BUMBLE AT THE TEST: Barbados Test matches are attractive proposition for football managers

England lost their battle of wills with Kraigg Brathwaite and drew the second Test against his West Indies side after a case of deja vu in Barbados.

After falling six wickets short on the last day of the series opener in Antigua, England were once again forced to settle for stalemate at the Kensington Oval. 

On both occasions lifeless pitches and stiff West Indian will have trumped English endeavour, leaving all to play for in next week’s decider in Grenada.

England’s unlikely victory push was again thwarted by West Indies as the second Test

Sportsmail‘s DAVID LLOYD offers his thoughts and insights on the final day’s play in Barbados.

Rangnick joins the band of touring bosses 

Ralf Rangnick has been in the crowd at the Kensington Oval.

Barbados Test matches do seem to be an attractive proposition for football managers. Remember when England played here in 2018 and Steve Bruce telling Sheffield Wednesday he wasn’t available to start work until he’d ticked off watching a Test in Bridgetown from his bucket list.

Alan Smith, the ex-Crystal Palace boss, is often on England tours. Peter Reid and Glenn Hoddle are regulars at home. 

Ralf Rangnick was pictured with West Indies icon Sir Gordon Greenidge at the Kensington Oval

Meanwhile, the last time I saw Joe Hart, he was trying to teach the forward defensive to Sergio Aguero.

Fight the farce!

Officials in Grenada should do right by the players and make the final Test a contest.

If not both sides should protest. Bowlers should bowl with the wrong hand and batters bat the wrong way around. 

The game would be in disrepute but that is how farcical this week has been.

Corporal punishment

Germans and cricket don’t tend to go together, although I can reveal that I made my Lancashire captaincy debut on an end-ofseason tour of Monchengladbach in 1972 against an army side. 

My team-mates had all been Holsten-ed in the bar the night before. 

Corporal Williams, a hulking West Indies fast bowler, then frightened the life out of us and sobered up those feeling a little worse for wear by pinging the ball past a few lugholes.

Far from perfect

I don’t know who presides over the preparation of these pitches but this is the second in recent weeks to have proved inadequate. 

Like this one, the Rawalpindi pitch for the opening Test between Pakistan and Australia was as dead as a door nail. 

Who likes this sort of cricket? 

The lifeless pitch in Barbados was hardly conducive to an entertaining Test match

Broadcasters don’t, players don’t, supporters don’t. I’ve had half a dozen people contact me to tell me they’re not watching.

Question mark over IPL 

Here’s a question about Mark Wood. He is a consistent 90-mile-an-hour-plus bowler. What would you do if you were him and had to bowl on this kind of pitch for 50 overs a game, with the threat lingering of injury?

Alternatively, you can trouser £750,000 for bowling four overs a game in three spells at the Indian Premier League. It’s an absolute no-brainer. These surfaces are killing players and killing Test cricket.

Getting Parky in Grenada 

If there is so little to work with for the seamers in Grenada, the selectors on both sides might as well just opt for spinners. England should draft in Matt Parkinson to share duties with Jack Leach, backed up by Dan Lawrence and Joe Root. And they should recall Ollie Robinson too. He bowled a few offies in the Ashes, didn’t he?