'Still their nemesis': Nasser Hussain disappointed with England's batting performance

Nasser Hussain has said that England's batting has been very disappointing in red-ball cricket for quite some time especially while playing at home. They were outplayed by a spirited West Indies team in the first Test match that was played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. At the same time, this match had also marked the return of international cricket after a long wait of 117 days as all the cricketing events were either postponed or canceled due to the COVID pandemic. 

'Still their nemesis': Nasser Hussain 

“Let’s not get lost with the Broad issue or the toss issue. England had batted first were bowled out for 204. That is still their nemesis,” Hussain was quoted saying this by Sky Sports. “They did well in South Africa, but in England, against the Dukes ball, they often find themselves 20-3, 30-3, and without Root in the side this week that was a nightmare. That is still the issue for England,” the former English skipper added.

“They are going to a good surface at Old Trafford (where the 2nd Test is scheduled to be played from July 16-20). (Joe) Root is back and they have to bat like they did in South Africa this winter and at points in New Zealand. Not by being 204 all out. Sometimes as a captain, you have to say ‘I back my side to get 300 on this’ but England fluffed their lines again with the bat after winning the toss,” the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst further added. 

Windies beat England in a thriller

England's stand-in captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first in the historic Eng vs WI Test match. However, the decision backfired tremendously for the hosts as Stokes' counterpart Jason Holder not only won the 'Captain's Battle' between them by dismissing him but also sent 5 other English batsmen back to the pavilion. Shannon Gabriel took 4 wickets in the first innings to restrict England to a mere 204 in the first innings. 

Jofra Archer, who replaced Stuart Broad much to the surprise of many for the first Eng vs WI Test match, was expected to fire on all cylinders and lead England's comeback into the match. However, that wasn't to be as Jofra Archer ended up with no wickets at all in the first innings and would have to wait for the second innings to make an impact. 

Led by wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich's 61 and Roston Chase's 47, West Indies managed to muster 318 in reply, gaining a vital first-innings lead of 114 runs. Jason Holder, who was expected to lead from the front with the bat as well, fell just for 5 as Ben Stokes got his 'revenge' with his wicket being one of the 4 West Indian scalps of his. 

Although England started the second innings positively with openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley putting up a rare 50+ partnership in home conditions, West Indies bounced back with Gabriel picking 3 more wickets as England ended Day 4 on 284/8, being just 170 ahead in the game. 

On Day 5, the hosts were bundled out for 313 as the Windies were set a target of exactly 200 runs.  The Jason Holder-led side found themselves on the backfoot as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 100/4 on a deteriorating wicket. However, Jermaine Blackwood anchored the West Indian run chase and brought his side to the cusp of victory but unfortunately was dismissed five runs short of what would have been an outstanding century.

By the time he was dismissed, the visitors were already in the driver's seat and it was just a matter of time before they crossed the finish line to register a four-wicket win and go 1-0 up in the three-match series. 

READ: Mike Atherton Tricked By A Twitterati On Air As Co-commentators Share A Hearty Laugh