England fought the Law and the Law won

A series that threatened to be a one-sided non-event after West Indies were humiliated by an innings inside three days in the opening Test at Edgbaston will now go down to a decider at Lord’s next week following a remarkable final day at Headingley.

This is a ground where anyone who has a working knowledge of the 1981 Ashes knows miracles can happen.

But this time it was England, who famously came back from the dead against Australia in Leeds 36 years ago thanks to the feats of Ian Botham and Bob Willis, who were on the end of an improbable result.

Shai Hope, who became the first man in 534 first-class matches at this venue to score a century in each innings, led his side to their first Test victory in England for 17 years with a brilliant unbeaten 118 on this final day.

Only Australia’s 1948 Invincibles have chased down more to win at Headingley than the 322 West Indies did in this second Test.

However, it’s an Australian in coach Stuart Law who was the proudest man among the touring contingent.

It’s barely been a week since Law, his players and staff were subjected to fierce criticism from a host of West Indian greats. The strongest came from Curtley Ambrose, who branded the performance at Edgbaston, where the tourists were hammered by an innings and 209 runs after losing 19 wickets on the final day, “pathetic”, “embarrassing” and “painful to watch”.

For Law, who only took on what was always going to be a hugely difficult job back in February, the result at Edgbaston and the firestorm that followed could have been hugely damaging.

Instead, he has not only enhanced his own reputation immeasurably by masterminding this win but given England a bloody nose and plenty to think about ahead of the Ashes.

"It was a great effort from the support staff and players to get back on track,” said Law. "I am so proud of our guys who have put a lot of doubters to bed. I always believed that these guys could play - some people didn’t - and they showed it in this game. 

"It takes a lot of character to come back after the beating we had at Edgbaston."

Australians everywhere will no doubt offer to buy the Queenslander a cold one after his side delivered such a telling psychological blow to England so close to the Magellan Ashes.

The series decider at Lord’s is the last Test Joe Root’s team will have before they depart for Australia in late October.

Yet Root was magnanimous enough to credit West Indies and the spectacle both teams created during what proved a wonderful advert for Test cricket.

"It was a great Test for everyone watching, if not great to be on the losing side,” said England’s captain. “Hope played brilliantly on a fifth-day wicket against a high-quality attack but credit to the whole Windies side for the way they bounced back.”

Root’s declaration on the fourth evening, with his side 8-490 after overturning a first-innings deficit of 169, gave the Windies a sniff of victory.

Yet Root insists he will not shy away from attacking declarations in the future if it gives his team the opportunity to win a Test.

"It’s nice to look back in hindsight and see how things could have gone,” he said. "That second innings we batted was a great effort. “The declaration was a positive thing to do, we want to win Test matches. When you get the opportunity to try and win you take it.”

That is a notable shift from the conservative captaincy of Alastair Cook, Root’s predecessor.

Allied to the positive approach which is seemingly in the DNA of Australian cricket, this summer’s Ashes between two unpredictable teams could prove to be the most thrilling since 2005, when England pulled off a long-overdue series win that at the time felt as improbable as what West Indies have just pulled off here at Headingley.