England Lions crushed West Indies by 10 wickets on Sunday, dealing a further blow to the brittle confidence of the tourists ahead of the first Test which starts at Lord’s on Thursday. Joe Root (115 not out) and Michael Carberry (72 not out) led the Lions to victory in Northampton with a session to spare on the final day of the four-day game, finishing on 197-0 after the West Indies had been bowled out for 390 in their second innings. As well as defeat, the West Indies also saw seam bowlers Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul suffer new injuries ahead of Thursday’s first Test at Lord’s The tourists’ mid-match fightback — with Kieran Powell (108) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (77) — came to nothing on the final day after they were dismissed after just 30 minutes in the morning session. The Lions moved to 61 without loss at lunch while the West Indies — without Roach, who took a blow on his right hand batting against Stuart Meaker — also saw Rampaul leave the field after four overs with the new ball. Darren Bravo was required to bowl only his second spell in first-class cricket and Root and Carberry were predictably untroubled. The Lions’ openers, who discovered that team-mate Jonny Bairstow will be the man to replace the injured Ravi Bopara in England’s squad for Lord’s, turned on the style as victory was wrapped up after lunch.
