Hundreds from Joe Root and Harry Brook helped England to a series-winning 241-run victory at Trent Bridge before Shoaib Bashir took wickets in quick succession for West Indies.
Root and Brook, the perennial kings of England’s batting line-up and likely successors to them, smashed back-to-back stunning centuries on the fourth night of the second Test to pave the way to victory.
Chasing an impossible target of 385, the touring team was bowled out for 143 in just 36.1 overs, with rookie spinner Basil taking five for 41.
The 20-year-old, who didn’t even get a single over in the first Test match at Lord’s, proved the selection gamble right this summer when he was picked as the fourth innings finisher ahead of the more established Jack Leach.
He bowled with finesse and skill, dipping and drifting the ball to confuse opponents and scoring five goals for the third time in five games for his country.
It was the perfect finale to England’s first home Test since 2012 without Stuart Broad and James Anderson, as the English attack was in perfect form to dramatically collapse the Caribbean team from 61 for no runs.
Chris Woakes got the game going by denying two openers, Mark Wood added some pace and Gus Atkinson bagged two goals.
But it was only fitting that Bashir, the youngest member of the revamped XI, clean-bowled Shamar Joseph to deliver the decisive blow to the delight of the Nottingham crowd.
England are 2-0 up with one game in hand, at Edgbaston next week, to secure their first series win since December 2022.
The home side already had a 207-run lead and a seven-wicket advantage at the start of the match, but Brook and Root did not squander their favourable positions, scoring 109 and 122 respectively.
The Yorkshire pair stretched their partnership to 189 with both bowlers hitting impressive hundreds, and Brook continued to play aggressively on the third night, inevitably making 71 from the previous night and playing with even more adventure.
A couple of fierce drives along the way and a galloping single at 99 proved his keenness to achieve his first Test hundred on home soil. Brook’s previous four hundreds had come in Rawalpindi, Multan, Karachi and Wellington but his fifth hundred will be remembered as a special one in front of his own fans.
Root was more measured, scoring with a calm ease that made the task look deceptively easy: the shot that took him to three figures was his seventh boundary, but he soon followed up with a trademark reverse scoop to remind the crowd of the higher gear he was available to.
By the end of his stay, Root had moved up to eighth on the all-time list of top runs, 13 behind West Indies great Brian Lara, seven from the 12,000 milestone and 100 away from matching Sir Alastair Cook’s English record of 32.
Both men fell softly, Brook at leg-slip at the cut and Root chipping it to cover, but they had already done more than enough: the hosts finished with 425 all out and went down in history as the only England team to surpass 400 in both innings of a Test.
While England had a poor 13th over with the new ball, the West Indies openers got some good fortune and got their chase off to a bright start.
But that changed quickly as England took a wicket in each of the next four overs, turning solid ground into sand.
Woakes turned the tide at the change of ends when a slightly careless pass from Mikhail Lewis to the keeper gave England momentum. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, a veteran of an inexperienced batting line-up, was beaten beautifully by Woakes, threatening the off stump and only managing to get a narrow edge. Woakes returned to the pavilion with 47 runs and much of his team’s confidence.
The first break opened the way for Basheer to make a move and he met it with both hands, his third ball going wide off left-hander Kirk McKenzie and hitting the bottom of the bat, the best catch ever for England’s new wicket-keeper Jamie Smith.
Next up to bat was Kavem Hodge, who had made a brave 120 on the second day but then went for a duck for four balls, deep at the crease and fell lbw as the off-spinner pulled the ball towards leg stump.
Basheer got to work and soon added another record to his belt. Alic Athanadze was a classic partner in crime. Basheer was rewarded with a run of balls from round the wicket, a run of balls from the rough and a low drive to slip.
Wood was finally rewarded for his hard work when he hit Kevin Sinclair with a powerful bouncer that took the wristband off his glove before sending him tumbling to the slips, and Atkinson was too quick and too good for Joshua da Silva and Alzarri Joseph, who then smashed through Bashir for a dream finish.
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