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[tom line]

Great test match and a great advert for test cricket being the best cricket.
On another note, great to see broad and occasionally Anderson's pace back up towards high 80s and wood and stokes both consistently around 90 good to see the bowling attack with some pace about it.

[trypewriter]

Did NOT see that coming - glad to be proved wrong! 

[Alvaro]

They're good these young players...

[iand123]

Don't think many people would have predicted that especially after the first two days. Just shows what a bit of adventure can do for you, Stokes ton in the second innibgs was a gam changer scoring so quickly and freely and changing the outcome of the game. Still plenty of work to do but theyve given themselves a template and shown they can play a brand of cricket that isnt attritional.

[ppccopener]

this was a good wicket and decent conditions for the bowlers too, this has an effect on how we can play as well as a change of attitude.Very hard for anyone to look good on lifeless pitches in the West Indies.

[Buzz]

I have to be honest, I don't think this is the worst performance from England.

There I have said it.

Batting was nervous on the first morning, but to recover to get almost 400 was a good effort.

The bowling has been patchy, but shows signs of life. Wood looks good, Stokes will be dangerous when he gets a 2nd slip who can catch. Broad and Anderson do what you expect.

Cook's technique looks much better. Ballance has some thinking to do and we need an opener to stick around, buy Lyth has to get a run. A little part of me thinks they have picked the wrong Yorkshire opener.

Yes we will do well to get something from this game, but I am more optimistic about the team than I have been for a while.

Seeing them square up to an odious member in the pavilion yesterday has got me thinking.

still stand by what I said here, before Cooks runs and Stokes' second inning ton.

[tim2000s]

Very hard for anyone to look good on lifeless pitches in the West Indies.

A similar observation was made on TMS yesterday.

[TangoWhiskey]

Shock Ali Cook makes more runs. Perhaps people might stop hammering him so hard and back him and the team over these two tough series?

[ppccopener]

Shock Ali Cook makes more runs. Perhaps people might stop hammering him so hard and back him and the team over these two tough series?

I'm sure Cook does not read social media and certainly fans, some on here, seek to blame the bloke for all of Englands problems, the simple fact is the guy is as tough as they come and yes, that can be a weakness as well as a strength,and there's no doubt he wont go down as one of our better captains.....BUT quite clearly the team is behind him,you could see that from the celebrations when he got his ton

any while social media/some fans/the experts in the commentary box who won nothing when they skippered constantly hammer him, he is taking away flak from the other players-they must know that.
Plus he has 27 tons now and that is special

We are rebuilding post strauss/swann/trot/kp and that takes time.
We are still second favourites for the Ashes but we might just of turned a corner in getting the fans back on side.

[TangoWhiskey]

I've always said the guy is going to be England's greatest ever test run scorer. He is a class apart from any other opener we have in the country. He doesn't get the accolades because he isn't pretty to watch. He is the antithesis of Ian Bell who is easy on the eye but has all the grit, toughness and fight of a bowl of jelly.

[Number4]

England played well to win. And play well they had to because they had no help from the captain. Not talking about run scoring cause Cook batted well but his captaining decisions were poor at best.

[Number4]

P.S I said long ago Cook will go down as England's highest scoring test batsmen. I like him as a batsman just not as a captain

[Buzz]

Paul Farbrace has done a brilliant job too.

He was the one who put his foot down about the batting order and also about injecting some fun back into the team.

Skipper scoring runs also helps lessen any morose feelings around the team - so that 100 in the WIndies will also have contributed

[uknsaunders]

To me it's becoming more obvious that Moores led to his own downfall. Never did hear about Farbrace/Moores disagreements? I imagine one was the batting order and style of play, another could well of been the Jordan selection and non selection. Strikes me the current team is now better balanced in the bowling department. Still reckon Bell should be batting 5 and Root 4.

[TangoWhiskey]

To me it's becoming more obvious that Moores led to his own downfall. Never did hear about Farbrace/Moores disagreements? I imagine one was the batting order and style of play, another could well of been the Jordan selection and non selection. Strikes me the current team is now better balanced in the bowling department. Still reckon Bell should be batting 5 and Root 4.

Is Bell still in the top 5 batsmen in the country? I'm getting pretty bored of watching him crumble whenever we need a senior player to stand up. He's had one maybe two good series in the last few years. Not saying get KP in but I just think his spot could be better utilised by giving someone else a shot.