England v West Indies talking points including Ben Stokes, James Anderson and Jos Buttler

Sloppy England pay for mistakes

In sport you usually get what you deserve and England certainly did last week.

In the aftermath of their four-wicket defeat at the hands of the West Indies in Southampton, stand-in captain Ben Stokes was again asked about his decision at the toss, when opting to bat first under gloomy skies, or the even bigger call to omit Stuart Broad from the starting XI.

Stokes remained defiant in relation to both decisions and even with the benefit of hindsight, I have no issue with England's decision to bat first, more their inability to navigate the inevitable tricky periods that came and survive testing spells of high-class bowling when sound judgement, solid defence and smart cricket was required.

From 48-1, there was no excuse - regardless of conditions - for England to slump to a first-innings total of 204 and second time around, 313 was a long way short of what they should have achieved having worked themselves into a position of strength at 248-3.

Stokes himself was guilty of twice getting set but not making a half-century in the match while Rory Burns made starts in both innings without going on. It was the same for Joe Denly - but more on him later.

Sloppy is the word most fitting of England's display at the Ageas Bowl, in all three departments, and yet they could have easily pulled off a late heist had things gone their way on day five.

Dom Bess should be disappointed not to have made an impact on a wearing pitch that offered enough spin without falling apart, as he would have expected to when looking at the footholes outside the right-handers' off stump before play resumed on the final morning.

Still, Bess twice had lbw shouts turned down - against Roston Chase and Jermaine Blackwood - that were referred by Stokes, only for umpire's call to save both batsmen. On another day, fortune may have favoured Bess and England.

Blackwood's match-winning innings was rightly hailed as a coming-of-age moment for a supremely gifted batsman whose attacking instincts have proven his downfall throughout his so far unfulfilled career. He was much more responsible here but his innings was far from nerveless and he enjoyed more than his fair share of luck; numerous back cuts flayed in the air through the gully region, uppercuts falling short of third man, and inside edges whistling past leg stump to the frustration of England's bowling attack.

It was Blackwood's day, no doubt, but England would be right to fancy their chances of bringing him back down to earth in Manchester, for all their misfortune on Sunday was probably of their own doing.

Stokes might reflect on Blackwood's solo and feel he should have employed two gully fielders throughout, while the Durham man himself looks the best bet to field at mid off to a batsman whose two dismissals in the match came when holing out to that position. A fine fielder though James Anderson is, it might be a touch unfair to ask your 37-year-old opening bowler to patrol what could prove to be the most important fielding position when Blackwood is at the crease.

Still, this brings me back to my original point: England were made to pay for sloppy cricket and when the pressure cooker was turned on in that second session on day five, they simply fell apart in the field.

Stokes was as guilty as anyone in truth, dismissing Shane Dowrich twice in the same over, a no-ball reprieving the West Indies wicketkeeper on the first occasion, having earlier had his head in his hands when Burns failed to get a hand on a relatively straightforward chance off Blackwood at gully. For the sake of Stokes' blood pressure, it might have been for the best as replays showed he had once again overstepped.

Moments earlier, Stokes cut a frustrated figure when Jos Buttler made a mess of a simple catch down the leg side after Blackwood gloved an attempted pull shot on 20. On an afternoon of missed opportunities, that moment was probably where the match was lost for England, but chances continued to come and the hosts continued to fluff their lines.

A conscious effort from Blackwood, and later Jason Holder, to keep the scoreboard ticking over saw some aggressive running between the wickets but England continually leaked singles on the square while a number of run out chances were missed with some wayward throwing at the stumps.

Blackwood hadn't yet reached 30 when another mix up, this time with Chase, presented Zak Crawley with a golden run-out opportunity at cover but the ball resembled a hot potato as he somehow failed to gather and make the simple throw to Buttler behind the stumps who would surely have done the rest.

Much has been made of this exciting new England; a young side with pace in their bowling and batsmen whom they can mould their future around, but in the field they don't look the sharpest and when conditions are as flat, or even flatter, than they were over the final three days at the Ageas Bowl, every missed opportunity is potentially fatal.

England's fielding, particularly in the catching department, was a constant headache for former coach Trevor Bayliss and his replacement, Chris Silverwood, might now be losing sleep over the very same problems.

