West Indies thrash England, win Test series 1-0: Records broken
West Indies beat England in the third Test to seal the three-match series 1-0. England were bundled out for 120 in the second innings, setting a target of 28 for the hosts. WI chased the tally with 10 wickets in hand. Skipper Kraigg Braithwaite was adjudged as the Player of the Series. Here are the records that were broken in the series.
Batting first, England underwent a collapse but drifted their way to 204. Tail-enders Jack Leach (41) and Saqib Mahmood (49) showed character. Joshua Da Silva (100*) notched his maiden Test ton to propel WI to 297. In the second innings, England were bundled out on 120. Kyle Mayers obliterated England with a five-wicket haul to get the job done for the hosts.
England started the year 2021 with three wins in the first three Tests (beat SL by 2-0, won the first Test against India in the five-match series). However, their fortunes have been on a decline since then. They have garnered just one win in the last 17 Tests. Since 2019, their tally stands at four wins, 11 losses, and five draws.
In the last 14 Tests played at home, WI have enjoyed a 5-2 record in wins over England. WI won by a margin of 2-1 in 2009 followed by a series draw (1-1) in 2015. They then won by 2-1 in 2019. Notably, it's Windies' best record against a Test nation at home (since 2006). They also have a 4-2 record over Bangladesh.
Joe Root emerged as the second-leading run-getter in the series. He clobbered 289 runs in 3 matches. He smashed two tons in six innings. In the process, he now has the most runs in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. Across 12 matches, Root has aggregated 1,175 runs. He has the most number of tons in WTC 2021-23 (5). He averages 53.40.
As per ESPNcricinfo, England's top seven batters averaged a mere 9.07 in the third Test. It is their second-lowest batting average in whites since the Christchurch Test against New Zealand in 1984 (8.84). England have an unfortunate record of being dismissed under 150 for a record 15 times, the most since 2019. No other Test team has endured this on more than 10 occasions.
Brathwaite (1,124) has surpassed Carl Hooper (1,113) in terms of most runs against the Englishmen in Tests. Brathwaite managed to score 341 runs in the series at 85.25. He now has 665 runs in Tests at home versus England at 44.33. Overall, Brathwaite has raced to 4,743 runs in Tests at 34.12. He now has 10 tons and 25 fifties.
Right-arm pacer Kemar Roach claimed 11 wickets in the series (joint-most alongside Jayden Seales and Jack Leach). He now ranks tenth in terms of most scalps against England in Tests (61). He has surpassed Ian Bishop (51) in this regard. Also, Roach (242) beat Garfield Sobers (235) to rank seventh in the list of leading wicket-takers for West Indies in Tests.
Joshua Da Silva smashed his maiden Test ton in the third Test. He has scored 640 runs in 14 Tests with a hundred and three fifties (57 vs NZ, 92 vs BAN, and 54 vs SL). Kyle Mayers was the chief contributor with the ball. The right-arm medium pacer claimed figures worth 2/13 in the first innings then pocketed a maiden fifer (5/18) next.
