HOPE RISES FOR THE WEST INDIES
BATSMAN HITS 2ND TON IN MATCH TO LEVEL SERIES AGAINST ENGLAND
LEEDS: West Indies beat England by five wickets in the second Test at Headingley on Tuesday to level the three-match series at 1-1. Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 118 to guide the touring side to 322 for five in their second innings on the final day of the match.
Hope became the first man to register hundreds in both innings of a first-class match at Headingley as West Indies closed in on a stunning victory in the second Test with England.
Hope top-scored with 147 runs in the Windies’ first-innings 427, putting on 246 for the fourth wicket with fellow centurion Kraigg Brathwaite.
And the pair were at it again on Day five, adding 144 runs for the third wicket before Brathwaite (95) edged Moeen Ali to slip to leave the tourists on 197-3, 125 adrift of their victory target just before tea.
Hope continued to defy England and reached his second hundred from 175 deliveries with a sharply run single into the off side, moving West Indies’ score to 276-4 in the evening session, just 46 runs away from a rare away win.
“Someone had to do it, so I just put my hand up and did it for the team,” Hope said. “We fought really hard and really needed this win to keep alive in this series,” he added. When told that he is the first man in history to score two tons in a match at Headingley, he simply said: “Really? Thanks for the news.”
Brathwaite had also been close to the same slice of history, but his perishing opened the door for Hope to take his place in the record books - his double standing alone in the 534-game history of first-class action at Headingley.
Earlier, West Indies captain Jason Holder was sanctioned for making inappropriate comments that were heard by the on-field umpires.
Holder was furious when a catch was put down in the slips off his bowling in the 70th over of England’s second innings on Monday.
Holder admitted to the offence at the end of the day’s play and accepted the sanction. Brief Scores: England 258 and 490-8 decl vs West Indies 427 and 322-5 (overnight 5-0) (K Brathwaite 95, S Hope 118 no, M Ali 2-76)