Paul Collingwood believed England’s players deserved medals after the Ashes, and at the end of the third day in Antigua – one that felt as dispiriting as anything witnessed in Australia – the interim head coach was ready to hand out more.
Over the course of nearly 10 hours Nkrumah Bonner’s 123 had ground West Indies to 373 for nine and a lead of 62. At the close Collingwood opted to front up while his charges put their feet in ice, offering the kind of upbeat assessment that was the hallmark of his own playing days.
