As Jason Holder led his victorious West Indies players on a lap of honour around the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, an ashen-faced Joe Root blamed England’s series defeat on the failure of his batsmen to copy the home side.
Speaking after going 2-0 down with one to play in St Lucia, the England captain rejected suggestions his batsmen had gone too hard at the ball as they collapsed to 132 all out on a surface that for three days presented a significant challenge. But in the face of a West Indies first-innings total of 306 built on obdurate batting from Kraigg Brathwaite (49 from 156 balls) and Darren Bravo (50 from 216), the nature of some English dismissals nevertheless grated.
Root said: “We came here to win and to find ourselves out of it with a game to go is hard to take. We have been outplayed, outperformed and have to take that on the chin.
“We have to learn some lessons. The way West Indies went about stuff in certain areas has been very skilled, especially how they batted yesterday against some very high skilled bowling. That was frustrating.
“There were guys that will have to look at themselves individually. But on a surface like that you have to commit to whatever decision you make. It was definitely a bowler-friendly surface. I wouldn’t say it was a fair contest between bat and ball. But both sides have played on it and they’ve managed certain areas better than us.”
Asked whether any England batsmen could bat like Bravo did, Root replied: “I think a number of guys can. I’d like to think I can. I felt unfortunate not to make a big contribution and when experienced players aren’t making scores over 50 it makes it very difficult for the rest of the guys around them.
“The choice comes down to the individual. I can’t bat for 11 guys, neither can Trevor Bayliss or Mark Ramprakash. The responsibility is down to the individual. But we will stick together and try and come back with a really strong response in St Lucia.”
Holder, the impressive captain of this West Indies team and one quarter of their four-man attack, said: “It’s a definite high point for me. The way the guys performed is admirable. Exceptional actually, beating England in three days.
“The love for Test cricket is there among the young players. We’ve got a lot of young players who are aspiring to play Test cricket and I love it. It is my favourite format of the game and if you ask a few of the guys in the dressing room they would say the same thing. Hopefully this is the start of new things.”