England vs West Indies 1st Test: Preview and Prediction
Following the successful conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, it is finally time for Test cricket to take centre stage in the sporting world. The England cricket team is all set to host the visiting West Indies for a three-match Test series with the first game scheduled at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London from July 10 to July 14.
The game will play a crucial role for both teams as they would be low on confidence following their poor performance in the purest format of the game in the recent past. West Indies and England are coming into the three-match series after winning only one of their last five Test matches.
In the past few years, England has found a new direction in the Whites under the leadership of skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. The successful pair will be hoping to re-ignite the spark within the team and get back to the winning ways. In a surprising turn of events, the England and Wales Cricket Board didn’t pick Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes in the 14-member squad.
Meanwhile, it would also be a memorable outing for the veteran James Anderson as he will be hanging his boots in Test cricket following the conclusion of the first Test. As far as the West Indies cricket team is concerned, they suffered a blow ahead of the game as their seamer Kemar Roach was ruled out of the series following a knee injury.
However, the team still has a formidable unit with players like skipper Kraig Brathwaite, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder, and Shamar Joseph in the squad.
What has happened so far?
England cricket team is in a tough spot in the World Test Championship points table with just 17.5 points. They are languishing at the bottom of the standings. The team served a poor performance in their last Test series as they ended up losing to the Indian cricket team by 1-4. The first game of the five-match series kick-started with England showcasing their mettle and scoring a victory by 28 runs.
However, the team failed to capitalize on the momentum gained and ended up losing the next four matches by 106 runs, 434 runs, five wickets, and an innings and 64 runs respectively. Both the batters and the bowlers failed to make a mark as they succumbed to the hosts’ all-round display.
On the other hand, the West Indies cricket team was slightly better in their last Test series as their two-match series against Australia ended 1-1. The first match of the series saw West Indies batters putting up a poor performance as they scored only 188 and 120 runs and Australia won by ten wickets.
However, in the second game, the Caribbeans avenged the loss against the hosts by scripting a victory by eight runs. Shamar Joseph was the player of the match for the visitors as they won a nail-biting thriller.
Head to Head Record
England and West Indies enjoy a rich history against each other in the longest format of the game. They have so far featured in a whopping 163 Test matches, with England winning 51 games and West Indies scripting a win on 59 occasions. Notably, as many as 53 games between the two sides ended in a draw.
Key Players
James Anderson will be playing his last Test match on Wednesday
James Anderson (England): James Anderson would be looking forward to putting up one of the most sensational performances of his cricket career during the first Test match against West Indies at Lord’s to end his Test career on a high note. Anderson failed to make a mark in the series against India as he picked only ten wickets in four matches at an average of 33.50.
However, his exemplary international record of a remarkable 700 wickets in 187 matches at an average of under 27 and an economy rate of 2.79 makes him the most crucial player for the England cricket team against West Indies. Moreover, the seamer would be playing in the home conditions and it can help him dish out a memorable farewell.
Shamar Joseph (West Indies): Shamar Joseph will be the main man for the West Indies cricket team as they will take on England in the first Test of the three-match series. The right-arm fast-medium bowler was absolutely sensational in the two-match Test series against Australia as the series ended in 1-1 and he took home the Player of the series award.
Joseph picked up a whopping 13 wickets in just two games at an average of 17.31 and an economy rate of 5.06. His best performance came during the last innings of the second Test as he picked seven wickets while giving away 68 runs to restrict Australia to 207 runs and help his team win by eight runs. It was a debut series for the pacer and he is expected to showcase his mettle against England as well.
Predicted XIs
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett (wk), Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes ©, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, James Anderson, Matthew Potts, Shoaib Bashir
West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite ©, Alick Athanaze, Kirk Mckenzie, Zachary McCaskie, Jason Holder, Kevin Sinclair, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, Jeremiah Louis, Shamar Joseph
Prediction
Both the West Indies and the England cricket teams have had a poor run in the purest format of the game in the last few months as they have won only one of their last five Test matches. However, the chances of Ben Stokes’ men scoring a win in the first Test match at the Lord’s are high considering they have a better and more experienced squad at their disposal.
Moreover, England will be playing in favorable home conditions and will have crowd support. However, West Indies also have a formidable unit and they are expected to give England a run for their money to score a win and take a lead of 1-0 in the three-match series.