England have the chance to banish some of the disappointment of 2021 and get their ‘Red Ball Reset’ off to a winning start with victory in the third and final Test against West Indies in Grenada.
Out of 15 Test matches England played in 2021, they won just four - including an Ashes humiliation Down Under - but a pair of docile pitches during the first two Tests in Antigua and Barbados have restored the batting line-up’s confidence.
And while the back-to-back draws may have been frustrating, it means victory in Grenada would give the tourists just a second Test series win in the West Indies for 50 years - joining the 2003-04 tour success.
There is hope that Grenada - the Spice Island - will provide a pitch with a bit more heat than the roads of the first two Tests that have made for exhausting work for the fast-medium bowlers in particular, summed up on day five of the second Test when Saqib Mahmood’s removal of Shamarh Brooks was courtesy of the first catch in the slip cordon all match.
West Indies have now not won in ten Tests, dating back to February 2021, but their resilience - led by immovable skipper Kraigg Brathwaite - has been apparent all series long and they won’t want to give up a proud record on home soil.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the third Test.
When is the game?
The five-day Test match will run from Thursday, 24 March to Monday, 28 March at the National Cricket Stadium, St George’s on the island of Grenada. Play is scheduled to start at 2pm GMT each day and finish at around 9pm or 10pm GMT.
Where can I watch it?
The game will be live on BT Sport 1 for all five days. BT Sport subscribers can also stream the match live via the BT Sport website and app, while England Cricket and BBC Sport will show short highlights of the day’s play.
What’s the team news?
There is no reason for England to alter a batting line-up that is finally firing - albeit on pitches that are absolute roads - so the only personnel changes from the last Test are likely to come among the bowling unit.
Chris Woakes’ overseas struggles have probably reached the point where he could be dropped, while Matthew Fisher was solid but unspectacular on debut. England had hoped Ollie Robinson (back spasms) would be fit but he suffered another setback in the nets session, and isn’t expected to recover in time, which could spare Woakes, with Craig Overton (illness and fatigue) now fit and ready to replace Fisher.
Saqib Mahmood should retain his place after an impressive debut unless the pitch appears to be another batter’s paradise and/or conducive to spin, when he may sacrificed for a second spinner - namely Matt Parkinson - to play alongside Jack Leach.
The West Indies have named the same 13-man squad for the third game running and, in all likelihood, will name an unchanged XI for the entirety of the series.
That would mean of the 13 in the squad, it is reserve batter Kyle Mayers and uncapped fast bowler Anderson Phillip are the two men to miss out.
Odds
West Indies - 10-3
Draw - 13-8
England - 11-10
Prediction
Surely, for the sanity of cricket lovers everywhere, after two pitches so docile that the games became almost unwatchable at points, Grenada - the Spice Island - will provide a surface with enough heat to finally produce a result from five days of Test cricket. If it does - and let’s remain optimistic that it will - then England look better-placed to capitalise, given the form of both sides in the previous two matches, and will fancy their chances of just a second Test series win in the Caribbean in the past 50 years. England to win on the fifth day.
