Jonny Bairstow was at it again with a second brilliant hundred in successive Tests to help steer his team out of trouble on day one in the Caribbean.
With Bens Stokes and Foakes for good company he showed that he was in need of anything but a reset as he followed up his 113 in Sydney with a vital 109 not out here, his 8th Test ton.
And boy was it needed after England 's top order faltered in the face of excellent new ball bowling from the Windies attack and familiarly poor shot selection to be floundering at 48-4.
The presence of Bairstow though at number six, as a flame-haired firewall, might just be the best decision of the new era, giving him a clear purpose for the undoubted talent he has.
And if one or two of the flashier styled batsmen above him were happy to take notes, the way he began studiously and carefully before opening up the full array of strokes late on in the day, would be a pretty decent blueprint to follow.
England ended the day 268-6 thanks to partnerships of 67 and then 99 between England’s five to seven engine room, but other problems remain.
There might be six changes to the team, a new head coach and a new venue, but for all the talk of a red ball reset, things were disappointingly familiar where England’s top order were concerned as they failed to get to grips with the rudiments of Test match batting.
Not even the brilliant Root, who had carried England’s batting in 2021, was able to make a significant contribution on his return to No.3 in the order.
They say there are three certainties in this world. Death, taxes and the England Test team 30-3.
Well, Root’s dismissal, bowled leaving the ball as it clipped the top of off stump, made it 27-3 and confirmed the theory for yet another game.
Truth be told, what did we really expect? Zak Crawley to become Viv Richards overnight? Or Alex Lees to be a ready made Alastair Cook on debut?
It would be foolish to think that just because the white ball team made six changes after their 2015 World Cup horror show and started their new era with a 210-run win over New Zealand, scoring 400 in the process, that the same would happen here.
This revolution or evolution is going to take far more than wishful thinking or a three word slogan to get right and that was proven by the opening burst from the Windies pace attack.
Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Jason Holder were all a threat as they picked off the top four one by one with Lees the first to go on debut for just four. Trapped lbw by the still improving Roach. A verdict on him must wait.
For Crawley though it is a different story. The young batsman already has a body of work that tells you he has little problem in scoring runs, because he has all the shots. Staying in is the big challenge.
Inside edging a big drive in the fourth over at a wide one is just too loose for a Test opener. He is starting in 5th gear, when 1st will do on the opening morning.
Dan Lawrence was just as carefree with his dismissal, while Stokes had looked in very decent touch as he started the rebuild with Bairstow. It was a surprise to see him fall for 36.
With the ball and the wicket making life harder for the Windies, Foakes played most fluently of all, but also with responsibility. It was a very promising return from him.
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