England vs West Indies, 1st Test: Player ratings
International cricket made a brilliant comeback as West Indies beat England by four wickets in the first Test at Southampton to take a 1-0 lead in the Wisden Trophy.
England won the toss and stand-in skipper Ben Stokese lected to bat first. Most of the first day's play was washed out by rain, and England were skittled out for 204 midway into day two, thanks to Jason Holder's six-wicket and Shannon Gabriel's four-wicket haul. West Indies batted much better than their counterparts and posted a total of 318 thanks to half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Shane Dowrich. Roston Chase chipped in with a valuable 47.
England improved in their second innings as they batted well at the start of day four. But post-lunch they lost wickets in a heap, collapsing from 249 for 3 to 313 all out as West Indies used the second new ball very well. Shannon Gabriel picked up five wickets while spinner Roston Chase picked up the key wickets of Rory Burns and Joe Denly.
Set a target of 200 by England, West Indies made a rocky start to their innings and were 32 for 3 at lunch after Jofra Archer's brilliant spell of bowling. Roston Chase and Jermaine Blackwood, however, rallied together and put on a 73-run stand. After Chases' dismissal, Blackwood started asserting himself, and, with the help of Shane Dowrich and skipper Jason Holder, guided the Windies to victory scoring 95 runs.
Let's take a look at the player ratings for this match.
England
Rory Burns: 6.5/10
Burns got starts in both innings but couldn't convert them into a big score. His efforts to see off the new ball in both the innings do deserve some amount of praise. His dismissal in the second innings, however, was soft to say the least.
Dominic Sibley: 5.5/10
Dom Sibley was castled by Shannon Gabriel, after facing just 4 balls in the first innings. The opener put on a much-improved show in the second innings and made a patient half-century, and faced 164 balls before chopping a Shannon Gabriel delivery onto his stumps.
Joe Denly: 4.5/10
Denly didn't have a great game and didn't cross the 30-run mark in either of his innings. He was bowled by a Shannon Gabriel delivery, which nipped back in, in the first innings. He looked more confident in the second innings but got out in a rather soft manner, chipping Roston Chase to mid-on.
Zak Crawley: 6.5/10
Zak Crawley was dismissed for 10 in the first innings as he got trapped in front by Jason Holder. He made a vital contribution in the second innings though, scoring 76 runs before getting dismissed by Alzarri Joseph.
Ben Stokes: 8/10
Ben Stokes had a good game with both bat and ball, though the team needed more from their captain. He picked up four wickets in the first innings and two in the second. With the bat, he scored a patient 43 off 97 balls in the first innings, and a much aggressive 46 in the second innings.
Ollie Pope: 3/10
Ollie Pope had a poor game and could make just 12 runs in both his innings. While he nicked one off Jason Holder to the keeper in the first , he chopped on a quick delivery from Shannon Gabriel in the second.
Jos Buttler: 4.5/10
Jos Buttler played an attacking knock of 35 in the first innings but didn't make much of an impact in the second. He was bowled by Alzarri Joseph after scoring just 9 runs.
Dom Bess: 5.5/10
Dom Bess did a good job for England in the first innings, both with the bat and with the ball. The bowling all-rounder made a quick-fire 31, which pushed England past the 200-run mark in the first innings. He also picked up the wickets of Shai Hope and Jermaine Blackwood. He didn't have a good second innings as he was dismissed for just 3 runs and went wicketless.
Jofra Archer: 5.5/10
Archer had a poor first innings as he kept bowling a fraction of a length short of where he needed to be and duly went wicketless. He was, however, lethal in the second, having found his stride, and brought England back into the game. He picked up the wickets of Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks and later scalped Roston Chase too.
Mark Wood: 3.5/10
Mark Wood didn't bowl full enough and didn't seem like a threat to the batsman. He picked up just one wicket in each innings and might have to make way for Stuart Broad in the next match.
James Andeson: 5/10
Jimmy Anderson picked up three wickets for England in the first innings and used the new ball to good effect. He couldn't repeat the same in the second innings, though, and was easily dealt with by the Windies batsmen.