Joe Root refused to make excuses such as a lack of preparation or team selection for England’s Barbados horror show, pointing to poor batting letting them down.
England were bowled out for 77 in the first innings on the way to a 381-run defeat against a West Indies side fired by Jason Holder and Roston Chase.
It was a defeat which few would have predicted ahead of the series, especially on the back of their whitewash win in Sri Lanka before Christmas and given the West Indies’ recent struggles.
England didn’t play a first-class warm-up match ahead of the series, while they went with two spinners and left out Stuart Broad on a pitch offering little spin. In the end, Yorkshire star Adil Rashid was under used.
They were both points put to captain Root after his side had lost inside four days on Saturday, with only Jimmy Anderson, Ben Stokes and Rory Burns coming out of the clash with any credit for their marathon bowling efforts and the latter’s second-innings 84, a Test best for the Surrey left-hander.
