West Indies took a 1-0 lead in the series by defeating England by wickets in the first Test after a four-month hiatus due to the corona virus.
Acting England captain Ben Stokes decided to bat first after winning the toss, which did not prove to be correct and the entire team piled up 204 runs.
Stokes (43) and Jose Butler (35) were the standout batsmen for England, with West Indies’ Jason Holder (6) and Shannon Gabriel (4) taking wickets.
In reply, West Indies scored 318 in their first innings, followed by Craig Braithwaite (65), Shane Dowrich (61) and Ruston Chase (47).
West Indies took a 114-run lead in the first innings, England’s Stokes took 4 wickets and James Anderson took 3 wickets.
England had consolidated their position in the second innings thanks to the responsible batting of the early batsmen, but due to the excellent spell of Shannon Gabriel, the entire team of England, which took 4 wickets for 252 runs, piled up 313 runs.
Zack Crowley (76), Dom Sibley (50), Ben Stokes (46) and Rory Burns (42) were the successful batsmen for England in the second innings.
West Indies’ Shannon Gabriel bowled well in the second innings and took five wickets.
Due to an early innings deficit, England gave the West Indies a 200-run target for victory, but the visitors’ innings got off to a disastrous start.
Craig Braithwaite returned to the pavilion for 7 runs, while the innings of Schmidt Brooks also ended on the same score, while John Campbell also returned to the pavilion due to retired injury.
When the score reached 27, Joffra Archer also returned Shea Hope to the pavilion after which the West Indies lost three wickets.
Jermaine Blackwood came to Ruston Chase’s side and both players completed the team’s century, but at the same stage, Joffra Archer gave his team a significant victory and ended Ruston Chase’s innings of 37 runs.
From the other end, Blackwood persevered and was accompanied by Shane Doherty, both of whom put their team on the verge of victory with a partnership of 68 runs.
Blackwood played a brilliant 95-run innings but his courage was rewarded a few steps away from victory and Stokes returned him to the pavilion to give his team their sixth victory.
By then, however, it was too late and the West Indies easily scored and won the match by 4 wickets.
Gabriel was declared the man of the match for his excellent bowling and taking 9 wickets in the match.
Thanks to the victory in this match, West Indies have taken a 1-0 lead in the series and the second Test match of the series will be played in Manchester from July 16.