West Indies were touring England through the month of July 2020, the first time international cricket was being played since the COVID-19 lockdowns began earlier in the year in March. It was called “bubble cricket” given the safety “bubble” all the players and public were expected to adhere to.
It was an evenly poised series till the middle of the second test, but then the gap opened up. While West Indies drew first blood by thrashing England in the first test, England turned the tables to run away with the series 2-1!
This is the way the cookie crumbled where West Indies lost their way towards the latter part of the series. Well, here are many interesting aspects of the series:
- As per the new post-COVID-19 rules, no saliva can he applied on the ball to give it shine, and no handshakes were allowed. Interestingly, Sibley accidentally used saliva for shining the ball and he was reprimanded.
- This test series had home umpires instead of the usual neutral umpires due to minimal travel permitted post the Coronavirus outbreak. Yet, the DRS did not overthrow too many decisions by the on-field umpires.
- This was the first time England won a test series after losing the first match. Clearly, the momentum saw a clear shift away from the West Indies somewhere in the middle of the series.
- Stuart Broad missed his first home test since 2012 as he was not selected for the first test match of this series. He had played 51 home tests on the trot since 2012. But he made a roaring comeback in the latter two tests. He also scored the third fastest fifty for an English batsman in a test match, getting to the feat in 33 balls.
- Jofra Archer was dropped for the second test as he had violated England’s bio-secure protocols or the “bubble”, but he was allowed to make his way back into the team in the third test.
- Kemar Roach was wicketless for 500 balls before the second test, but finally broke his dry cell and found his way back amidst the wickets. He also reached the milestone of 200 test wickets.
- Roston Chase became the first West Indian spinner to take a 5-wicket haul in England. Imagine he went ahead of so many earlier West Indian spinner legends such as Sir Gary Sobers and Lance Gibbs!
- Alzarri Joseph took only 3 wickets in the series but he did come in handy with the bat in the second test as a night watchman scoring 32 runs. Alas, that didn’t prove enough and West Indies lost the close second test, and then kept on going downhill!
- John Campbell scored 84 runs in 6 innings at an average of 14. Not good enough for an opener. Also, Shane Dowrich was utterly lacklustre and should be replaced with Shai Hope as the wicketkeeper and another batsman should be added to the team.
- Ben Stokes once again stamped his all-rounder authority by delivering a great performance. He amassed 363 runs in 5 innings at an average of 91 and topped it up with bagging 9 wickets in 4 innings. He couldn’t bowl in the final test due to his shoulder niggle.
- Stuart Broad reached 500 test wickets in the third test, he is only the 7th bowler in the world to do so. He also was the “man of the series” as he took 16 wickets in just 4 innings and turned the tide in England’s favour.
10 Reasons Why the Cookie Crumbled the Way It Did 