The ups and downs of England
Why has it gone so wrong for England in the West Indies? What has happened to the team that had won 8 of their last 9 test matches? I thought I’d have a quick look at possible factors in terms of what changed in between Sri Lanka and Barbados/what was done wrong/what was a bit unlucky etc. Firstly, the obvious and most important is the positive - West Indies have just strung together their best two tests for who knows how long. They’ve been almost unflinchingly skilful and assiduous. This is not as much of a surprise as some people are saying. There have been significant signs of improvement under Jason Holder for years. Holder himself was recently injured, which affected the team badly. He came back on top form – he is a top class all-rounder (his bowling has improved beyond measure recently) and a fine leader. A crop of underperforming talented batsmen have applied themselves well, and they have, for the first time in forever, an attack of 4 quicks which at least pays lip s