Underwhelming performances with the bat have let England down against West Indies, head coach Trevor Bayliss has said after his team conceded a 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.
England made a number of changes to their line-up for the second Test, which also included replacing Keaton Jennings with Joe Denly at the top of the order. However, Denly added just 23 runs across two innings and Bayliss acknowledged that the team is no closer in settling on an opening pair.
“It’s been our batting that has let us down for sure,” Bayliss told Sky Sports. “We’ve made the change at the top of the order for this match in very difficult conditions. Let’s move on to the next one and hope (the pitch) is a little bit flatter – but if the same thing happens, then we have got problems.
In England vs West Indies Test series so far:
Runs scored:
England: 642 runs
WI: 1027 runsWickets taken:
England: 26 wickets
WI: 40 wicketsJoe Root admits his team has been "outperformed and outplayed" 👇https://t.co/uVxB1PK5WE
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 3, 2019
“We’ve got selection right if everyone performed well. That’s the way it goes, if you select guys and they don’t perform well then you can always say at the end of the game that we didn’t get it right. I’m not sure exactly what we could have done in this game.”
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Senior seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad shouldered a bulk of the bowling responsibility, amounting to a combined 65 overs in the first innings. “Certainly, I think that probably had a little bit of play in this match as well,” said Bayliss.
“They were a little bit stiff, to begin with. Bodies have been a bit sore since the first once and with Broady bowling 36 overs in this match as well, hopefully, there is enough time for them to get over that and be ready for the next one.
"To his eternal credit, and in an act that demonstrated supreme mental strength and courage, Joseph not only took part but played a key role in West Indies’ ten-wicket win."
@PatrickNoone08 of @CricViz
on an astonishing display from young Alzarri Joseph.https://t.co/Sqj4bdDhM6— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 2, 2019
“[Broad] is a quality bowler, he put a lot of pressure on the opposition and went past the bat a fair bit. [But] I think the Windies showed us how to bowl, they were hitting the wicket a lot today and we weren’t up to it.”
The third and final Test will be played in St Lucia from 9 February.