3 things West Indies need to do right to beat England in 1st Test at Lord's
West Indies are all set to face England in the first game of the three-match Test series from Wednesday (July 10) at Lord's. The Caribbean last played a Test match in January, while the hosts toured India in February - March this year.
After being handed a 10-wicket defeat by Australia in the first game, West Indies produced a turnaround by securing a thrilling eight-run victory in the second game to level the series at 1-1. On the other hand, England managed to prevail over India in the first game, but could not continue their momentum, as they went on to lose the series 4-1.
Ahead of this series, Cricket West Indies called back the experienced campaigner and former captain Jason Holder to the fold. Unfortunately, they will miss the services of Kemar Roach, who sustained a knee injury during the County Championship game.
Interestingly, West Indies last secured a Test series victory in England in 1988. On that note, let's take a look at what the Kraigg Brathwaite-led side can do better to start off the series on a winning note.
#1 Negating England's Bazball threat with pacers Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph
Amid the bazball threat of England batters like Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, and Ben Stokes, the onus to secure breakthroughs for the Caribbean team will be on Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph in the absence of Kemar Roach.
Alzarri has done well to secure 23 Test wickets in nine games in England. In the last series against Australia, he scalped seven wickets in two games, with the best figures of 4/84. With the new or the old ball, Joseph can be a key wicket-taker for West Indies.
Meanwhile, Shamar rose to prominence by taking 13 wickets in two games against Australia and playing a key role in helping West Indies level the series. He can be a lethal contender to play fire with fire against the England batting unit.
#2 Playing with positive intent against a mediocre English bowling attack
The England bowling unit for the first Test has the presence of James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, and Shoaib Bashir. Anderson, who will be playing his final international game, is coming into the series by playing a solitary County Championship game after the series against India in March.
Veteran all-rounder Woakes makes his first Test appearance since last year's Ashes. Atkinson will be making his Test debut, while Bashir will be playing his first home Test after featuring in three games against India earlier this year.
Overall, the England attack doesn't look threatening enough on paper, and it will be the perfect chance for the visitors to take charge of the proceedings. Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and middle-order batter Kavem Hodge will look to play with a positive intent for the Caribbean team.
#3 All-round contribution from Jason Holder
The most experienced player in the Caribbean squad, Jason Holder will play a crucial role in both departments. He last played a Test match in July 2023 and missed the Australia series after opting out of his central contract.
However, Holder is coming into the series after playing two first-class matches for Barbados and representing Worcestershire in five County Championship 2024 games. He garnered 186 runs and scalped nine wickets in six County games, while slamming 123* off 110 against Kent in May.
With 2,797 runs and 157 wickets in the longest format, Holder certainly holds the track record as well as the form to be a key contributor to West Indies' success at Lord's.