West Indies crushed England by 381 runs with a day to spare in the first Test at Kensington Oval, Barbados last week — as records tumbled.
Part-time off-spinner Roston Chase took a career best 8-60 in England second innings at the crease.
England was hard pressed to win, not with a target of 628, but was expected to fight for two days to survive on a placid pitch.
They were humiliated in the first innings by scoring 77 all out- their fourth lowest score against the West Indies.
Fast bowler Kemar Roach ripped through the English batting taking 5-17. England trailed by 212 runs having dismissed the Windies for 249 in their first innings.
Roach’s five wicket haul overshadowed James Anderson’s record-equaling one, the England paceman (5-46) to match Sir Ian Botham’s tally of 27 ‘five-fors’ for his country, 16 years ago after he bagged his first on debut.
West Indies did not allow the follow-on and close the second day’s play on 127 for 6 wickets, but West Indies skipper Jason Holder and wicket-keeper Shane Dowrich recorded the highest seventh wicket unbeaten partnership in Test history as the hosts put England on the back foot in an extraordinary first Test in Barbados.
England had an outside chance at victory when they had the hosts reeling at 61 for five late on the second day until Holder and Dowrich came to the wicket.
Holder and Dowrich took the match out of England’s reach as the Windies captain scored 202 not out, which was the highest by a number eight batsman in Test history, behind only Pakistan duo of Wasim Akram (257 not out) and Imtiaz Ahmed (209).
Dowrich made a patient 116 to put on an unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership of 295 at Kensington Oval.
Their stand was the third-highest for a seventh wicket in Test history and also surpassed the previous records for an unbeaten partnership, 259 set by VVS Laxman and Mahendra Singh Dohni of India against South Africa in 2010.
West Indies had two full days in which to take England’s 10 wickets and take the lead in the three-Test series against the ICC’s third ranked.
Scores were England 77 and 246: West Indies 289 and 415 for 6 declared. England’s target 628
The second Test moves to Antigua this week.
