England won the second Test match in Grenada after tea on the final day by nine wickets with almost 18 overs of the match remaining. After they were set 143 to win, Jonathan Trott made another nought, leaving his place in doubt for the third Test, but Alastair Cook and Gary Ballance, with an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 142, saw the side home, the captain finishing on 59 not out from 121 balls and Ballance undefeated on 81, from 126 balls, his innings containing eight fours and two sixes.
Earlier, West Indies had been dismissed for 307 in their second innings, the last eight wickets falling for 83 runs as Jimmy Anderson capped a fine new-ball spell that brought him three for 16 (for four 43 in all), by executing a run-out and taking two catches.
“The new ball was really crucial. It was all about trying to put the ball in the right areas and credit Jimmy, what an outstanding spell that was,” said Cook. “I can’t fault the lads – it was a tough wicket to get any kind of result, slow and flat. To get 20 wickets the way we did was a great effort, down to attitude, character and a lot of skill. You can always improve on a performance but the lads were brilliant.”
He was particularly generous about Anderson, who now has 390 Test wickets. “We should cherish every moment he bowls for England,” Cook said. “We turned up at the ground thinking it would be a lot of hard work on a flat wicket and it was, but when you’ve got special players in your team they can produce special performances at the drop of a hat.
“Sometimes we take Jimmy for granted because we kind of expect him to be able to swing it both ways, reverse it and never miss his length. That doesn’t always happen but he’s pretty close time and time again. I’m very lucky to have played with Jimmy and to still be playing with him.”
Joe Root was judged man of the match for his outstanding unbeaten 182 in the first innings. “We’ve been ruthless and it’s something great to take forward for the rest of the series and the summer,” he said.
Root acknowledged that his innings had provided England with the momentum to secure a winning position. “You just want to be busy from the off and try to make it as hard as possible for the guys bowling at you and fortunately that helped the run rate slightly and got me going anyway. A lot of credit has to go to the way the openers played in that first innings and the ruthlessness at the end there by Cooky and Gary. There’s so many positives for us to take from this Test match and we’re champing at the bit to get back out there in Barbados.” The third and final Test starts in Bridgetown on Friday.
The West Indies captain, Denesh Ramdin, said Anderson’s spell had been costly. “We fought hard for the first four days but that one session where we lost six wickets has really cost us the Test match,” he said.
