The problems of Australia and Sri Lanka seem trivial when compared to what transpired with England today. When West Indies were out for 392 on the 4th morning of the Test, hardly anyone in the world would have imagined that the game would be over in less than three hours, with England bowled out for their third lowest score in a Test innings.

Until England’s innings, there was not much to choose between the two teams. Obviously, England had under-performed against their potential, allowing the West Indies to grab a 76-run lead, but the major damage was caused by the two WI centurians, Gayle and Sarwan. But there are no excuses to the events that happened after that. Taylor bowled the spell of his lifetime. And surprise, surprise! They got there without a significant contribution from Chanderpaul.

This is an incredible mess for England. After the public linen-washing in the Pietersen-Moores flap, the ECB and Strauss, the new captain, would have hoped to turn over a new leaf against an opponent, currently the weakest of the Test-playing nations bar Bangladesh. That was not to be. It will take enormous mental strength from the team to overcome this setback. Echoes of the Adelaide debacle come to mind. Will a demoralized England be even competitive in the remaining Tests? This is going to be the biggest challenge for Strauss.

As for our prediction about the match winner, we seem to have egg on our face, probably a few rotten vegetables too! But models are there to be improved using results. And so, we will come up with an improved model for the upcoming matches.