England humiliated by West Indies after being smashed by 381 runs in First Test

ENGLAND lost the First Test and it was a crushing, worrying and utterly comprehensive and embarrassing defeat.

Their attempt to bat for two full days - or at least bat long enough to restore some credibility - foundered on the altar of appalling discipline and weak shots.

Was the sequence of eight wins in nine Tests that preceded this tour nothing more than a false and flattering dawn?

Well, to prove it was not, Joe Root and his men must sure as heck sort out their act before the Second Test begins in Antigua on Thursday.

Batsman after batsman perished to sloppy shot selection or execution and four specialists were dismissed between the scores of 22 and 34. That means they became established before tamely surrendering their wickets.

It would be impossible to overstate what a feeble and feckless batting performance England produced in this match. West Indies won by the barely-credible margin of 381 runs.

After being blown away by pace in the first innings, it was now unheralded off-spinner Roston Chase who inflicted the damage. He finished with 8-60 and, you know what, he hardly turned a ball.

He must be one of the worst bowlers in Test history to return an eight-for.

The way the performances with the willow of Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, in particular, are regressing is cause for genuine alarm.

Stokes averages 26 in his last 11 Tests - that is, since his Bristol fracas - while Moeen registered his first pair in Test cricket.

Moeen has one half-century in his last 24 innings and is in danger of becoming another Stuart Broad, a one-time good batsman who rarely contributes significant runs.

But the truth is that virtually every player was either technically inept or chucked away his wicket by doing something unfathomable.

The lack of application meant it was one of England’s weakest batting efforts in living memory.

Captain Root admitted: “It’s bitterly disappointing. We were way below par this week, we’re a far better side than that. We’ve shown that recently and come a long way in the past 12 months.

“There were some soft dismissals, we’re not going to hide behind anything. We should be performing better. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a rarity. It’s not something that’s happened consistently in recent times.”

So here is the harrowing story of the First Test in summary...

On day two, England lost ten wickets in 21 overs on as West Indies went into full nostaglia mode with a brilliant and brutal demonstration of fast bowling.

On day three, England failed to take a wicket in 67 overs as West Indies’ No.7 scored 116 not out and their No.8 made 202 not out.

On day four, England were teased and tormented by the spin of Chase, whose bowling average before this Test was 47. England’s last nine wickets fell for 112.

It has been a total walloping, with England mercilessly outplayed and outskilled in every imaginable way.

England, resuming on 56, reached 85-0 and then 134-1 before their troubles began.

Keaton Jennings is an engaging personality who has shaved his head for charity. But the sight of him swishing his bat in frustration after edging into the slips has become depressingly familiar.

So it was that, on 14, he wafted at Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder grabbed the ball at second slip.

Rory Burns reached 84 with some sharp strokes as well as some plays-and-misses and was dreaming of a maiden Test century.

But then he prodded forward to an innocuous-looking ball from Chase and contrived to be bowled through a yawning gate. Poor technique there.

Root was forced to duck and dodge as though receiving punches from Smokin’ Shannon Gabriel, a fast bowler with the brawny physique of a prize fighter.

The captain has rarely looked so uncomfortable and was very fortunate to survive the assault.

In the first over after lunch, Gabriel banged one in short and Root could do no more than instinctively raise his hands and the ball struck his glove and lobbed to gully.

England’s captain departed and was a yard short of the boundary when advised to halt. TV replays showed a no-ball and Root was able to re-enter the firing line.

Several more bouncers followed but it was Root’s Yorkshire team-mate, Jonny Bairstow, who perished.

A delivery from Gabriel was directed towards Bairstow’s body and he deflected a legside catch to Shai Hope, who was keeping wicket because Shane Dowrich had a stiff back.

Root was unable to capitalise on his lucky break and, when 22, attempted a back foot force against Chase and edged to slip.

Stokes, on two, was given out lbw to Chase but DRS showed an inside edge. He was adjudged leg before again on 34 and this time there was no reprieve.

So it continued. Moeen guided a nothing ball to slip as though offering catching practice, Jos Buttler clipped to mid-wicket, Ben Foakes swept and short leg managed to snaffle the ball and Adil Rashid holed out to deep mid-wicket.

The dirty deed was completed when Sam Curran charged down the pitch to Chase and was stumped.