England Send West Indies Into Darkness After Win In Day-Night Test

England took 19 wickets in a day to send West Indies tumbling to a humbling defeat by an innings and 209 runs in the first Test on Saturday. England won with time to spare on Day 3 of the day-night Test at Edgbaston, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in the most commanding fashion.

The loss was the sixth heaviest ever for the West Indies in their Test cricket history. West Indies, resuming on 44-1, was all out for 168 in its first innings after lunch and, asked to follow on, all out again for 137 in the third session.

England bowled West Indies out twice in less than 100 overs in total, and the tourists were miles short of England’s first-innings total of 514-8 declared. England’s rampant performance was full of significant moments, not just because it was the first day-night Test to be played in England or involving England.

Making the pink ball game look easy, Alastair Cook scored a fourth double-century and passed 11,500 career runs in England’s innings. Joe Root’s 136 saw him become just the sixth man to make a half-century in 11 straight Tests.

And on Saturday, Stuart Broad overtook Ian Botham to become England’s second-highest Test wicket-taker with 384.

Pre-match predictions were that the young and inexperienced West Indies would struggle in the series, but maybe not to the extent of their showing in the first three days at Edgbaston.

West Indies haven’t won a Test in England since 2000. Despite having a reasonable record at home against the English, they have been outclassed on tour, losing their last four series in England 4-0, 3-0, 2-0 and 2-0. This series looks like it might be completely one-sided too.

The margin of the West Indies’ defeat in the series-opener was the biggest in Test cricket for two years, with the last defeat on this scale also involving the West Indies, when they lost by an innings and 212 runs in Australia in December 2015.

Courtesy : indianexpress