Chris Woakes leads England’s bowling barrage to series victory over West Indies

England clinched victory at Old Trafford in the deciding Test match after dominating from start to finish

Chris Woakes celebrates after taking the wicket of Rakheem Cornwall (Getty)

An uncompromising Test win after an ignominious start three weeks ago. After falling 1-0 behind against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl, Tuesday saw England claim their second victory at Old Trafford to bag the Wisden Trophy with a 2-1 series win.

That it was a 269-run win sealed on day five does not tell the whole story. Joe Root’s side dominated from start to finish, scoring 369 up top and going on to establish a 172-run first-innings lead, then setting West Indies 399 for victory and bowling them out for 129 before 3pm. This would have been a victory confirmed earlier in the week had England not been battling the weather, too.

The headline grabber was Stuart Broad, who picked up his 500th Test wicket with the LBW dismissal of Kraigg Brathwaite. But the brunt of the second innings work was done by Chris Woakes, who took a fourth five-wicket haul with five for 50. Meanwhile, Broad’s four for 36 gave him remarkable match figures of 10 for 67, and a career bowling average that sits under 28 for the first time.

If there was a chance the work of Woakes would get lost in the celebrations of a second Englishman making it to 500 – James Anderson was the first – Broad himself ensured that at least behind closed doors that would not be the case. The 34-year old has the first innings match ball as his memento after his six for 33 to allow Woakes to keep the one from the second, as is customary.

Broad, though, would rightfully earn the player of the series tag with 16 dismissals (the most on either side) at 10.93. Not bad considering he was dropped for the first Test, and it speaks volumes that he beat Ben Stokes (363 runs at 90; nine wickets at 16) to the award, with little debate.

Here, Broad took the first and last of the eight wickets required, moving off 499 within the first hour. The wait for 500 had very much been both his and England’s, having reduced West Indies to 10 for two on the evening of day three to bring himself within one of the milestone and his side within sight of clinching the series.

The procession continued even as rain interrupted play four times, which included an early lunch taken at 12:40pm. The steady flow of wickets eventually saw England complete their win in just 31.1 overs.

It speaks well of the bowling options at Root’s disposal that Woakes was able to replace James Anderson at the James Anderson End and bowl through until the West Indies second innings was finished off. Even the wicket that was not his during this spell – Roston Chase run out brilliantly by Dom Bess – came off a delivery from Woakes. It was also Bess’s only contribution in the field with no spin bowled by England during the match.

A sustained barrage of short bowling eventually unnerved Shai Hope, who scuffed Woakes in the air to Broad who judged a high catch at mid on well. Sharmarh Brooks was tied down and then edged a delivery that deliberately coaxed him outside off stump.

There was even less resistance after lunch when Chase and Jermaine Blackwood cocked up a single that saw off the former through the fault of the latter. An arching delivery into the pads of Shane Dowrich was followed by a carbon copy to Rahkeem Cornwall four balls later.

Neither had the fight left in them to throw up a speculative review and, with that, Woakes had five. Broad then needed just one ball of his new spell to finish things off, as Blackwood flashed at a short delivery going across him and Jos Buttler pulled off a fine diving catch to his left.

Stuart Broad celebrates claiming his 500th wicket (Getty/ECB)

It did not have to be this way for West Indies. An hour after the close, the heaviest rains of the day arrived amid the post-match interviews. The resistance they showed in the first Test had slowly been whittled down. Even with Monday’s rest, they still looked a little frazzled. And yet, Jason Holder’s side leave with the utmost respect.

They arrived at the height of the coronavirus pandemic over a month ago, with three of their regular players opting out of the tour on safety grounds. They have seen nothing but the Hilton hotel rooms of Emirates Old Trafford and the Ageas Bowl, and even rallied to Jofra Archer’s cause when the English quick broke lockdown ahead of the second Test. Since they arrived in the UK, the coronavirus situation has had a devastating blow to life and the economy in the Caribbean.

Without them the ECB would not have been able to recoup some of their £280million losses and, on that level, there is a duty to repay a team that has often been regarded as an afterthought. Not just with further meaningful series, but also a larger slice of the international pie which is still carved up by the big three nations of India, Australia and England.

More broadly, this was a selfless act for cricket. The game is a distraction at the best of times, and here it was at one of the worst of times showing the world that there is a way out of this darkness. Slowly, other boards, sports and industries are following cricket’s lead.

To that end, both sides and boards deserve huge credit for overcoming the odds to get this on. More importantly – a huge, heartfelt thank you, West Indies.