England-West Indies boxset saves the best drama for thrilling finale | Ali Martin


Jason Holder comes out on top in battle of the box-office captain all-rounders in a Test where the absence of a crowd did not diminish the excitement

It has been a remarkable and at times emotional week in the bubble, one that – after a four-month wait – has reminded us just how ruddy glorious Test cricket can be.

A sporting boxset consumed over five days, like all good dramas it saved the best for the final episode as at 5.53pm West Indies fulfilled the sense of destiny they have carried with them all match in wrapping up a famous four-wicket victory.

Jason Holder, non-striker when the injured John Campbell nudged a calm single into the leg side, let out a cathartic roar and punched the air. With no crowd to applaud it was a weirdly sterile moment but, given the magnitude of the win and the journey it had taken to reach this point, it was somehow no less sweet.

Related: West Indies beat England by four wickets in thrilling first Test

Related: West Indies beat England by four wickets: first Test – as it happened

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