GEORGE DOBELL IN BARBADOS: Leaving 65 overs to bowl the Windies out, particularly with Kraigg Brathwaite at his stubborn best, proved too few on day five but the captain is taking plenty of positives from a heartening display
Joe Root admitted he "could have been braver" with his declaration as England were held to a draw in the second Test against West Indies in Barbados.
Root’s declaration, at lunch on the final day, set the hosts a target of 282 in 65 overs. Although England claimed three early wickets, another stubborn innings from Kraigg Brathwaite helped secure a draw with five wickets in hand.
That left the England captain, reflecting on his decision.
And while he was delighted with the "attitude and energy" of his side, he did accept he could have declared earlier and should have called for a review of Jermaine Blackwood in the first innings. Had he done so, Blackwood would have been dismissed without scoring. As it was, he made a century.
"We could have maybe been a bit braver with the declaration," Root said. “Maybe we could have pulled out 10 overs earlier. I thought West Indies might have a little go [at chasing the target] but it wasn't the case.
Root turned to Leach and Lawrence to lead the charge on day five (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
"But it did feel like a faster scoring ground [than Antigua] and a target of 240 [to win] in 70 [overs] might be a big ask for any side [to defend] on that wicket. It was still pretty flat past the new ball.
"It wasn't doing anything laterally for the seamers and it started to spin a lot slower [when the ball was older] so that took Jack Leach out of the game a little bit.
"If I had taken the review of Blackwood in the first innings, that might have sped the game up. But it’s always difficult, as a captain on the field, if you're not in line and have to make a decision and you've got a bowler telling you it's going down the leg side."
Despite those frustrations, Root described his team’s performance as "a brilliant effort on a very placid surface". He has particular praise for Ben Stokes, who hit a first-innings century, Dan Lawrence, who produced two selfless innings and impressed with the ball and in the field, Saqib Mahmood, whose two-wicket burst raised England’s hopes in early afternoon, and Leach, who bowled 94.5 overs in the match for 154 runs.
"Ben is somewhere near his best again," Root said. "He's out there he's got that glint in his eye again. He’s just a joy to play with when he's like that and I'm sure it's great to watch too. Long may it continue.
Both sides now head to Grenada for the series decider, starting on March 24 (Randy Brooks/Getty Images)
"It was a great effort from Leach. It showed great control. He threatened throughout the whole game and clearly enjoyed his work. He's gained a lot of confidence which is a good sign for him and for the team.
"If Dan keeps playing like that, it won't be long until he makes a really big hundred. We've seen what it's like when he wants to get on with it, if he gets past a hundred it could be really entertaining. He just seems to be growing in confidence all the time. He was very selfless this week, even in the first innings, when he pushed the tempo along.
"And it was really impressive from Saqib. He burst the game open for us there. He created a lot of pressure and made things happen on a wicket where no seamer seemed like they would. It’s a great sign for him and for us moving forward.
"The guys have shown an excellent attitude in the field. I feel we're creating more opportunities and chances and young guys have enjoyed taking on new roles. I'm feeling quite confident about certain aspects of how we're playing, we felt we had a real opportunity today it's just a shame we didn't have another 30 overs or so."
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