The number of times England have been subject to a flurry of criticisms—even after winning—extends far beyond mathematics. As a matter of fact, almost all of the victories that the “wanted” Alastair Cook has earned in the past have often been welcomed either with pointless flak, or abhorrent negativity. Saturday, however, was one of the rarest of rare occasions when an England win was actually celebrated (with the odd person still busy denouncing). There were merry scenes all around, with players celebrating; Joe Root enjoying being named Geoff; Peter Moores enjoying the sense of security that he rightfully earned and so forth.
This victory goes a lot deeper than what many have presumed it to be. If it is to be read into, then what will be found is a bright future and, more importantly, a successful one. In fact, England’s test team never had lost its way, they had been ever-present on the track to glory. However, the doubts that a few had over the character of this group of players were cleared as Gary Ballance clinched the winning runs, in typical Ballance fashion; and boy, what a fitting end it was.
The first test of the England tour of West Indies handed out some intriguing lessons to onlookers.
Alastair Cook is England’s Driving Force
Every team has that one driving force; England’s is Alastair Nathan Cook. He makes the team click, he makes them perform well, and he is the one who inspires the players to play above their potential. Now and then, whenever Cook has scored runs, England have gone on to march to victory. It happened in India back in 2012, it happened the previous summer, and yes, it happened against West Indies too. It is almost as if “Cooky,” as he is known, is the powerhouse who, when working, gets the whole team going, which makes him an indispensable part of the side. For anyone who has ever promoted the “Cook out” campaign, the victory against West Indies was the very reason why campaigns as those are wrong.
There’s no match for James Anderson
People like to question James Anderson’s abilities as a bowler and whether he actually is a world-class cricketer. To That is a shame, considering Jimmy’s continuous match-winning efforts – one of which came in the previous test where he took six wickets on a flat wicket, along with two catches and a run out. Lack of skill? I think not.
It won’t be criminal for people to learn to live with the basic fact that Anderson is the most skilful bowler in the world. Does Dale Steyn consistently swing it both ways? No. Does Mitchell Johnson swing the ball at all? No. Does any fast bowler in the world do what the Lancashire Cricketer can do? No is the answer again. If Anderson is firing come the English summer, no doubt Australia will be quaking in their boots.
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Gary Ballance and Joe Root: The Treasury of Runs
The growing number of runs that the Yorkshire pair is scoring has become a somewhat familiar sight. Joe Root had always been considered someone who could score runs anywhere and against anyone. The real doubts, though, were present in Gary Ballance’s case. However, 1019 runs at an average of 67.93 in a mere seventeen innings has made those doubts disappear and it looks as though these two are going to be a real headache for New Zealand and Australia, when the two teams come up against England.
England don’t need Green Tracks to Win
One of the factors that show a team’s real mettle is how they go about their job when pitches are flat, and have no life within them at all. When England came out to bowl in the third innings, it was quite clearly visible that there had to be a special effort to get through West Indies. Alastair Cook made it look easy on the fifth day, but the truth is, a lot of effort had to be put in by Cook himself with his field-set ups, while the bowlers had to find every inch of swing and turn available in the track. That goes to show not only their character but their capabilities as well, which everyone knows are very high.
This complete performance of England’s seems the start to a special era for English Cricket, as it wasn’t just a test win—it meant far more than that. England had been ruled out of an Ashes win months ago after their World Cup exit, but the truth is that they had always been the joint-favourites for The Ashes. The issue was that Cook and company hadn’t been able to prove as to why the case was thus. Regardless, Alastair Cook, along with his team, have to make sure that they keep on improving and put in performances as these over a longer period of time. If they do that, success will be an inevitability.
