Alistair Cook says England ‘couldn’t have done any more’ to beat West Indies

Though England had West Indies down to five wickets by lunch on Friday, they couldn't finish the hosts off and were left with a drawn first Test, with Alistair Cook nonetheless calling it a 'great effort'.

Alistair Cook and England drew the first Test with West Indies on Friday. Ricardo Mazalan / AP / April 17, 2015

England did everything possible to win the first Test against West Indies which ended in a draw in Antigua on Friday, captain Alastair Cook said.

They failed to bowl the hosts out after reducing them to 162 for 5 at lunch, West Indies’ Jason Holder hitting an unbeaten 103 to leave England frustrated again after their dismal World Cup campaign.

“We knew it was going to be hard work and it proved to be,” Cook told Sky Sports. “Getting three wickets in the first session was a great effort. Credit to Jason Holder, we couldn’t have done any more. I can’t fault the lads’ effort.

“In these conditions, you almost have to play the perfect game and that doesn’t always happen. We dropped a couple of tough chances but I think it would be harsh to focus on those. It was a tough wicket. The lads fought incredibly hard.”

Cook did enjoy the moment when his catch to dismiss West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin in the final session took James Anderson past Ian Botham as England’s leading Test wicket-taker.

“It was a great moment when Jimmy took the 384th wicket, we’ll remember it for a long time,” Cook said.

The England skipper had a disappointing match with the bat, scoring 11 and 13 to extend his long run without a Test century which dates back nearly two years.

Jonathan Trott also failed twice on his return to the side for the first time since leaving the 2013/14 Ashes tour in Australia due to a stress-related illness and England have plenty to ponder before the second Test in Grenada on Tuesday.

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