England vs West Indies: Both nations settle for a draw in Barbados

With the support of an unbeaten half-century by skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies ended Day-5 at 135/5 while chasing a target of 282.

Barbados Lifeless pitch won

"Lifeless pitch" at Barbados led the Test between England and West Indies to end in a draw as captain Kraigg Brathwaite stood tall throughout. This is the first time a Test ended in 11 years at this venue in a draw.

The last test match that ended in a draw was against India, largely impacted by rain. Former Caribbean cricketer Sir Curtly Ambrose called the pitch lifeless.

Both teams tried hard to derive a result in both matches, but Antigua and Barbados failed their intentions because both teams showed great energy across all five days to get a result. 

Test dominated by batters

After winning the toss, England chose to bat and put a mammoth 507 runs to target in an attempt to bat the hosts out of the game. The major contributors to this were the trio of Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Dan Lawrence, but little did they know that the match would keep some fizzle and spark alive till the fifth day.

Despite the target of 507, hosts did not give it as Kraigg Brathwaite single-handed dampened England's expectations.

West Indie's skipper and Jermaine Blackwood grafted a partnership of 183 runs in the first innings. Both of their centuries helped Caribbeans track down the chase to 411, at which English bowlers completely bowled out the team.

England must regret not reviewing Blackwood's lbw dismissal at 0 in the first innings, which would have put the visitors in a solid position to win as he later compiled his third test hundred after playing 215 balls. 

Captain's monumental efforts

The final day began with England extending their lead in the second innings, as they managed to score 185 runs and then declare at the lead of 281 runs. West Indies bowlers were very quick in picking 6 wickets of England in the process.

West Indie's second innings again began with their captain and John Campbell. English bowlers Jack Leech and Saqib Mahmood had something else on their cards, and sharp-witted took five wickets, not giving a chance to the batsman to build a partnership.

But Joshua Da Silva, despite the pressure, blocked England's intention as he stood fiercely with Captain Kraigg Brathwaite on the crease to achieve a draw.

They partnered 34 runs off 105 balls. Brathwaite faced 673 balls in this game (112.1 overs) - the most by a West Indian batter in a Test match, surpassing the legendary Brian Lara's 582 against England in 2004.

England might have overcome the hosts to win the series without his efforts, despite the pitch being lifeless.

"It was annoying how good he was," Root said. "He played brilliantly in both innings and didn't give us many opportunities. He ground us down. He's an ideal player for a pitch like that. He takes it deep time and time again. He had a clear game plan and stuck to it very well. It's frustrating but there's a lot of respect for the way he went about it.

Root added. "Credit to West Indies, they fought very hard in two brilliant Test matches, and it should be a brilliant final one of the series."

Who will claim the Richards-Botham Trophy?

The game will be remembered for long-running efforts, centuries scored and partnerships built by captains and vice-captains of both teams. England has scored 5 centuries and West Indies 3 in the series.

There hasn't been a three-Test series drawn 0-0 since 2012-13 (England in New Zealand), so let's hope something gives one way or another.

It's 0-0 with one to play. The question now is who will claim the Richards-Botham Trophy in Grenada, which will commence on March 24.