Jason Holder delights in one of West Indies’ ‘best victories’ as Ben Stokes left to rue England’s batting woes

Jason Holder lauded one of West Indies’s finest victories under his captaincy after they secured a four-wicket win at the Ageas Bowl. In chasing down 200 on the final day, thanks largely to 95 from Jermaine Blackwood, they not only set-up the series by taking a 1-0 lead before series moves to Manchester for the remaining two Tests.

They were deserved winners, too. Most sessions went their way, aside from the first of day five in which they were reduced to 27 for three, with opener John Campbell also retiring hurt. But a rousing effort from Blackwood, supplemented by 37 from Roston Chase, 20 from Shane Dowrich and Holder himself pitching in with an unbeaten 14, saw West Indies home for a fourth win in six Tests against England, though only a second in 20 years on English soil.

“It is right up there as one of the best victories we have had as a group,” said Holder, himself a standout player throughout with first-innings figures of six for 42 and one for 49 in the second (nabbing Ben Stokes in both). That second effort was given special praise, coming as it did on day four when England threatened a sizeable lead at 249 for three, only to be bowled out for 314 to be what proved a negotiable 199 ahead.

“To me, yesterday was probably the best day I have had in Test cricket. It was a hard, long toil and the bowlers really put in – every time I asked a bowler to come up and give a spell they came up trumps and gave a massive effort. Credit must be given to everyone yesterday, I think yesterday was a hard-fought day of Test cricket, and we really reaped the rewards at the very end.”

For Stokes, as temporary captain, his words were much the same as previous captains. Of familiar batting woes that started up front with a lacklustre 204 posted after choosing to bat first.

“I think we’ll look back, particularly as a batting unit, and understand that when we get into positions like we did in the first and second innings of our batting, that we need to be really ruthless,” said Stokes, who will hand back leadership duties to Joe Root when he rejoins the squad up in Manchester following the birth of his second child, Isabella.

He reserved special praise for Zak Crawley, whose 76 from number four in England’s second innings was the top score for a home batsman. It means that he will likely retain his place and move up to three upon Root’s return to four, with Joe Denly making way. That, though, will be very much on what Root and head coach Chris Silverwood decide.

A positive for England was Jofra Archer’s return to somewhere near his best. A blockbuster 2019 was followed by a tough winter. But his three for 45 was up there with skill and pace, and carried almost all the threat during West Indies’ chase. Stokes lauded his “X-Factor player” while also urging more patience.

“To have someone like that in your bowling attack where you can go in and out of different scenarios of how you want him to bowl, he’s skilful with the new ball and we’ve see what he can do with the old one, which is crank it up.

“I’ve got a good relationship with Jofra, I think he trusts me a lot and that goes beyond the field. I just asked him to leave nothing out there for me and run through a brick wall. And he did it. It’s great to see him bowl like he did today but let’s not look too far ahead like you lot did after the World Cup, start shooting him down again, it’s great to see Jofra run in and do what he did today.”

He also had praise for the quick he left out, Stuart Broad, who voiced his dismay at his omission during day three of the Test. The 34-year old said he was “angry, frustrated and gutted”, which Stokes informed him of the night before day one.

While it could be that Broad, with 138 caps and 485 Test wickets returns for the second Test, which begins on Thursday, Stokes has no regrets.

“It’s been a massive talking point but I stand by my decision because if I didn’t, what message would that send to the guys I did pick? It was a very tough call to leave someone like Stuart out – his record is obviously phenomenal – but we made call before a ball was bowled that I thought pace would be more beneficial. We lost but I’m not going to look back with any regrets, it shows that we’re in a great position to pick so many bowlers and leave someone like Stuart out.”

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England lose but cricket wins as West Indies clinch first Test