England and the thousands of fans who have followed them here left disappointed at stumps on day one in Barbados, because Dan Lawrence planted the final ball of the day into the hands of cover.
Lawrence had made 91, his highest Test score, and it had been a lot of fun: a roistering ride full of memorable strokes.
Even that wicket could not hide the strength of England’s position: they are 244 for three, with the opportunity to make the sort of vast first innings score they so rarely do. The captain Joe Root is still there, unbeaten on 119, his 25th Test century. The pitch seems very benign (although the outfield is slow), and Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow are waiting in the hutch.
If it all sounds peachy, it wasn’t necessarily. Shortly before the toss, it emerged that Matthew Fisher would be making his debut – just as Saqib Mahmood was. This is the first time they have fielded two seam-bowling debutants since Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan in 2019. Root and Stokes presented their caps.
Craig Overton joined Mark Wood (elbow) and Ollie Robinson (back) on the sidelines, giving England’s attack a very green look. Whatever they manage to rack up with the bat, taking 20 wickets may well be a challenge.
To make that awkward start trickier Zak Crawley – a centurion last week – fell for a duck after Root won the toss. He was caught behind trying to leave Jayden Seales, leaving England four for one. Even on a flat pitch, England’s position felt dangerous. It is only eight days since their last top order meltdown.
From there, then, they would have taken the slightly solemn, soporific first half of the day’s play. At drinks in the afternoon session, 44 overs in, England were 79 for one – and then the game sped up.
Root added a single off Veerasammy Permaul to bring up his half-century, from 125 balls. Next ball, Alex Lees was leaden-footed, and trapped lbw for 30 from 138 balls (123 of them dots). Lees has a more straightforward technique than some of his recent predecessors, but is not necessarily pretty. Here, he made big strides from his debut – when he failed to make it out of Kemar Roach’s first spell in both innings – and did a job for the team.
To bat three hours was an exercise in obduracy. West Indies could have made him play more, especially against the new ball. He left everything he could, moving along at a glacial pace, but looked secure and solid. When Permaul pinned him lbw, it was a surprise. In time, Lees will want to prove that he has more gears.
Lawrence does not lack gears, and the whole tone of the game shifted soon after he came in. He took 10 balls to get off to the mark, but was soon swatting boundaries here and there. The push down the ground, followed by the flick through wide mid-on. Permaul has smacked to cow for six and regularly cut for four.
Until this point, Root had scored much quicker than Lees, but slow by his busy standards. He had enjoyed some luck, too. When he had 23, West Indies chose not to review an lbw shout off Jason Holder, which he appeared to inside-edge through to the keeper. When he had 34, keeper Joshua da Silva dropped him down the legside off Kemar Roach.
Neither issue appeared to faze Root, who picked off singles and the occasional boundary (there were only six in his fifty). He was buoyed by Lawrence’s energy, and took Permaul on. They complemented each other beautifully, zipping along, with the most likely source of wickets feeling like a run out. Root was nearly barbecued by Lawrence.
Making hay after tea, Lawrence reached his fifty (from 62 balls) and Root his century in successive balls, to similar shots, guiding floaty short balls to fine leg for one. The roar was something to behold. Root’s was his second in two innings, marking a superb return to No3.
West Indies became increasingly desperate, employing hair-brained short ball tactics, and ragged, with Alzarri Joseph dropping Lawrence (on 72) at slip off Seales. In a bid to slow scoring, they delayed taking the new ball until the 86th over.
In its first over, bowled by Jason Holder, Lawrence unfurled a stunning over-drive to bring up the 150 partnership and equal his highest Test score. He had time for two more of them in the final over, before picking out cover. He left distraught, but other opportunities await.
