The first Test between England and West Indies ended in a draw with the pitch drawing a lot of attention. The Test match saw batters dominating the bowlers and West Indies coach Phil Simmons has expressed his concerns on the same.
England scored 311 and 349/6 in their second innings with Jonny Bairstow, Joe Roy and Zak Crawley scoring centuries. West Indies too scored big with 375 in their first innings and 147/4 in their second innings.
Bowlers from both teams hardly had a role to play as wicket-taking proved to be a difficult task on this wicket.
Speaking about the wicket, he said that it was a pretty hard wicket to get wickets on. He also raised concerns and hoped that they are presented with an even surface in the second Test in Barbados which starts on March 16.
“I’m hoping for a little more in the wicket (in the next Test) as it’ll make for a better Test match,” Simmons said after the match. “I used to be a batter but you can’t let batters have it easy all the time and it’s hard for bowlers on wickets like these. You need an even surface and let’s compete,” said a concerned-looking Phil Simmons.
when four wickets fell for eight runs in the space of 9.3 overs to leave them awkwardly placed on 67 for 4. Bonner, however, found steadfast support in Jason Holder (37 not out), whose unbroken 80-run stand for the fifth wicket guided the team to safety.
“I was more nervous when the review went up for Jason’s caught at slip [on 32] so no, I was not really nervous,” Simmons said. “The wicket has been flat so once you get your head down it’s difficult to get wickets on that, so I wasn’t that nervous.”
Simmons also pointed out a few positives from the first Test. He lauded the batters for holding on to a draw and not crumbling under pressure in the fourth innings.
Good To See The Fight In Fourth Innings: Phil Simmons
“It’s good, we ended up being put under pressure because they have given themselves a chance with 70 odd overs to bowl against us and that’s how you want to finish a Test match looking to win.
“They have come here to play a hard-fought series and shown that they’re not going to lie down. So it’s good to see the fight from them and the other two matches are going to be just as hard,” Simmons concluded saying.
Phil Simmons hopes for rise in home support after ‘playing at Trent Bridge’ for first Test
“We’ve been playing in Trent Bridge for the last few days and we were playing in Lord’s for the T20s,” Simmons joked. “We have no support … but it’s great because we went through a period where we played with no fans in the stands, and I had to jump over and fetch the balls. So it’s great to see the fans and it’s great to see the music up on the hill. It’s great that people are coming back to cricket and things are getting back to normal.”