West Indies beat England in second test to clinch series

Kemar Roach and captain Jason Holder took four wickets each as West Indies thumped England by 10 wickets in the second test in Antigua to gain an unbeatable 2-0 series lead on Saturday.

With fellow pace bowler Alzarri Joseph chipping in with two top-order wickets, including the prized scalp of captain Joe Root, the hosts bowled out England for 132 in the second innings.

Joseph’s performance came hours after his mother died following a long battle with a brain tumour.

West Indies needed only 14 runs in their second innings, and they polished them off quickly to win with more than two days to spare.

John Campbell clinched victory in appropriate Calypso fashion with a six over mid-wicket as batting great Viv Richards, after whom the stadium is named, grinned broadly in the crowd, ever the epitome of cool in his dark sunglasses.

West Indies lead the three-test series 2-0.

They won the first test by 381 runs in Barbados.

It is only the second time in the past 10 series that West Indies have won the Wisden Trophy.

England have dominated over the past two decades with seven series wins, while one was drawn.

Holder said his West Indies team had played to honour Joseph’s late mother.

“We all rallied around one and other,” he said. “We wanted to do it for her, and for Alzarri to come out after that kind of news, the way he bowled was exceptional.

“This one is for him and his family.”

Root acknowledged that England had been outplayed, placing the blame on the batting.

“I thought as a bowling group we worked exceptionally hard and did some good stuff,” he said.

“Scoring under 200 in both innings is not going to win you many games of cricket.

“It’s been a disappointing performance with the bat here and last week.”

Root had the misfortune of losing the toss, which meant England were always facing an uphill task having to bat first on a green pitch that offered the fast bowlers plenty of assistance early on.

“West Indies had that opportunity (to bowl first) and exploited it,” Root said.

“Once the game gets going you can’t look at things like that. You’ve got to look at things you can control.”