AP, St. George’s :
Inspired by James Anderson’s fiery burst with the second new ball and his brilliance in the field, England defeated the West Indies by nine wickets on the last day Saturday of the second cricket Test.
Anderson’s three wickets for 16 in eight overs, allied to his two catches and a sharp, direct hit run out, triggered a stunning West Indies collapse from 202-2 at the start of the day, with a lead of 37, to 307 all out.
As England set out for the winning goal of 143, Jonathan Trott was bowled in fast bowler Shannon Gabriel’s opening over without scoring. Captain Alastair Cook, unbeaten on 59, and Garry Ballance, 81 not out and dropped twice, completed the job against lackluster bowling with an unbroken partnership of 142.
Balance passed 1,000 runs in his 17th innings, the third fastest in England test history, and Cook, with 76 in the first innings, finally got among the runs to scrubs those critics off his back.
The West Indies was set back when medium-fast bowler Jason Holder was taken off on a stretcher after damaging his left ankle as he planted it to deliver to Ballance in his second over. Ballance was missed at 15 and 67 at slip by Devon Smith off Marlon Samuels, but the West Indies seemed resigned to the outcome.
The result was a disappointment for the locals in the biggest crowd of the match, but celebrated by 2,000 jubilant travelling supporters, witnesses to England’s first away victory since late 2012 in Kolkata, India.
England takes a 1-0 lead into the third and final test at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Friday.
Anderson’s decisive spell began with his seventh delivery, a fierce bouncer that Kraigg Brathwaite could only parry to gully after adding 15 to his overnight 101.
Brathwaite lasted 252 balls, and done the most to make observers believe West Indies could bat out the last day on a flat pitch and earn a second straight draw.
But Anderson, who surpassed Ian Botham as England’s highest wicket-taker in tests in Antigua last week, also removed the usually dependable veteran left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 7 to a catch to second slip; it bounced from Ian Bell’s grasp to be taken, with a juggle, by a fully stretched Cook.
In his next over, Anderson dismissed first-innings century-maker Marlon Samuels for 37, out behind from a thin edge.
When he ended his spell of eight overs that earned three wickets for 16 runs, Anderson also had a hand in the next three wickets.
He leapt to grasp an overhead catch at mid-off from Jermaine Blackwood’s unnecessary drive off Chris Jordan, ran out Holder with a direct hit of the non-striker’s stumps from over 20 meters, and caught Kemar Roach’s soft shot on the run at wide mid-on from offspinner Moeen Ali.
Ali dismissed captain Denesh Ramdin for 28 and Shannon Gabriel second ball for a duck to end the innings soon after lunch. Incredibly, the West Indies lost its last eight wickets for 83 runs.