England got what they deserved in Southampton and were made to pay for some sloppy cricket, and with the Wisden Trophy on the line, there will be no second chances in Manchester.

Time running out as vultures circle

Much of the selection debate last week was about Stuart Broad and while his omission still feels like a mistake, Jofra Archer's brilliant display in the West Indies' second innings at least justified his selection.

Mark Wood might be the man to make way for Broad in the second Test, though the prospect of a fast, bouncy surface at Old Trafford wont have the Durham speedster wanting to give up his spot easily and James Anderson might well be looking over his shoulder with a little more trepidation than he is used to.

Anderson was brilliant in the West Indies' first innings, claiming 3-62 from 25 exemplary overs as he somehow kept England in the game when the tourists threatened to build an unassailable lead. As Archer and Wood struggled, Anderson stood tall once again to remove three of the West Indies' top five when conditions were at their best for batting.

Still, the Lancashire veteran would have hoped to make much more of an impact in the fourth innings and it must have been an odd feeling for him to watch Stokes entrust Archer and Wood straight after Tea as England's hopes hung by a thread.

It wasn't that Anderson bowled badly, but he did lack the penetration England have almost taken for granted over the years and in a run-chase where scoreboard control became less important than chasing wickets, he looked less likely than Archer and Stokes to deliver for his team.

I'd still expect him to line up in Manchester but last week's axing of Broad has shown that England aren't afraid to leave the past behind and if victory in Australia, and building a side for that, remains the long-term goal, Anderson might find that he and Broad are, at times, competing for the same spot going forward.

Winning the next game will surely be England's immediate priority and were I a selector, I'd want to see Anderson and Broad bowling in tandem at Old Trafford, but times are changing and selection is never guaranteed following defeat.

One man whose place in the England team really is up for debate is Joe Denly and a composed second-innings 76 for Crawley in Southampton, along with Joe Root's expected return in Manchester, might mean the end for the 34-year-old.

Crawley looks a very good prospect but even despite enjoying a strong Test match last week, I'm not sure he's done enough to warrant what would surely be the termination of Denly's Test career.

England have already invested so much in Denly in their desperation to fill the troublesome number three position and while many of his critics will argue an average of under 30, no Test hundreds, and a habit of failing to capitalise on promising starts, confirms he isn't the man for the job, I think England might need to see this one through.

It's easy to take a simplistic view of Denly's numbers and conclude he doesn't make the grade but it must not be forgotten just how well he played and how hard he fought for three Ashes half-centuries against a brilliant Australian attack last summer, or again when helping England finally lay the solid foundations from which its dangerous middle order could hurt South Africa on the way to a touchstone away series victory in the winter.

That might have been the biggest success story of Joe Root's captaincy to date, a series win in which Denly most certainly played his part, and to watch him bat with relative ease against the West Indies last week did little to convince me that he isn't good enough to succeed at this level.

For a man as physically fit as Denly is, his age doesn't really concern me - not nowadays - but what does concern me is if Crawley is needed to return to his favoured position at the top of the order in the near future, were Dom Sibley unable to make a success of his first crack at international cricket or if injury meant a spell on the sidelines for himself or Burns, just as was the case with the latter in South Africa.

In such a scenario, England would find themselves back to square one if Denly were to have already been moved on - he won't be making a comeback at 34 or 35 - and I doubt very much that Root would be keen to return to number three, or that Jonny Bairstow is the man to face the new Dukes ball at first drop.

England have come too far with Denly, invested in him too much, to discard him in the middle of a series and it's my feeling that he will be playing for his international career in the final two Test matches at Old Trafford. Make no mistake, Denly needs to start making big runs but this horse might just be worth following over that cliff.

Another who might find himself in a similar situation is Buttler, generally very reliable with the gloves but no doubt rueing that costly drop of Blackwood on Sunday.

First and foremost, what he needs is runs and a first-innings 35 last week wasn't enough to provide the definitive answer to the burning question: is Buttler England's long-term answer going forward?

Just has been the case throughout Buttler's red-ball career, the jury is still out but you sense that time is running out and he might need to score heavily in the next few weeks to keep those vultures calling for him to be replaced by Ben Foakes or Bairstow at bay.

For many reasons, a big, big week lies ahead.

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