Jason Holder, Jermaine Blackwood shine in West Indies win in first Test over England

[caption id=“attachment_8591181” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] West Indies, on Sunday registered victory in the first Test against England, beating the hosts by 4 wickets, to take 1-0 lead in the first Test.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591101” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] After almost four months break, international cricket finally returned with the start of Test series between England and West Indies at Southampton on 8 July. However, rain ruined the first day of the match. At the toss, England’s stand-in captain Ben Stokes decided to bat first. In a shocking decision, he left out experienced Stuart Broad to give a place to Mark Wood in the XI. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591091” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] Before the start of the first day’s proceedings, players from both teams took a knee, to lend support to Black Lives Matter movement. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591121” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] England’s decision to bat first under overcast conditions backfired as they were reduced to 87 for 5. From here, Ben Stokes took over and scored 43 runs, top-scoring for his side in first innings. But he did not get any support from others and England ended up putting only 204 on the board. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591141” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] West Indies captain Jason Holder led from the front and picked up a six-for in the first innings. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591111” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] West Indies batted slightly better than England to score 318 in their first innings. It was possible courtesy of a fine knock by opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite, who scored 65 off 125 balls. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591131” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] England improved their batting performance in the second innings. Zak Crawley top-scored in second innings with a 76-run knock. Contribution from Stokes, Dom Sibley helped England give a 200-run target for Windies to win. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591151” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] England managed a 200-run lead over Windies in second innings. However, it could have been more had Shannon Gabriel not decided to let the ball do the talk. He picked up a five-for on Day 5 to give Windies hope and time to win the first Test. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591161” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] West Indies got off to worst possible start in the chase, losing John Campbell early to foot injury and visitors soon were left reeling at 27/3 after losing three wicket quickly. It was then that Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase got together and stabilised the innings. Blackwood stroked a fine 95 before being caught at mid off. By the time he left, Windies were almost near to the win. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_8591171” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] When the going got tough for England in second innings, it was again Ben Stokes who picked up wickets of Shane Dorwich and Blackwood to give some hope to the visitors. However, the effort from England captain was not enough to save the sinking ship. AP[/caption]