Windies stirring to life in Tests will be welcome
His game is a copy of one of the most enterprising batsmen the game has seen, a master at making bowlers deliver to his strong areas. But Darren Bravo, whose batting is a mirror image of cousin Brian Lara, was in meditation mode as he wore down England bowlers on a two-paced pitch at North Sound, Antigua in the second Test on Friday.
The flourish in the backlift was still there, but the focus was more on leaving the ball at the last moment — looking ugly for the team. West Indies are 1-0 up in the three-match series, and the 29-year-old, struggling for form and having failed in the first Test after being recalled for this series, was willing to grind it out.
For old timers, who swear by the great Caribbean cricketers, it is pleasant to revisit that ascendency, though Jason Holder’s team is doing it without frills. The all-rounder’s 202 not out in crushing England by 381 runs in Barbados capped a great team effort.
The patience of opener Kraigg Brathwaite, new partner John Campbell, and middle-order batsmen Shai Hope and Shane Dowrich, the first-Test centurion, have all ensured no advantage over the shaky England has been squandered. Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph, along with Holder – the No 1 Test all-rounder – uphold the old Caribbean pace flavour. Many England batsmen dismissed in this series have walked away rubbing a bruised hand. Skipper Joe Root has in two out of three innings succumbed to bounce, on a North Sound pitch where batting is challenging.
After Day 2, England still had a chance to fight back. And the last time Windies, the No 8 in Test rankings, beat a team other than Bangladesh or Zimbabwe in a series, was in 2012 (2-0 v New Zealand). But the sheer commitment has come as a breath of fresh air, hinting at a turnaround. Having struggled for years, a West Indies series win will be big. The current generation of West Indies players has for a decade lived in the shadows of those getting lucrative T20 league contracts. The West Indies board’s confrontational attitude hasn’t helped the players either.
But this bunch of players is showing it believes in Test cricket, and Windies stirring to life in the format will be welcomed around the world. A series win will again catch the interest of fans who once swore by the maroon cap, and signal to the Board that it doesn’t help removing coaches after every two years – Stuart Law went at 2018 end after Phil Simmons was axed in 2016. Even the hiring of Richard Pybus was mired in controversy before this series.
The Cheteshwar Pujara art of batting is also gaining appreciation in West Indies cricket that was renowned for flair. Former fast bowler, Ian Bishop, while doing commentary pointed to the approach of Pujara and retired England skipper Alastair Cook while praising the West Indies batsmen’s willingness to graft for the team.
Brathwaite’s 146-ball 49 – he took the sting out of the new ball with a 33.1-over stand with Campbell in Antigua — and Bravo’s 216-ball 50 batting close to six hours exemplified the commitment. “It’s a matter for us to move on and understand what we need to do. We speak about consistency in the dressing room and we’ve got to be hitting all three departments well every time we step on the field,” Holder said before the second Test while asking players not to get carried away by the big first-Test win.
Windies are at home, against rivals they always do well. But this team is ticking boxes, promising a turnaround long term.