Former England bowler Steven Finn has joked that James Anderson and Stuart Broad might actually be quite happy to have missed the ongoing series against the West Indies.
Finn made the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the pair actually "might be quietly content" not to have been picked given the unresponsive pitches that the series has been played on so far. Speaking on BT Sport, Finn said: "I think Broad and Anderson, sat at home, might be quietly content that they haven’t had to have a bowl on that pitch, though the competitors they are, I am sure they are formulating plans as to how they would have tried to counteract this wicket."
Although Finn's comments may have been tongue-in-cheek, they do highlight an issue with the pitches we have seen so far on this tour. According to CricViz, no Test series in the Caribbean since 2006 has had flatter pitches than this one.
And West Indies quick Kemar Roach has been particularly critical of the surfaces, describing them as "dead tracks". Roach told BBC Test Match Special: "The pitches in the Caribbean are a bit of a concern.
"There's no enjoyment for fast bowling anymore. There's no pitch you can identify that you will want to perform there as a fast bowler. It's all dead tracks now.
"It's a bit concerning for me as a fast bowler, we've got a good group of fast bowlers coming through in the future as well. You need to have a discussion about it, and what we can go for, improve the pitches, and bring back cricket back to life again in the Caribbean."
Speaking after the end of day four, England debutant Saqib Mahmood admitting he was "glad to get off the field. "It's been a long couple of days in the dirt," he told BT Sport.
"It's my first red-ball game since December and I was glad to get off the field today! Reverse swing came into it a little bit.
"It is quite slow so both edges aren’t really in play. It’s more about bringing the stumps and front pad into play. I just tried to stay disciplined. If I wasn’t taking wickets, I tried not to go for runs."
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