Stoking the Fires of Victory

England have a new hero to challenge the Aussies after Ben Stokes powered his side to an 124-run victory against New Zealand at the First Test at Lords.

The Durham all-rounder had made a memorable start to his Test career back in 2014 when he scored a maiden Test century against the Australians at Perth and his pivotal influence at Lord's will make the Aussies sit up and notice once again.

Much of the build-up for the first Test of the English summer had been consumed with Andrew Strauss refusing to select Kevin Pietersen and the continued search for a new coach.

Recent form made New Zealand the Test Series favorites

A lackluster tour to the West Indies, coupled with the fact that they were facing a New Zealand team ranked Number Three in the world and fresh from a World Cup final, made England the underdogs at the beginning of the two-Test Series.

Test debuts were awarded to opener, Adam Lyth, and bowler, Mark Wood, and the match started dubiously for England after they lost the toss on a green seaming wicket and were restricted to 30-4.

Root and Stokes 161-run partnership rescued England's first innings

Ben Stokes came together with Joe Root and they both counter-attacked with a 161-run partnership to rescue a first innings total.

Stokes finished eight runs short of a century and Root (98) also departed in the nervous 90s.

Buttler (67) and Moeen Ali (58) also put together a 100-run partnership before Buttler fell at the end of a hectic first day.

England were able to put on 35 runs at the start of Day Two before being bowled out for 389, which was at least 50 runs short of a challenging first innings total. Trent Boult was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers with 4/79.

England wicket keeper Jos Buttler takes a superb diving catch off Taylor 

The total certainly didn't look challenging when New Zealand were 148/0 but the two quick wickets of Martin Guptil (70) and Tom Latham (59) brought Ross Taylor to the wicket. Taylor seemed to be hampered by injury but ably assisted Kane Willamson to a 189-run partnership before getting out for 62 when he was superbly caught down the leg side by Buttler.

Williamson's knock of 132 comes to an end as he is caught at short leg

New Zealand captain, Brendon McCullum (42) nudged his team ahead of England and Williamson departed for 132. Wicket-keeper, BJ Watling, played with the tail for an unbeaten 61 as his team were bowled out for 523 and were 134 runs ahead.

Bell's miserable game totaled 30 runs from two knocks and two dropped catches

England's bowlers rued missed chances as Mark Wood was denied his first England wicket when he over stepped on the front foot and was penalised for a no-ball. Ian Bell dropped two catches at second slip off Stokes in what would be a forgetful game for the Warwickshire batsman.

The wickets were eventually shared around with three-apiece for Stuart Broad, Wood and Ali.

Debutant Adam Lyth is caught at slip after a flurry of boundaries

England's response didn't start well as Lyth's unlucky first innings dismissal was followed by him fishing outside off stump and edging to the slip cordon for 12. Ballance was unable to recreate his form in the Caribbean as he was out for a duck to go with his single-run score in the first innings. 

Bell was able to improve on his single run in the first innings but was dismissed on the third ball of the third day for 29.

Cook continued to play with more fluency and was ably assisted by Joe Root (84) for a 158-run partnership which brought England a slight lead of 98.

Certain players can take the game away from the opposition in a single session and can bring the fans flocking to the stands. Ben Stokes did just that on Sunday afternoon.

Captain Cook congratulates Stokes on his historic century

Cook watched on in admiration as Stokes took on the Kiwis, specifically Tim Southee, when he cut, pulled, hooked and drove the bowler around the ground. Stokes' willingness to take on the opposition endeared him to the Lords' faithful and he became the quickest player to reach a Test Match Hundred at the Home of Cricket, taking just 85 balls to reach three figures.

Stokes' aggressive stroke play has earned him many fans

England over the past 18 months have earned a reputation of being aloof from the public, with a lack of players that the casual viewer can identify with. The modern game craves entertainment value that an Andy Flintoff or a Kevin Pietersen could bring and it seems Stokes is the man to inherit the 'box-office' tag.

Cook return to form is complete as he scored his second century in two games

The momentum had firmly shifted in England's favour when Stokes was out for 101 and Cook brought up his 150 before Buttler was out for 14 with England having a lead of 292 going into the final day.

Thoughts of a declaration quickly disappeared as New Zealand wrapped up the English innings within the first hour of the day. Cook (162) and Ali (43) soon fell and England were bowled out for 478 to set the Kiwis 345 runs to win with 77 overs left in the day.

Lower ticket prices brought 20,000 spectators into Lord's for the final day

England's quest to win started in the best possible way as James Anderson and Broad got the openers out for ducks to leave the Kiwis 0-2. Taylor (12) soon departed to leave New Zealand 12-3.

Stokes was unlucky to be wicketless in the first innings but produced a spell which turned the game in England's favour once again. He had Williamson caught at slip for 27 and then produced a beautiful delivery which nipped back, cramped McCullum for room and bowled the Kiwi skipper for a golden duck.

Stokes was on a hat-trick but the 20,000 fans packed in to Lords (following a cut in ticket prices) couldn't will their hero to get another wicket from the next ball.

Wood impressed on debut and opened the door to the Kiwi tail

New Zealand seemed to be digging in for the draw with Watling (59) and Corey Anderson sharing an 107-run partnership but Cook remained patient and Wood was able to nip one away from Watling who couldn't avoid gloving a ball which reared towards his helmet.

Cook's bowling changes worked again when Root got Anderson out LBW for 67. England could now sense victory and Stokes bowled Mark Craig for 4.

Ali bowled the next ball from the other end and instantly got the wicket of Southee (20) after he was caught and bowled by the spinner.

Anderson still awaits his 400th Test Wicket

The match entered its final hour with England needing one last wicket and Cook continued to rotate his bowlers. Anderson was unable to claim his 400 Test Wicket when the ball flew through a vacant wide slip position. Cook looked to plug the gap by moving Stokes from point but the ball then flew in the air where Stokes had been the ball before.

Ali's team mates rush to celebrate his catch on the boundary

New Zealand had 58 balls remaining to survive when Broad looked to cut the angle by going around the wicket to Boult who steered the ball over the slips and down to third man. His shot got a top edge and Ali came round to take a fantastic catch by the boundary to seal the win.

Cook must be relieved to finally put the Kevin Pietersen saga to bed

The character England have shown in this game has been refreshing and Stokes attitude is much needed in a team that has too often avoided taking the initiative in the past 18 months.

New Zealand have often had the advantage in this match but have been overcome by a battling England side. The two teams, although with contrasting players, are quite evenly matched and McCullum will have to try and rally his team before the final match of the series begins on Friday at Headingley.

The England team celebrate a well-earned victory

England have won a well-earned victory but there are still improvements to be made including missed catches and Bell's lack of form.

Australian Trevor Bayliss is set to become the next England coach

The day also included the news that Trevor Bayliss is the preferred candidate to become England head coach. The coaching partnership of Bayliss and current caretaker, Paul Fairbrace, took Sri Lanka to the World Cup final and it remains to be seen whether they can bring further success to the England team.

Missed Opportunities - England Spring 2015 Test Tour to West Indies

The West Indies five wicket victory over England to square the series 1-1 underlined the missed opportunities England had at their disposal in this spring time whistle-stop tour of the Caribbean.

After a disastrous early exit from the Cricket World Cup earlier this year, England began the first of 15 Test matches over the next 12 months against a West Indies team looking to regain past glories of the once formidable 'Windies' team of the 1980s and early 1990s.

England's first Test away tour since the 2013/2014 Ashes whitewash would soon be followed by home matches against New Zealand and Australia and then a winter tour to South Africa. Such vital games against the top two Test playing sides later in the year should have seen the England set-up looking to take risks in the three match series lasting just over three weeks towards the end of April.

The initial selection indicated that England may do just that with Test call-ups given to 2014 County Championship winning Yorkshire team-mates. Left hand opening batsmen, Adam Lyth and leg spinner Adil Rashid were joined by wicket keeping cover, Johnny Bairstow, and quick bowler, Liam Plunkett.

Additional bowling options were offered with Durham's Mark Wood and Warwickshire batsman, Jonathan Trott, made the squad for the first time since that forgettable Ashes series Down Under. Trott had withdrawn from that series due to a stress related illness and he was particularly vulnerable to the short ball bowled with such ferocity by Australia's Mitchell Johnson.

Jonathan Trott's selection wasn't justified as he got four ducks from six innings in the Caribbean

Trott's previous successes were found at him coming in at Number Three but this position had eagerly been taken by Gary Ballance during Trott's absence last summer. 

Sam Robson, England's opening batsman from last summer, was left out of the squad and it would have been an opportunity to have a look at Lyth. England, however, missed a trick and partnered Alastair Cook with a desperately out of form Trott who disappointed in the warm-up games.

Last summer's spin revelation, Moeen Ali, had become injured towards the end of the World Cup and James Tredwell was picked as the front line spinner for the First Test in a series where dry and dusty pitches would assist spin.

England's team for the First Test in Antigua were:

Cook (c), Trott, Ballance, Bell, Root, Stokes, Buttler (wk), Jordan, Broad, Tredwell, Anderson.

James Anderson became England's leading wicket taker with 384 wickets

The headlines of the First Test were filled with James Anderson becoming England's leading wicket taker but Anderson couldn't prevent West Indies drawing the First Test on a docile pitch.

Trott's two innings amounted to 18 balls across 28 minutes for four runs which included a three ball duck in the first innings. England were tottering at 34-3 in the first innings until a 177 fourth wicket partnership between Joe Root (83) and Ian Bell (143) brought the team respectability and they were eventually bowled out for 399 following Ben Stokes 79 and a last wicket stand of 38 between Anderson (20) and Chris Jordan (21 not out).

England got a first innings lead of 104 after Jermaine Blackwood scored 112 not out and Tredwell got 4/47 from 26 overs, 12 of which were maidens. England's top order misfired once again, with Root coming to the wicket at 52-3 and his 114 run partnership with Ballance set up a total of 438 for West Indies to win. Ballance anchored the innings of 333-7 declared with the Yorkshireman scoring 122 whilst Root and Buttler (not out) both got 59.

West Indies second innings brought sporadic wickets but the English bowling attack couldn't bring the win as Jason Holder scored an unbeaten 103 to draw the game.

James Tredwell was unfortunate to only play one Test match in the series

England once again had the opportunity to strengthen their top order but the only change made was bizzarely replacing Tredwell with a fit-again Ali. 

Anderson made the headlines once again when his inspired performance on the morning of Day Five turned the game on it's head and brought England a nine wicket victory.

The Grenada wicket was spruced up by constant rains and Cook didn't hesitate in putting the West Indies in to bat after winning the toss. England's bowlers underwhelmed though and having the West Indies at 129-5, they allowed them to reach 299, at least 50 runs too many in helpful conditions.

Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowlers with 4/61 and Marlon Samuels fought against Stokes' sledging to make 103. The Samuels/Stokes confrontation would become an interesting and (sometimes humorous) subplot.

England batted on better conditions in their first innings and an improved top order brought an opening partnership of 125. The lack of urgency underlined how desperately out of form the two openers were with Cook taking 211 balls across 257 minutes to make his 76. Trott scratched around for 209 minutes using 147 balls to make his 59. 

Joe Root's 182 not out brought much needed impetuous into England's innings

Root brought some much needed impetuous to the innings with a knock that beautifully read the situation of the game and gave an insight into Root's future as a possible captain. His 182 not out was abley assisted by Ballance (77) but a spluttering tail left Root stranded 18 short of a double century and England all out for 464 with a lead of 165.

Root had been eyeing an English lead of over 200 when Anderson unassumingly jogged back to the crease without running his bat in and the tall Gabriel plucked a high ball thrown in from the boundary and whipped the bails off to leave Root frustrated.

Anderson was involved in taking 7 wickets in the West Indian second innings

Anderson soon made up for his dozy running between the wickets by being part of six of the eight wickets to fall in the final morning. Kevin Braithwaite (116) must have thought another draw was in the offing until he was caught off Anderson's bowling. His wicket was the first of eight to fall for 83 runs with Anderson taking 3 wickets, two catches and a stunning pick-up-and-throw run out. Anderson ended with 4/43 and Ali's 3/51 somewhat masked an undercooked bowling performance as he returned from injury.

West Indies were skittled out for 307 and set England 142 runs to win. Trott couldn't build on his first innings improvement and was out again for a three-ball duck. Cook (59 not out) was assisted by Ballance (81 not out) to bring a 9 wicket victory.

Cook celebrates England's first away Test victory since 2012

An unchanged England arrived at Barbados for the Third and final Test of the series where they were expecting to win the series but an improving West Indies team showed that they shouldn't be underestimated.  

England won the toss and batted. The innings began in ominous fashion with Trott out for his fourth a final duck of the series. The team were teetering at 91-4 after Root (33) fell for an uncharacteristically low score. Cook was undeterred and batted sensibly to earn his first century in almost two years. He quickly departed for 105 but had been assisted by Ali (58) before Cook ran him out and Stokes (22) contributed to England's 257 all out.

West Indies opening batsmen were left reeling when they were 37-4 following a great opening spell from Anderson. The Burnley quick ripped through the batting line-up to take 6-42 off 12.4 overs to leave West Indies 189 all out despite Jermaine Blackwood's 85.

With a lead off 68, England were looking to push on to make a substantial lead but they were restricted by the West Indian bowlers with Taylor, Holder and Permaul taking three wickets a piece. 

England started Day Three at 39-5 with a lead of 107 and were looking to set a target of at least 200/250 runs for West Indies to chase but Permaul struck early with the wickets of Ballance (23) and Stokes (32). Jordan was unfortunate to lose a review when Hawk Eye showed the ball was shaving the top of the bails and the on-field decision of out was upheld. 

Broad's horrendous batting since being hit in the face last summer continued as he stayed back to a short ball and saw his off stump rooted. Jordan has quickly replaced Broad as the team all-rounder and the Nottinghamshire bowler looks a viable candidate for Number 11. Jos Buttler went into one-day mode and took the lead up to 191 before he was left stranded on 35 not out.

It seemed that the target of 192 was a little short of a challenging total but England had hopes of victory when they reduced West Indies to 80-4. Darren Bravo (82) and Jermaine Blackwood (47 not out) took the West Indies to victory to clinch a well earned series draw with a five wicket victory. 

Jos Buttler is left to rue the missed stumping of Blackwood

England missed another opportunity when Buttler failed to stump a charging Blackwood that would have seen the West Indies struggling at 88-5. Blackwood and Bravo then knuckled down to reach their target after 62.4 overs towards the end of Day Three of the five-day Test match.

Captain Cook reflected on the tour by saying that "for the majority of the series we did a lot of good stuff but when the pressure came on we didn't play very well." How you respond to pressure moments is what defines teams - look at Hussain in the Sri Lankan gloom in 2000, Vaughan's men at Edgbaston in 2005 and Cook's team in India in 2012.

Certain players haven't stepped up to the mark in this tour and incoming ECB Chief Colin Graves will have to consider removing some veterans and taking some risks.

Root is wise for his years but it would be too early to give him the captaincy yet and Cook has shown some good captaincy this series, apart from bowling an expensive Ali, under bowling Stokes and fielding his best fielder (Jordan) in the covers when bowling the seamers. Cook's catching is also not what it used to be.

Trott should never have been selected for this tour and his dismal average of 11.3 from six innings highlighted his vulnerability to the short ball that will leave Johnson and co licking their lips if Trott takes guard in the First Ashes Test in July. Lyth should have been given a go during this tour, as should Rashid have. There could have been an argument to bowl both Rashid and Tredwell in the final Test with Ali bowling too many short balls and Root often out performed him.

It was encouraging to see Broad bowl fuller and he got rewarded with 10 wickets in the series at an average of 32 but there was no doubt who England's best bowler was with Anderson taking 17 wickets for an average of 18. His fielding on the final day of the Second Test probably just sneaked him past Root as England's Man of the Series.

England's Man of the Series, James Anderson, couldn't prevent a series draw

The series left more questions than answers. England coach, Peter Moores, said that "there's a ruthlessness we need to develop, commitment from the lads has been total but we've got to learn some tough lessons."

Ruthlessness will have to be shown in team selection. Despite his 143 in Antigua, Bell under performed in a tour where he batted one place too high. His experience will be needed during this summer's Ashes but he should be dropped if he doesn't perform.

James Taylor was England's player of the World Cup and he has been rewarded with the temporary One Day captaincy for Friday's match against Ireland due to regular skipper, Eoin Morgan, playing in the IPL. I am glad that Taylor will be given this opportunity and he would be an asset to England's Test middle order.

Lyth should be given a run in the team after earning a chance from last year's domestic season and, even though Moeen Ali is a canny One Day bowler, he isn't a front-line Test spinner and either Tredwell or Rashid should be given a chance. Jos Buttler is a batsman/keeper and, apart from in the last Test, has usually had a quiet time behind the stumps. Stokes was under bowled by Cook whilst Jordan impressed with his line and reflex catching.

Broad had an improved series but his place could be under threat if he has a lackluster summer. My recommendation for the team to play New Zealand would be:

Cook (c), Lyth, Ballance, Root, Bell, Buttler, Stokes, Jordan, Tredwell/Rashid, Anderson, Broad.

However it cannot be denied that, with the end of the Caribbean Tour, England's Year of Test Cricket hasn't got off to the best of starts.

Back to the Future

England went back to the future today in their announcement of the Test squad for the three match series in the West Indies.

Jonathan Trott was recalled for the first time since leaving the 2013/2014 Ashes tour due to a stress related illness. Trott's progress seemed to be stagnating last April when he stopped playing for his county Warwickshire. But he returned to the Bears team after sessions with psychologist Dr. Steve Peters and ended the season with 628 first class runs.

Trott was given the captaincy of the England Lions tour of South Africa in January and the 33-year-old right handed batsman returned the favour by scoring a double hundred.

National selector James Whitaker told the BBC that Trott is a "player of proven international pedigree and we are delighted to welcome him back into the squad."

England may well benefit from Trott's experience (49 Tests, 3,763 runs at an average of 46.45) with a young squad that includes three of Trott's uncapped Lions team mates.

Yorkshire's successful 2014 county season was rewarded with call-ups for the county's 27-year-old leg-spinner Adil Rashid, and opening batsman Adam Lyth, also 27. The left-handed Lyth may have to bat at Number Three if the selectors prefer the left-right hand combination of Alastair Cook and Trott taking the new ball. Durham seamer, Mark Wood, 25, completes the Lions 2015 graduates and England will be relying on his ability to reverse swing the ball in the Caribbean.

Adil Rashid took 49 wickets for Yorkshire last season

England will soon be without a bowling coach as it was announced this week that David Saker will be returning to his homeland to coach the Melbourne Renegades in the next season of Australia's Big Bash League. 

Saker succeeded Ottis Gibson as England's bowling coach in 2010 and was instrumental in England's charge to the top of the ICC world rankings in 2011. However, England's tame bowling in the recent World Cup, typified by lack of variation, short lengths and death-bowling of slow bouncers instead of yorkers, highlighted the need for a change.

England have made a change to the top of the order by dropping opener Sam Robson. The enigma of Steven Finn continues with an under-par performance at the World Cup leading him to also be dropped from the Test side. Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali also miss out with injures that kept them out of the 9 wicket win over Afghanistan.

England's Player of the Winter James Taylor isn't rewarded with a call-up to the Test team but there are places for his One Day team mates Chris Jordan and James Tredwell, as well as Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett. Senior bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad will now have to show their experience and lead by example in taking wickets.

Unsurprisingly, Kevin Pietersen was left out of the squad, with Whitaker telling the BBC that the 34-year-old batsman is "not part" of England's plans and that the selectors "haven't had discussions at all" about his inclusion. 

The Test series in the West Indies begins in Antigua on April 13 will be the first of 17 Test matches over the next year including a home Ashes series and an away tour to top-ranked South Africa.

The Test squad was announced the day before Bangladesh play India in the World Cup quarter final in which England had hoped to be playing in. England will now have to put their disastrous World Cup campaign behind them and work together as a team. Test captain Alastair Cook told the BBC that the selectors were "wrong" to drop him from the One Day team. 

Cook said that the "lads were shell shocked from [losing] the first two games. That's when you need real leadership to help steer you through that. I would have loved to have had the opportunity that was taken away from me."  

Cook now has that opportunity with the Test team in a year that will either restore much needed pride or put more pressure on the England management to change the national set-up.

Full England squad for tour of West Indies:

Alastair Cook (capt, Essex), Adam Lyth (Yorkshire), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire), Gary Ballance, Joe Root (both Yorkshire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Jos Buttler (wk, Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (wk), Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett (all Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Mark Wood (Durham), James Tredwell (Kent)