BIRMINGHAM: Stuart Broad hogged the limelight in the dark as England routed a hopelessly outclassed West Indies in the landmark day-night Test match at Edgbaston, wrapping up victory by an innings and 209 runs on Saturday.

Broad became the second most prolific wicket taker in English Test history, taking his 384th scalp on a remarkable day three for the home attack as they shared around 19 wickets to put the visitors’ callow batting line-up to the sword.

The paceman went past Ian Botham’s haul of 383 wickets while ripping the heart out of the visitors’ second innings to move to second on the England all-time list behind his strike partner James Anderson, who also enjoyed a big day.

Watching in the Sky Sports commentary box amid an excited full-house enjoying the conclusion to the first day-night Test to be staged in England, Botham enthused: “It’s fantastic. It would have been an anti-climax [for Broad] to do it in Leeds in [the second Test] with the atmosphere as great as it is here.”

The great all-rounder then added with a laugh: “It just makes me feel bloody old!”

On a cold, damp day, England had been, first, inspired by Anderson and Toby Roland-Jones as they forced the Windies to follow on, bowling them out for 168 by early in the post-lunch session in response to England’s mammoth 514 for eight declared.

Anderson had led the charge with three wickets and a run-out. Then with the floodlights on and the pink ball wobbling around, captain Joe Root naturally invited the Windies to endure further nightmares.

This time Anderson and Roland-Jones, who had also taken two first-innings wickets, soon struck again before Broad stole the show as the West Indies once more crumbled, this time being bowled out for 137.

Having taken tea with four down in their second innings and already resigned to going one down in the three-test series, Broad, watched in the crowd by his father, former England batsman and now an ICC match referee Chris Broad, chose his moment to move from support act to main man.

The hors d’oeuvre was two wickets in two balls, first trapping Roston Chase lbw and then having captain Jason Holder caught at slip by Alastair Cook, to equal Botham’s mark, only to be thwarted in his bid to be the first man ever to take three Test hat-tricks by Kemar Roach’s straight bat.

Then, he produced a beauty that nipped back to bowl Shane Dowrich, a fitting record-breaking delivery before he went on to finish with figures of 3-34.

England’s all-time leading wicket taker Anderson and Roland-Jones, continuing the excellent start to his Test career, then finished the job, with the Middlesex bowler securing the final wicket as Ben Stokes snaffled Alzarri Joseph in the slips.

Only Jermaine Black­wood came out of the debacle with much credit for the West Indies with his laudable, counter-attacking 79 not out in the first innings amid the carnage.

But Blackwood, who struck two sixes and nine fours, stood firm with his 49-ball half-century, going on to his 79 off just 76 balls.

Anderson finished with 3-34 off his 15 overs in the first innings with Roland-Jones and Broad both taking two wickets apiece.

Cook, who won the man-of-the-match award for his epic 10-hour 243 that had set up the win, said with a smile: “This is unbelievable for an old man like me. It’s always nice to win and contribute with a big score.”

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 514-8 declared (A.N. Cook 243, J.E. Root 136, D.J. Malan 65; R.L. Chase 4-113).

WEST INDIES (1st Innings):

K.C. Brathwaite c Bairstow b Anderson 0
K.O.A. Powell run out 20
K.A. Hope c Stokes b Anderson 25
S.D. Hope b Roland-Jones 15
R.L. Chase b Anderson 0
J. Blackwood not out 79
S.O. Dowrich lbw b Roland-Jones 4
J.O. Holder c Bairstow b Ali 11
K.A.J. Roach b Broad 5
A.S. Joseph lbw b Broad 6
M.L. Cummins run out 0

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-2) 3

TOTAL (all out, 47 overs) 168

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-45, 3-47, 4-47, 5-89, 6-101, 7-129, 8-134, 9-162.

BOWLING: Anderson 15-6-34-3 (1w); Broad 16-3-47-2; Roland-Jones 6-0-31-2 (1w); Stokes 7-0-40-0; Ali 3-1-15-1.

WEST INDIES (2nd Innings, following-on):

K.C. Brathwaite lbw b Ali 40
K.O.A. Powell c Cook b Anderson 10
K.A. Hope lbw b Roland-Jones 12
S.D. Hope c Root b Stokes 4
R.L. Chase lbw b Broad 24
J. Blackwood st Bairstow b Ali 12
S.O. Dowrich b Broad 5
J.O. Holder c Cook b Broad 0
K.A.J. Roach b Anderson 12
A.S. Joseph c Stokes b Roland-Jones 8
M.L. Cummins not out 0

EXTRAS (B-9, LB-1) 10

TOTAL (all out, 45.4 overs) 137

FALL OF WKTS: 1-15, 2-41, 3-60, 4-76, 5-102, 6-104, 7-104, 8-115, 9-137.

BOWLING: Anderson 7-2-12-2; Broad 10-4-34-3; Roland-Jones 6.4-3-18-2; Stokes 9-4-9-1; Ali 13-2-54-2.

RESULT: England won by an innings and 209 runs to lead three-match series 1-0.

UMPIRES: M. Erasmus (South Africa) and S. Ravi (India).

TV UMPIRE: C.B. Gaffaney (New Zealand).

MATCH REFEREE: D.C. Boon (Australia).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Alastair Cook.

SECOND TEST: Headingley, Aug 25-29.

THIRD TEST: Lord’s, Sept 7-11.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2017