England hoping for spicier pitch in Grenada for final West Indies Test

After England landed on Monday in idyllic Grenada, their seamers could have been forgiven for heading straight to the National Stadium and subtly sprinkling grass seed on the pitch in the way that Andy Dufresne shook dirt out of his trouser leg in the yard of Shawshank prison.

The two docile surfaces on show during the draws in Antigua and Barbados have certainly been restorative for Joe Root’s batters after their collective meltdown in Australia; out of the top six, only Alex Lees averages under 40 during a series in which they have twice thrown the bat in the second innings, with five centuries so far compared with an Ashes series that featured one.

Along with Dan Lawrence’s zesty scores of 91 and 41 in Bridgetown, most encouraging was the 120 from Ben Stokes that pointed to a return to form after his absence last year; not just by weight of runs but the manner in which he ransacked the bowlers. “He’s somewhere near his best again,” Root said. “You can see he’s got that glint in his eye again and long may it continue.”

For the fast-medium bowlers it has been exhausting work in the main, however, summed up on day five when Saqib Mahmood’s removal of Shamarh Brooks was courtesy of the first catch in the slip cordon all match. None of them has been taken apart – losing two tosses has led to the West Indies opt to grinding out their runs – but they have claimed a wicket every 105 balls on average.

It may be that we have already witnessed the last overseas Test for Chris Woakes after two wickets all series. His away average was well documented – 52 before this tour, 54 now – and so to expect a 33-year-old to haul himself off the Ashes canvas for a third assignment of the winter, replacing Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad in