Well that all went well
Dreadful batting collapse , of course. But to be honest I half expected it after the West Indies last three wickets added all those runs...these late run feasts always seem to suck the life out of this England team's resolve. Like they've seen it before , know what is coming - and basically give up. A pity , after the earlier matches showed an apparent rise in confidence and positivity in their approach ; but I fear this has undone any good they might have taken from this tour - at least in their mental states. Which is , after all , a very important part of competing at a high level in any sport. Criticise them all we like , these fellows are , for the most part , decent if unremarkable players in terms of actual skills : it is where their heads are on a day that makes the big difference.
And all too often lately , the heads are down. Losing , like winning , becomes a habit.
Despite the batting failures in this match it is the bowling that seems to me to have been the biggest flop in this series. And that is probably not surprising given the best bowlers are all either injured or (ill advisedly ) left at home. So I wouldn't abandon all hope for the future. But the resilience needs to be dialed up if they're to rebuild successfully any time soon...and I strongly suspect that means a change of skipper for a start : Root looks shot. Has to be Stokes for now , and of course we hope the burden won't kill him ... I think that has to be tried though , risks and all.
Advance congrats to West Indies for somehow surviving twice in games in which they were heavily outplayed - and then taking their early advantage in this game all the way to a series win. They are not a strong team , but they have a lot of spirit and showed it throughout the series. Well done them