For those hoping England’s red-ball reset might have been more of a revolution than an evolution this tour of the Caribbean has been a disappointment.
Yet even if the XI Joe Root takes onto the field for this final Test against the West Indies that starts on Thursday is underwhelming, there is an expectation that, thankfully, the pitch in Grenada will not be.
It is a relief after the lifeless surfaces for the opening two matches in Antigua and Barbados.
But a pitch that Root and England believe will finally offer some assistance to the seamers means the long wait for young leg-spinner Matt Parkinson’s Test debut will go on.
Parkinson was a glaring omission for the second Test in Barbados, where more than half of England’s overs bowled were spin.
However, having fallen into the reactive trap during the Ashes of selecting the team they should have picked for the last game in the next, England are sticking to their guns and going in with one frontline spinner in Jack Leach.
It means there is just a single change for this third and final Test, with Craig Overton, ruled out at the last minute in Barbados with illness, coming in for Matthew Fisher.
Chris Woakes also gets a final chance to prove he can be an effective performer overseas after Root confirmed Ollie Robinson is still being troubled by the back spasm that struck him on the eve of this series.
For Robinson, a player whose fitness was called out by fast bowling coach Jon Lewis during England’s dismal 4-0 defeat in Australia earlier this winter, this is a massive blow.
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The 28-year-old had an opportunity on this tour to re-establish his credentials as the coming seamer for his country.
Now, after missing this entire series through injury, there are no guarantees Robinson will walk straight back into England’s squad when they reassemble at Lord’s in June for the first Test of the summer against New Zealand.
Selecting Robinson for this tour was always going to be contentious after his public dressing down during the Ashes. It became an even bigger call once it became clear England were leaving James Anderson and Stuart Broad, their top two all-time leading wicket-takers, at home.
Whoever takes over as England’s new director of cricket and head coach in the coming weeks may decide Robinson needs to work doubly hard for a Test recall before he is trusted again. Wickets in county cricket for Sussex should be the only route back and his misfortune on this tour will give new hope to Anderson and Broad they will be called upon again at the start of the summer.
“It’s just as frustrating for him as it is for me,” Root said of Robinson. “He’s working very hard but there’s something that’s nagging away at him and he’s just got to keep on doing what he’s doing and trust in time that he’s going to get himself back.”
The two draws in this series have at least stopped the rot for an England side that had lost 10 out of 14 Tests coming into it.
The batting has improved, too, with four players scoring centuries.
Victory in Grenada – and a first series win in the Caribbean since 2004 – would be a step forward but Root’s position as captain is not guaranteed given there will be a new coach come the summer.
“I don’t think it puts pressure on me,” said Root. “All I want to do is help this team become as good as it possibly can be. I think I’m the right man to take the team forward. If the head coach comes in and thinks differently, that’s fine, that’s his decision.
“But while I’m in this position, I’ll do everything I can to make this team as good as I possibly can. Over the course of these two games, we have made strides forward and that’s really pleasing.”
England team to face West Indies: AZ Lees, Z Crawley, JE Root (captain), DW Lawrence, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow, BT Foakes (wicketkeeper), CR Woakes, C Overton, MJ Leach, S Mahmood