Darren Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood shared a match-winning century stand as West Indies defeated England in three days to draw the Test series 1-1 in Barbados.
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Chasing a tricky 192 for victory, Bravo hit a decisive 82 and Blackwood carved out an unbeaten 47 as the hosts reeled in their target for the loss of five wickets yesterday.
On a wearing pitch where batsmen struggled throughout their partnership of 108, the largest of the match, was the cornerstone of a memorable triumph. It was their first victory over England since the opening match of the 2009 series in Kingston, Jamaica.
While it was a compelling Test and a great advertisement for the longer format, the implications of defeat for England could be massive.
If England had 2 half decent spinners would be winning Barbados Test easily. Instead have 2 batsmen who bowl a bit!
— Geoffrey Boycott (@GeoffreyBoycott) May 3, 2015
Incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves had promised an inquiry should the tourists fail to win the series, and the future of head coach Peter Moores is likely to return to the top of the agenda.
The size of the target had seemed to place the result on a knife edge, and at 80 for four just after tea England were firmly in the conversation.
But as Bravo and Blackwood grew in stature, the tourists shrunk – lacking a coherent spin option as Moeen Ali struggled and they were also unable to prise one more magical session from their man of the series James Anderson.
Bravo fell just before the end, but Blackwood delivered the winning runs with a stylish blow for four.
Jos Buttler’s botched stumping of Blackwood may have been a crucial moment, but the seeds of defeat were sown early in the day when they were bundled out for 123.
They had publicly targeted a lead north of 200 but fell short after losing five for 84 in a chaotic morning.
The West Indian pursuit began with an opening stand of 35 between Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope. But more worryingly for England, they had already burned both DRS reviews by the 11th over.
A sceptical Alastair Cook was wrongly persuaded by Jonathan Trott to refer a caught behind decision against Brathwaite, while Chris Jordan lost a narrow gamble against Hope.
