All square with one to play. Somehow the players of both sides have set up an intriguing climax to a series that has surpassed expectations. There have been dull patches of play, just occasionally the standard has dipped, but both Tests have been in the balance on the fifth day and the intensity of the cricket has been a minor triumph.
The upshot is that we have enjoyed a surprisingly compelling spectacle that keeps on giving. In these weird times some have been bingeing on Line of Duty, others on England v West Indies; we are now so much more familiar with Shamarh Brooks and Jermaine Blackwood and they are interesting characters, good to watch; so, too, are Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, who have similar roles and utterly contrasting techniques and approaches to batting – and there’s always Ben Stokes for a bit of stardust.
So the final Test is anticipated eagerly. England have the options, a bewildering number of them, and the impetus. The tired adage of never change a winning side is outmoded in 2020 but after the win on Monday Stokes reassured everyone he was fit – he pulled up in the middle of an over just before the end of the game as a precaution – so the likelihood is that Joe Root and Chris Silverwood will have a full complement of eager, healthy bowlers vying for a place on Friday. However, they will want to restrict the number of overs Stokes bowls if he is to play in every Test this summer.
Leaving aside Stokes, England have played six pacemen in two Tests, that is everyone with a realistic chance of playing Test cricket this summer. All have bowled well enough. All have now experienced the vagaries of rotation. All could play on Friday alongside Stokes and a spinner. There are no right answers here, just a mixture of hunches, assessments of the likely conditions as well as the workload charts the experts pore over. And there are only three places. The players, being top sportsmen, will want to play. Silverwood and Root are set to be the Claudio Ranieris of the cricket world for this is the season of the tinkermen.
There is a strong case for the following: retaining Chris Woakes, who was effective with the new ball and the old and the likeliest to find an outside edge against the right-handers. He looks fit and hungry and it may be time for him to shed that understudy tag. They say he only performs well in England and the stats back that up, but where are they playing on Friday?
Jofra Archer should also return. This would be tough on Sam Curran, who has been on the winning side in all eight of his home Tests but who would West Indies rather face? England have needed some mid-innings hostility and it was provided by Stokes in the second Test. He should not have to do that all time. The presence of Archer would help here. After his fall from grace and his isolation it would be beneficial to all parties to have Archer back in the fold as soon as possible.
There then remains the trickiest choice: Broad or Anderson. Perhaps the best option would be to continue with Broad and to play Anderson in the first Test against Pakistan, again at Old Trafford, on 5 August. Broad, especially, has become a new-ball bowler – even though swing is not a great ally for him now. He is less likely to be effective mid-innings. But the force was with him at crucial times in the second Test.
Dom Bess eventually struck when bowling from the right end in West Indies’ second innings. He has improved rapidly, bowling at greater pace and with more zip and he remains a tremendous prospect. But it is surely worth considering rotation in this department, too. Jack Leach is also worthy of a Test place. Why not allow him to become an option?
There is a tactical reason for change. If West Indies drop the opener John Campbell they will probably have 11 right-handed batsmen. More important, the attack would be better balanced. In the second Test all the pacemen – except Curran – wanted to bowl at the James Anderson End. So did Bess for that vital drift in the air towards the off side and he was much more dangerous from there. If conditions are the same for the final Test Leach, being a left-armer, is better suited to bowl at the less-favoured Brian Statham End. Leave Leach for too long and the decision to play him becomes ever riskier.
The options for West Indies are not so obvious but alluring. The prospect of their off-spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, playing instead of one of the tired pacemen is intriguing and a brave move would have the 22-year-old Joshua Da Silva, not in the official Test squad but a heavy run scorer in West Indies’ practice match before the series, replacing Campbell. Bold selections in such a bizarre time would only add to the drama.
