Samuels is the master of his graft

WHAT Jason Holder did in Antigua and Marlon Samuels managed here will do much for the culture Phil Simmons is trying to create as new West Indies coach.

They will inspire their team-mates with their discipline, character and application, just as Mike Atherton inspired me with the way he batted to save a Test in Johannesburg and in his famous battle with Allan Donald at Trent Bridge.

This is an era in which West Indies are losing players to the easier option of the Indian Premier League and it is understandable because of the money that can be made there. Why shouldn’t they cash in?

But Samuels (below) has taken the difficult road. It is all well and good going off and having a bit of a hit and giggle but he will take a lot more satisfaction from the way he has taken on the moving ball in a demanding Test match.

These are the types of innings you remember when you retire. He will remember his duel with Ben Stokes, the way he saw off a newish ball and how he took the attack to England on the first evening. He did finally fall to Jimmy Anderson after a loose shot but by that time Samuels had grafted his way to 103.

That is what you get in Test cricket. This is far harder than going off towards the end of your career and enjoying an IPL sunset.

I never played in an easy Test. There is no easy option during five hard-fought days and that’s why this game gives you far more satisfaction than you will ever get over 50 or 20 overs.

It gets me down to hear people saying ‘wasn’t Antigua boring’ or ‘these pitches are just too dead and the cricket is slow’. Just give this time. The Test England won in the dark of Karachi was remembered for years because it was the ultimate conclusion to three hard Tests. The same could happen here.

I can see a lot of our England side of 2000 in this West Indies team. We could not become a winning side straight away.

We had to stay in games, instil a bit of pride and discipline before we could think about being positive and that’s what Simmons is trying to do here. The first step is to take Tests into five days and once that is achieved then West Indies can think about moving on and hopefully keeping their best players.

The seven days we have had so far in this series may not have satisfied those who prefer their gratification instant but I have enjoyed it.

This is not to denigrate Twenty20 or what we saw at the World Cup but there is something fulfilling about seeing a match go to the fifth day as in Antigua, with England bowling 130 overs and trying to find different ways to take 10 wickets.

We live in a modern world of instant news where Test cricket seems something of a throwback but there is still great satisfaction to be taken from a slow burner.

I find the mental side of Test cricket to be unparalleled. To be Jonathan Trott, for instance, getting a duck in his first innings after waiting to get back in for 18 months. Then he has to spend the best part of two days fielding and sweating on a pair. You can’t replicate that in any other form of the game. Someone like Alastair Cook has to tackle a technical issue, having been found out by opponents, and has the mental battle to overcome it. There is the physical challenge of a bowling attack spending all that time in the heat trying to bowl a side out and then having to go through it all again. In Twenty20 you can have a bit of a slog, edge through the slips for four to get you off and running and then get caught on the boundary which is supposed to happen in the short game. I thoroughly enjoy the different attractions of limited-overs cricket. But Test cricket is what players will be remembered for.

Even in the modern world.