article_snippet.sent: For two hours at the start of a Test match that England cannot afford to lose it was possible to believe that Colin Graves’ description of West Indies as ‘mediocre’ would have the same motivating effect as Tony Greig saying Tony Greig would make Colin Graves’ description of West Indies grovel.
article_snippet.sent: Certainly the comments of the ECB’s outspoken new chairman were not looking very accurate when England new top three had all succumbed to a West Indies pace attack seemingly inspired by bowling coach Curtly Ambrose.
article_snippet.sent: ’s new top three was down to their middle order.
article_snippet.sent: Tony Cozier, the most respected of Caribbean broadcasters, had said ahead of this series that Graves’ words might well inspire the home side, just as Tony Greig did all those years ago in 1976 when West Indies were approaching Graves’ words peak.
article_snippet.sent: And it looked that way when the West Indies pace trio of Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder had all bowled with a discipline and skill in the opening session worthy of the West Indies pace trio of Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder great mentor Ambrose himself.
article_snippet.sent: The last time England played a Test at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, in 2009, England was abandoned after 10 balls because of an unplayable outfield, and for a while England looked like West Indies were going to kick sand in the West Indies pace trio of Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder faces again.
article_snippet.sent: Yet a slightly altered technique that worked so well against hapless St Kitts last week did not pass St Kitts examination against a much better attack here, notably Roach, who took advantage of Cook’s old failing against the full ball.
article_snippet.sent: The decision to prefer the proven quality of Trott as Cook’s new opening partner to the county form horse in Adam Lyth had not found universal approval but universal approval would be foolish to judge the move until Trott has adapted to a new role.
article_snippet.sent: England had chosen the side that looked inevitable after England supporters unsatisfactory warm-up in St Kitts, with Trott being preferred to Adam Lyth and the steady James Tredwell profiting from Adil Rashid’s inconsistency last week.
article_snippet.sent: West Indies, meanwhile, were bereft of those players who prefer to put money ahead of Test cricket by playing in the Indian Premier League, notably their star batsman in Chris Gayle.
article_snippet.sent: It is a sad but inevitable consequence of the Twenty20 revolution and one that, by the close, with the Test running away from them, saw West Indies look much more like the eighth ranked Test team that them currently are.