West Indies v England: Resurgent hosts bidding for 80-1 series clean sweep

The West Indies produced superb performances in Barbados and Antigua to win the Test series against England and the pre-series betting odds provide an eloquent assessment of the scale of their achievement.

Jason Holder's men had been 15-2 to win the series, with Joe Root's England 1-5 favourites, while a 3-0 victory for the home side was an 80-1 shot with Sky Bet. It's now no bigger than 11-8 as the Windies aim to seal a clean sweep by winning the third Test, which starts on Saturday in St Lucia.

Holder will miss the third Test after picking up a one-match ban for his side's slow over-rate in Antigua but that shouldn't tarnish a memorable series for the home skipper.

And the Windies' victories haven't been scrappy underdog triumphs – they hammered the tourists by 381 runs in the first Test and by ten wickets in the second game, when England set them a target of just 14 to win.

Those victory margins aren't the only damning statistics for England to digest as they reflect on their shock defeat:

11/14
There have been 14 individual scores of 40 or more in the first two Tests – 11 of which were made by West Indians, including Holder's unbeaten 202 and Shane Dowrich's 116 not out in Bridgetown.

9/10
Nine of the ten longest innings in the series, in terms of balls faced, were by home batsmen. It is hard to imagine any England player producing a knock such as Darren Bravo's battling 50 off 216 balls in 342 minutes, which helped the Windies to a crucial first-innings lead in Antigua.

5.22
Kemar Roach's first-innings bowling average in the first two matches. The Windies paceman claimed 5-17 in the first Test and 4-30 in the second game, receiving outstanding support from Holder, Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph.

Where do England go from here?
Skipper Root will point out that there is no reason to panic and that England's aggressive gameplan earned them a 4-1 home win over India and a 3-0 clean sweep in Sri Lanka in 2018.

However, the India series was undoubtedly tighter than the scoreline suggests and the Lankans, currently enduring a tough time in Australia, are a weak Test team.

Two major problems were exposed in England's 4-0 defeat to Australia in the 2017-18 Ashes and neither appears to have been solved.

Their batsmen still lack the defensive technique to get through difficult spells against top-class fast bowling. Even more worrying is recently-retired opener Alastair Cook's assessment that: "They didn't seem to show much fight."

Jonny Bairstow tried to hit England out of trouble on the first morning in Antigua, striking nine fours and a six in his 64-ball 52. The Windies, however, had more faith in their ability to survive and Bravo's epic 50 off 216 balls and Kraigg Brathwaite's 49 off 156 deliveries helped them carve out a significant first-innings lead.

And England's bowling attack, so dangerous in swinging conditions on their own patch, lacks bite on quicker pitches overseas.

Australia speedsters Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were the leading wicket-takers last winter while the Windies pace quartet has consistently unsettled England's batsmen in this series.

Mark Wood could be unleashed in the third Test but there are doubts over his long-term fitness and he was called up only because of an injury to Olly Stone, another of the quickest English bowlers on the county circuit.

Next up ...
England's immediate concern is avoiding a 3-0 defeat in the third Test in St Lucia, where the West Indies have won one, lost one and drawn four of their six Test matches.

England are evens favourites for the match, with the home side 11-8 and the draw 9-1.

Punters expecting the Windies' renaissance to continue in the white-ball leg of the tour can get 5-1 with Sky Bet that the hosts win the five-ODI series, starting on February 20.

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