What's significant about England-West Indies series?

In the overall scheme of things three oneday internationals in the Caribbean between two struggling teams were little more than an irrelevancy Cricketrsquos global attention was firmly and simultaneously focused on the heavyweight battle for Test supremacy on the other side of the AtlanticNevertheless their brief lowprofile contest regarded as a prelude to the imminent World Twenty20 in Bangladesh as much as anything was effectively as significant for England and West Indies as the showdown in South Africa was for the home team and AustraliaDisastrous toursBoth had been shaken by disastrous overseas series through the preceding four months They needed an immediate boost to their sagging selfbelief Englandrsquos spirits had been devastated by the comprehensive 05 surrender of the Ashes in Australia West Indies were humiliated in four defeats in five Tests the two hurriedly arranged in India to ensure an emotional home farewell to Sachin Tendulkarrsquos celebrated career and two in three in New Zealand three lasted less than three daysSpectators enjoy the first ODI between West Indies and England at a swimming pool in Antigua on February 28 PicGetty ImagesThere was further collateral damage for both Jonathan Trott Englandrsquos dependable No 3 undermined by depression sought refuge back home after the first Test Graeme Swann their high quality offspinner chose to retire and abandon the tour halfway through Alistair Cook was so overwhelmed by Australiarsquos menacing fast attack and his teamrsquos demise that his future as captain was in doubtKevin Pietersen their most commanding batsman was another belated if inevitable casualty his international career finished after the tour by a management no longer able to deal with what it had long since identified as his disruptive influenceFor the West Indies their boardrsquos shambolic arrangements had the final ODI in India coinciding with the start of a warmup match in New Zealand for which six borrowed locals had to make up the ldquoWest Indian XIrdquo The full complement arrived just three days prior to the first Test in Dunedin after a circuitous journey from Mumbai lasting 30 hoursInjury crisisBy then a strained hamstring had ruled out Chris Gayle Marlon Samuels a chronic wrist injury would follow after the first of the seven shortformat matches Darren Bravo whose second innings 218 had saved the team from defeat in the first Test returned home at the same time ldquofor personal reasonsrdquo The crisis was evident when Test captain Darren Sammy declared ldquowe just canrsquot go on like thisrdquo and predicted that some careers including his own were ldquoon the linerdquo On arrival to take over for the ODI series Dwayne Bravo said the problems could be sourced to a ldquolack of unityrdquoIn the circumstances each team welcomed any crumb of cheerThe morsels were mostly Englandrsquos Beaten by 15 runs in the first match through shortcomings that were a hangover from Australia they were more resilient than their vulnerable opponents in the next twoThe margins were small by three wickets when going after a meagre 159 by 25 runs when wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin gave them a scare with 128 off 109 balls after West Indies appeared utterly down and out It didnrsquot matter to Stuart Broad installed as captain in place of the absent Cook ldquoWinning helps your confidence and your belief and to win in pressure scenarios in conditions that are a little bit foreign to us should help our beliefrdquo he said It was a small but important advance so soon after the Australian debacleEnglandrsquos progress went beyond the 21 outcomeJoe Root one of their several young hopes for the future endured difficult times in Australia dropped for the final Test after scraping together an average of 27 in the first fourCentury despite injuryHe topped his resurgence with 107 in the last match in Antigua disregarding the pain of a thumb broken early in the piece by a lifter from Ravi Rampaul to proceed to his maiden ODI hundred The likelihood that he would miss the World Twenty20 as a result shouldnrsquot be a major setbackHe shared a fifth wicket partnership of 175 with Josh Buttler another 23yearold that was the platform for the winning total of 303 for six Buttler falling in the final over for 99 Rootrsquos offspin cleverly used by Broad with the new ball on the slow turners now typical of West Indies pitches enhances his value Buttlerrsquos keeping and forthright batting make him a ready replacement for the aging and declining Matt PriorLefthander Moen Ali a consistent scorer for Worcestershire for some time and handy offspinner and Stephen Parry a surprise choice as the sparingly used Lancashire leftarm spinner were a couple of newcomers immediately at ease at the higher level So too was an oldtimer whose only previous appearances for England were in the shortest version On his ODI debut in the opening match lefthander Michael Lumb made his point with a dominant 106In contrast to such encouraging developments for England West Indies had to rely on their tried and trusted Their runs came from Dwayne Bravo Lendl Simmons Darren Sammy and at the end Ramdin their wickets from Bravo and Sunil NarineThe continuing disappointment was the faltering form of their young brigadeThe stylish lefthanders Kieron Powell 23 and the younger Bravo Darren 25 could only raise 53 between them in the six innings Jason Holder the towering 22yearold fast bowler was dropped after conceding 27 runs from seven overs in the first match Sammyrsquos lament that ldquowe just canrsquot go on like thisrdquo remained pertinent at the endCricket writer and commentator Tony Cozier will write a fortnightly column for this newspaper