Former England batsman Roland Butcher said that the reason the West Indies lost the Wisden Test series to England was mainly due to the technical flaws of the batsmen.
The West Indies surrendered the Wisden Trophy 1-2 to the hosts after falling for 129 on the final day of the final Test at the Emirates in Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Butcher, who played three Test matches in the 1980s for England, said on Tuesday: "West Indies made a good start by winning the opening Test but as England players got comfortable they were able to improve and dominate. At the beginning of the series, the teams started on equal footing because of inactivity due to the COVID 19 pandemic. However, as the series went along the England bowlers and especially Stuart Broad got into things. The West Indies batsmen's frailty against aggressive seam bowling was exposed. They played too much on the back foot and in England, you don't do that, as often as they did. With deliveries being pitched just short of a length, they were playing back and not being able to adjust fast enough, and hence that is why so many of them were trapped leg before."
Butcher, who was also a Middlesex standout, said that the West Indies had it all wrong in terms of sending England in to bat in the final Test.
"West Indies won the toss and included an extra spinner and then sent England in to bat. I can't understand this decision at all. We know that spinners are at their best on days four and five and decided to put England in."
Former West Indies opener Philo Wallace who is in England at the moment said: "The bowling lacked the energy which was the highlight of the first Test. West Indies batting came under a lot of pressure from the English bowlers in both innings and the result showed. They again showed the inability to play the short pitch ball and resulted in most of their dismissals not being caught but lbw, because of being caught on the back foot.
"Batting is about being balanced at the crease and having a clear mind. The English bowlers were aggressive towards the West Indies batsmen and they succumbed easily. The West Indies batsmen need to show better game awareness and commitment to batting long."
He also has some advice for the bowlers: "The bowlers need to group more good deliveries and get the support from the fielders, saving runs and taking catches."
English journalist Sheldon Rooks said that it was the mindset of reaching the end of the term for the West Indies players.
"It was a situation where I thought the West Indies players adapted a mindset as if they were in school and the end of the term had reached and they were going home.
"When you run a marathon, you don't collapse at the line, winners run through the line. They were in England for far too long and it showed."
West Indies arrived in England one month before the series got underway due to COVID-19 protocols.
"Apart from the technical problems, I thought that it was a mindset problem for the West Indies players. These are things they have to work on if they are to get more wins than the regular flash in the pan," said Rooks.
SCORES
ENGLAND 1st Innings 369
WEST INDIES 1st Innings 197
ENGLAND 2nd Innings 226 for two decl.
WEST INDIES 2nd Innings (target: 399 runs)
ENGLAND 369 (Ollie Pope 91, Jos Buttler 67, Stuart Broad 62, Rory Burns 57; Kemar Roach 4-72, Roston Chase 2-36, Shannon Gabriel 2-77) and 226 for two decl. (Rory Burns 90, Joe Root 68 not out, Dom Sibley 56)
WEST INDIES 197 (Jason Holder 46, Shane Dowrich 37, John Campbell 32, Jermaine Blackwood 26; Stuart Broad 6-31, James Anderson 2-28) and 129 (Shai Hope 31, Jermaine Blackwood 23, Shamarh Brooks 22; Chris Woakes 5-50, Stuart Broad 4-36)
Result: England won by 296 runs.
Series: England win three-match series 2-1.
Man-of-the-Match: Stuart Broad.
Toss: West Indies
Umpires: Michael Gough,
Richard Kettleborough;
TV – Richard Illingworth.
(CMC)