James Anderson, Moeen Ali help England to crushing win

By
ICC
-
214

James Anderson and Moeen Ali both picked up three wickets each to help England to a crushing 232-run win in the third Test against Windies in St Lucia.

VIEW MATCH CENTRE

Despite an excellent unbeaten hundred by Roston Chase, much of the Windies batting line-up crumbled in trying to chase a mammoth target of 485, helping England finish the series with a consolation victory.

England began the morning in a hurry to declare with the bat, having finished the previous evening with a lead of 448 runs. The third ball of the day, which saw Ben Stokes slap Kemar Roach down the ground for four, signalled the intent of the visitors, who were looking to finish the red-ball leg of their tour on a high.

While Joe Root starred on day three with his 16th Test hundred, it was Stokes (48*) who was at the forefront of England’s brief attack in the opening session, treating Roach to a pulled six over the leg side. Root (122) eventually fell clipping a full toss into the hands of Shimron Hetmyer at short mid-wicket, and with his departure called for the declaration.

As ever, Anderson was lethal with the new ball. John Campbell flashed hard at his first ball faced, only to see Moeen take a stunning diving catch at gully. Kraigg Brathwaite (8) and Darren Bravo’s (0) outside-edges were also drawn to leave Windies in tatters at 10/3 from just 6.1 overs.

After a brief period of resistance, things went from bad to worse for Windies when Shai Hope (14) fell to Mark Wood for the second time in the match, a short delivery seeing Hope hang his bat awkwardly, with the ball lobbing up to Stuart Broad at point, who made no mistake with a simple catch. Windies finished the session on 35/4, their hopes of saving the match all but over.

Nevertheless, Hetmyer and Chase managed to frustrate England after the break with a 45-run partnership, one that ended in dismal fashion for the home side. A full toss to Chase from Wood was sent towards the point boundary, with a seemingly easy three runs on offer. However, poor running between the wickets saw to a comfortable run out for England, with Hetmyer sent on his way for 19.

Shane Dowrich fell for the same score, with Moeen finding drift to catch the batsman’s edge, allowing Ben Stokes to demonstrate his catching skills at first slip. Despite the carnage unfolding at the other end, Chase kept battling and ended the session unbeaten on 53 from 138 deliveries.

Kemar Roach hung around for 29, but eventually departed to Moeen with a drive straight to Wood at extra cover. Alzarri Joseph and Chase hit some lusty blows to frustrate England, bringing up the highest partnership (56) of the innings. Nevertheless, a massive heave across the line saw Joseph send the ball high into the air – Anderson taking a comfortable catch at mid-on to end an enterprising 30-ball knock of 34.

The dismissal of Shannon Gabriel (3) with Chase on 98 could have been heartbreaking, with Keemo Paul having suffered an injury yesterday, leaving his availability to bat in question. However, Paul emerged after Gabriel’s fall to support Chase on his way to well-deserved hundred – a brief moment of joy for Windies on what was ultimately a disappointing day. Paul enjoyed himself at the crease with three boundaries, but eventually departed by returning a catch off of Stokes’ bowling.

It signalled the end of the match and the conclusion of an excellent series of Test cricket.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR