Phil Simmons bemoans failure of batsmen to convert starts into hundreds after England defeat

NICK FRIEND: At Emirates Old Trafford, Brathwaite made 75, Roston Chase 51 and Jermaine Blackwood 55, while Shamarh Brooks recorded scores of 68 and 62. But none went on to make the defining contributions displayed by Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes

West Indies’ top order could be placed under the spotlight in the coming days, admitted Phil Simmons, who also bemoaned his batsmen’s failure to turn promising starts into substantial contributions.

The tourists’ head coach was speaking after watching his side fall to a series-equalling defeat at Emirates Old Trafford on the final evening of the second Test against England.

Of the visitors’ top three, only Kraigg Brathwaite has passed 28 so far in two Tests, with both John Campbell and Shai Hope struggling to lay a platform for their middle order to build upon.

“They haven’t fired, so we’ve got to take that into consideration over the next couple of days,” Simmons said, adding that he would consider calling up players from his reserve squad – already on site, given the bio-secure protocols in this series – for the final game of the series, with the Wisden Trophy on the line.

Joshua da Silva, a 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, made an unbeaten century in the second intra-squad warmup match ahead of the series and would, therefore, be one option, should West Indies opt to make a change.

Another would be Shayne Moseley, the reserve opener on the trip, who made scores of 40 and 83* in the first practice game, but then was dismissed cheaply twice in the second warmup fixture.

Hope has averaged just 19.82 in his last 19 Tests, while only reaching three half centuries since his match-winning display at Headingley in 2017. Yet, in ODI cricket he averages 52.20 – almost double his overall Test figure of 26.35.

Simmons added of the 26-year-old’s form: “Yes, I am concerned. He’s gone four innings without a score [in this series] – in contrast to how we played over the last five or six months in the other formats, I am concerned now about his form.”

^{Shai Hope has endured a poor time in Test cricket for a considerable period}

More widely, however, Simmons’ confessed his frustration that none of his batsmen had reached three figures in the opening two Tests, despite having passed fifty on eight occasions between them.

Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes showed the way for the hosts, with match-defining knocks of 120 and 176. At Emirates Old Trafford, Brathwaite made 75, Roston Chase 51 and Jermaine Blackwood 55, while Shamarh Brooks recorded scores of 68 and 62.

“We’ve had five or six fifties and no one has converted to a hundred,” Simmons reflected. “That’s where things lie because had we continued from yesterday and one of the guys in got a hundred and another hundred-run partnership – because we’ve had two or three fifty-run partnerships, these are the little things that help you control the Test match and we had things under control up to that point.

“It’s something that we’ve been talking about a lot, and no one has taken up that opportunity in this game yet again, so it is disappointing.

“I think it’s critical that our batsmen carry on and make big hundreds. Our batsmen need to make hundreds because our bowlers have been doing their jobs.

“I think in the five days, we still played some good cricket. For me, we lost control of the game in five or six overs with the new ball yesterday evening in a place where we were in a good position to bat through the day and then some of today and close out the game.

“But the spell from Broad is where I think we lost the game. We lost our way there and couldn’t hold it back.”

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