to say whether this is an accurate assessment but the victory was certainly heartening, not just for home fans, but for cricket lovers around the world.

The sight of West Indian fast bowlers wreaking havoc with pace and skill on visiting batsmen was highly gratifying for anyone who loves cricket and is aware of its history.

England, on the other hand, have been dealt with a grievous blow after experiencing the high of a 3-0 victory in Sri Lanka. With the Ashes just months away, there are serious concerns about the state of their Test side.

So, with the eventful series coming to an end, we can look at the major ramifications arising out of West Indies’ victory. Are West Indies back as a top side or are England getting worse in the longer format?

Let’s look at the key things we can deduce from this 3-match series:

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#4 Jason Holder emerges as a leader

This series has established Jason Holder as a true leader

Having been appointed the captain at a very young age, Jason Holder was bound to struggle with a very brittle team. But he had the backing of the great Clive Lloyd and the good wishes of many others.

The calmness and maturity he showed were signs of a good leader but results weren’t in his favour. His inclination to talk to former greats like Lloyd and Brian Lara, though, suggested a great desire to learn.

This series has seen him end all doubts and emerge as a truly respectable and capable leader. His bowling has become very effective and the five-wicket haul in the unhelpful conditions of India last year had already proved his mettle.

The double-hundred he scored in the first Test of this series was a clinching proof of his batting abilities that have been on display many times before. His match-saving hundred on England’s last tour to the Caribbean in 2015 had been a portent of what was to come.

His ascension to the top in the list of world’s best all-rounders has given him the moral authority to ask his players to perform. By leading from the front, he has set a great example also and his tactics were right on the mark as well.

Everyone seems to like him and the signs are in favor of him becoming the same sort of figure for West Indies that Brendon McCullum was for New Zealand.

#3 West Indies have a quality pace attack

Kemar Roach was the leader of West Indies' four-pronged pace attack

The struggles of the West Indian bowlers over the years has been painful to watch. A team whose pacers once held terror for teams around the world getting smashed by batsmen with ease has always been a painful sight to behold.

This is why watching West Indian pacers dismantle the English batting line-up was an absolute treat. It has to be remembered that West Indies have never run out of pace even in their worst times. Kemar Roach had produced great performances before and prior to him, Jerome Taylor had bowled some brilliant spells in Test cricket.

But this time, it was a collective effort from all members of the four-pronged pace attack that did the trick. Shannon Gabriel led the way with fiery pace and bounce. The big lad doesn’t only look dangerous but has, in recent times, turned himself into a very effective bowler.

Kemar Roach is the most skillful bowler in the team and his utilization of swing and seam was at par with the best in the world.

Jason Holder, who finally emerged as a consistent wicket-taker last year, continued to prove his mettle with another good series where his full length and ability to swing created trouble for the English batsmen.

Alzarri Joseph is in the early stages of his career but he acquitted himself well as a support bowler and showed real promise for the future.

With these four in the team, West Indies have a highly potent pace attack. Whether they would be equally successful on unhelpful pitches remains to be seen. But on pitches with some assistance, they could be deadly.

#2 England’s top-order woes continue

Keaton Jennings' struggles underlined England's top-order woes

England have been winning lots of matches and series lately. But the problem they have constantly endured in the last year and a half is the fragility of their top-order.

The number of times England have lost their first four or five wickets with less than or just over 100 runs on the board since the beginning of 2018 is incredible.

Their series win against India was in large part due to the resistance of their lower order, as was their historic triumph in Sri Lanka. The likes of Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes have bailed them out of tricky situations numerous times.

It was clear that the luck was going to run out at some stage for the team and it did in this series. The West Indian pacers didn’t let the lower order rescue the team this time and put the boot in to steal the match.

There are very serious issues that still remain unsolved for the Englishmen. The openers aren’t delivering. While Rory Burns seems to have done enough to retain his place, Keaton Jennings is certainly on his way out. Joe Denly’s success in the last game has given England hope that he could partner with Burns for opening the innings.

But that would leave the no. 3 position vacant, and filling it has been a major headache. Jonny Bairstow couldn’t do much in this series and getting bowled so often has raised doubts about his technique.

The one overarching issue that is afflicting the whole team is their inability to battle it out in tough situations. The whole line-up seems unable to play in the old-fashioned dogged manner which Test cricket requires at times.

Nick Compton, who was in the English team till 2016, has attributed it to the desire to play aggressively at all times, a strategy that has been traced back to their coach Trevor Bayliss by some experts.

As long as England are unable to play for long durations and their batsmen can’t score ‘daddy hundreds,’ as Graham Gooch called them, their problems would remain.

#1 Windies’ batting remains very fragile

Shai Hope once again failed to deliver

While England may be having their issues with the batting line-up, those facing the West Indians are even more serious.

Kraigg Brathwaite used to be a very dependable opener for the Windies. Despite lacking natural flair, he used his doggedness to get good scores consistently. But of late, the batsman from Barbados hasn’t been getting enough runs.

Shai Hope continues to disappoint in a big way. He hasn’t scored a hundred since his match-winning twin tons against England and even the fifties have been few. His returns in the longest format of the game have been so poor that he would have lost his place in most other teams by now.

It is hard to figure out what is the problem. While it can be conjectured that he is wilting under the pressure of expectations, his dismissals in this series raise questions about his temperament and technique as well.

Shimron Hetmyer has massive potential but needs to temper his aggression to become a great player.

Darren Bravo played a brilliant innings in the second Test where he battled hard for hours to score a pivotal knock that proved crucial in his team’s victory.

But apart from that, his performance in this series was highly disappointing. Partly, this could be the result of returning to Test cricket after a long time. He still remains their best batsmen but would be required to be more prolific in the future.

Roston Chase too has been inconsistent. Yes, his ton in the last innings of the third Test was very impressive as he battled hard while others capitulated around him. Yet, he needs to be a lot more consistent in order to become a top batsman and he certainly has the ability to.

The complete capitulation of the line-up against high-speeds of Mark Wood is worrying. This, after their struggles against spin in subcontinent last year raises questions.

Yes, the way they tackled Anderson and Broad shows they can deal with good swing bowling reasonably well but serious technical issues need to be sorted out for them to become a quality team and perform like they did in this series on a consistent basis.