Joe Root, the England skipper, was disappointed after losing the second Test against Windies to go 2-0 down in the three-match series.
The Windies dismantled England for 132 in the third innings in Antigua, which meant the hosts needed just 14 runs to clinch the Test. They scaled the target in 2.1 overs, completing a 10-wicket victory to seal the series.
“We came here to win and to find ourselves out of it with a game to go is hard to take,” said Root after the match on Saturday, 2 February. “We have been outplayed, outperformed and have to take that on the chin.
“We have to learn some lessons. The way West Indies went about stuff in certain areas has been very skilled, especially how they batted yesterday against some very high-skilled bowling. That was frustrating.
“We haven’t performed with the bat as we would have liked and that hasn’t helped our case. You won’t win many games scoring less than 200 twice.
“There were guys that will have to look at themselves individually. But on a surface like that, you have to commit to whatever decision you make. It was definitely a bowler-friendly surface. I wouldn’t say it was a fair contest between bat and ball. But both sides have played on it and they’ve managed certain areas better than us.”
England have the chance to salvage pride in the final Test, and Root wants his team to “respond quickly and respond well” to claim their first victory of the series.
“We’ve got to make sure we respond quickly and we respond well when we get to St Lucia and finish positively as a side,” he explained. “We haven’t had that same approach as we had in Sri Lanka of going out there and really taking sides on.
“I think there has been some very highly skilled bowling in bowling-friendly conditions and the big moments we haven’t managed as well as they have.”
