West Indies vs England match report: Jimmy Anderson inspires tourists to victory and eases pressure on captain Alastair Cook

The enduring beauty of Test cricket is that it is never, ever predictable. Occasionally dull, usually absorbing but always with the potential for a dramatic twist.

At the start of play, a draw was nailed on. Within two hours that certainty demanded swift recalculation, five hours after that England had won the second Test against West Indies by nine wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

On its final morning, after four days when it seemed to be going nowhere, the match was turned on its head by Jimmy Anderson. He brought it back to life as if he were administering a wonder drug. His titanic efforts as bowler and fielder in an extraordinary passage of play meant that the tourists, expecting to spend all the day in the field, chasing their own shadows, needed 143 runs.

The necessary excitement over, they achieved their target routinely for the loss only of one wicket. Their captain, Alastair Cook, scored his second fifty of the match, as did Gary Ballance in an unbroken partnership of 142 There were 17.5 overs remaining.

The ground, empty at the start, was now full and in party mood.

It was Anderson’s bravura exhibition which permitted this, however. When play began in front of the smallest, quietest attendance of the week it was impossible to see any other outcome but stalemate – unless someone from somewhere produced an inspirational piece of bowling or fielding from the realms of romance, perhaps helped along the way by batting lapses.

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The first two were supplied by Anderson, the third by West Indies. Match and possibly series were transformed. West Indies began at 202 for two and it was certain that if England were to resuscitate their hopes of winning they had to make decisive interventions with the second new ball.

Anderson imposed himself immediately with wickets in his first, third and fourth overs with it. Bowling a beautiful line outside off stump with unerring accuracy and control it was truly a master class.

But he was not done yet. He completed a catch above his head which combined athleticism and judgement and then executed a run out with a breathtaking piece of quick thinking and throwing. West Indies looked dumbfounded by it all, as if they felt events were now conspiring against them and there was nothing they could do to stop them.

Anderson, who had one over with the old ball by way of a loosener, struck immediately with the new one. His bouncer went unerringly towards Kraigg Brathwaite’s upper body. The batsman, with 116 runs to his name, had to play it but it rose more steeply and more rapidly than he could have anticipated. He could fend it off only as far as gully.

Two overs later, Anderson lured Shiv Chanderpaul into playing a ball outside off stump which moved fractionally away. The subsequent edge went to Ian Bell at second slip but it slipped from his hands to the right where Alastair Cook dived, parried and then still managed to hang on at the second attempt.

Energy immediately surged through England’s limbs as it deserted their opponents. They clearly scented blood.

In his next over, Anderson bowled to Marlon Samuels so teasingly outside off that he did not know whether to play or whether to leave. Ultimately he decided to leave but it was too late and the ball brushed his bat as it went by.

Anderson had three for one from 23 balls. Nor was he finished yet. Not by a long chalk. For reasons known only to himself Jermaine Blackwood decided to drive Chris Jordan over the infield but he had to clear the fielder at mid-off, Anderson. He ought to have known better as Anderson, spring-heeled, timed his leap perfectly and clutched the ball well above his head.

In Jordan’s next over there was a variation on a fielding theme. Denesh Ramdin drove, Gary Ballance dived wide to his right and narrowly missed holding on to what would have been a wonderful catch. But the ball ran to Anderson, still at mid-off, who swooped and having spotted Jason Holder backing up at the non-striker’s end, threw with one stump to aim at. Naturally, it hit cleanly.

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It was not quite all up for West Indies but before lunch Kemar Roach, who had resisted awhile, suddenly launched an intemperate drive at Moeen Ali and was caught at mid-on – by Anderson, of course.

Cook could, probably should, have turned to his main fast bowler immediately after lunch. Instead, he entrusted Moeen and Stuart Broad to finish the job.

Although it took eight overs into the afternoon, Moeen eventually ended the innings in three balls. Ramdin played across a low full toss, which hit him on the full and two balls later Shannon Gabrield played back, missed one that turned and was also lbw. Both reviewed the decision, both lost.

The chase was now on. Cook and Jonathan Trott, a makeshift opening pair which England fervently hopes will become permanent, emerged with the crowd at fever pitch. To his first ball, Trott survived an lbw appeal from Gabriel which was reviewed, was squared up slightly by his second and chopped on his third trying to defend. There was work to do. It was done easily.

Although Cook is now 34 innings without a hundred this was his fifth fifty in his past eight Test innings, which may persuade the vultures to circle elsewhere for a while.

Cook has a new, unconventional stance, it may herald a fresh dawn for him and England.