Mumbai, India — Desmond Haynes sat on the West Indies balcony on the first two days of the third Test match against India admiring the batting of the top order. The team’s Batting Consultant, who played 116 Test matches and is rated as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, said he was “extremely pleased” with the batting display.
West Indies closed the second day of the third and final Test match on 575-9 off 181 overs ‑ batting two full days on a good surface at the Wankhede Stadium. It is the team’s highest score in their 10th Test match this year.
“When you looked at our team at the start of this match, with Shiv unable to play, there was a situation where India had 140 hundreds compared to our seven hundreds in Test match cricket. We had a very young batting unit and it pleased my heart to see our players, away from home after being two-nil down in the series, display the level of commitment and determination to play so well and so freely and post a very good total,” Haynes said.
“You can see they want to do well and raise their game and make West Indies cricket proud. As a batting unit we always speak about batting in partnerships and we got several very good partnerships. We have been doing some very good things in the nets and you are starting to see some results in the middle.”
The West Indies created a bit of history as the top six batsmen all made over 50 ‑ the first time such a feat was achieved by a West Indies team and just the fifth time in Test match history. Teenager Kraigg Brathwaite made a career-best 68 (184 balls, 8×4) and 21-year-old Adrian Barath scored 62 (148 balls 8×4) as they added 137 for the first wicket on the opening day.
After that Kirk Edwards (86, 165 balls 13×4) and Darren Bravo (166, 284 balls 17×4) shared a stand of 164 for the third wicket ‑ the highest for the West Indies against India in India. Bravo and 22-year-old left-hander Kieran Powell, with his career-best 81 (149 balls, 9×4) put on 160 for the fourth wicket ‑ the highest for the West Indies against India at the Wankhede. Marlon Samuels, the most experienced batsman in the line-up, contributed a classy 61 off 103 balls with nine boundaries.
“We are improving. I’m impressed with the commitment and the shot-selection. I have always said that what was lacking in the past was confidence. People have been saying we can’t play spin and I have been hearing that from the time I came into West Indies cricket as a player, but the players are quite capable of doing the job,” said the former West Indies captain, who joined the team in April ahead of the Digicel Series against Pakistan.
“It is a matter of confidence. I have come to realise that, now that they are feeling confident at this level of the game, we are seeing some good signs. The batsmen are showing a lot of fight and we saw that coming out of the second innings at Eden Gardens when we made over 450 [463] after being asked to follow-on.
“The batting display here with everyone contributing and working hard is pleasing for me, but I know it is also pleasing for the millions of people out there who support West Indies cricket and want to see their team do well again.”
braithwait is good,but his strike rate is slow per 100bs…singles would help…kirk Edwards is the perfect foil..i like his confidence which is his asset..Darren Bravo is raw im waiting for him to adjust and be more confident…he waste too many balls by blocking..some delicate strokes need to get in his game..he should get the sweep goin and singles too..powell need more training…Adrian Barath is nt fit and lacks confidence..Samuel is still a Hooper,shorts spells of lookin good..Baugh too inconsistant in his batting..Sammy has the spirit but..must bat properly..the bowlers are fine but 1 more pacer needed.Roach needs help..fine young combination
what we need now is a couple fast bowlers then we would be riding on the crest of the wave
the team batted well but I would want atleast 2 more centuries from the top six,the pitch was to easy for us not to have gotten in and turn these score to big hundreds like daren did
The ‘needle’, which experience players are you talking about? And what will you do with these promising players, bench them? I think some people are are having a problem with their brain, they can only see and understand on one side. We are rebuilding and preparing for the future. We have no place for people who thing they are bigger than the board, and only concern about their pockets. As we all know, hundreds of players have come and gone and the board is still there. There is not one sport in the world where you see a player saying such things about his/her organisation so openly and still wants to work with that person. Someone might do it but the next day they would be on the sidewalk looking for another job. We have people playing “dotish” like they don’t know what they said and what they should apologizing for. Let they go make their money we will show them that we can have a good strong team without them. And as for Sammy you need to get off his back, because I don’t know what you watch or read. but it sure is not cricket. Sammy has a better bowling average than all the present and available WI bowlers. so what is his crime. The team is happy and at peace under his leadership. When it was those arrogant players at the top who did not bring any result for WI, you all kept you all mouth shut and said nothing. So get of the ‘DUCK’s’ back, you droplets of rain. Go WI, you guys can do it.
Great points!! Absolutely wonderful piece poster who goes by the name of ‘The Truth’. You have spoken the truth for real. In no civilized organization would an employee get away with such a stunt as attempted by Chris Gayle on his employers(the WICB).
And what is soooo important about Chris Gayle that the West Indies can’t do without him? He has been on the West Indies team for the past 10 years and is licks upon licks the Windies was getting. And those of us who actually follow cricket (and not just listen to the rumor mills of foolishness)know that Chris Gayle has been nothing more than a hard-hitting inconsistent batsman for the West Indies who goes through regular cycles of a big score followed by a string of low scores.
Now we have a group of emerging guys who I trust will stay committed to West Indies cricket and excel.
Sorry I can’t give 100 THUMBS UP!
why can i only give this guy one thumbs up???????????????i couldnt have said it better myself.stay on the sidelines SAMMY haters
Whoa everyone. Don’t take the champagne out of the cooler yet. How many times have we seen this script? Series lost, West Indies put on a great performance and we go crazy. Remember the 418 against Australia? Bravo has tremendous talent. I’m willing to bet that three years from now he’ll be the only one among this group commanding a consistent pick on the side. Some we might even forget. As Brian Lara said, West Indies have a way of taking great talent and making it average. Unless the entire structure of West Indies cricket changes – by the way, the present president and CEO have to go – we will grabbing at these little straws for a very long time to come.
The Team seems more committed than teams in the recent past.
The young guys should be given a chance to succeed (or fail) before being replaced with “experienced batsmen” who appear to have grown comfortable with losing.
Big-Up to the batsmen for 2 consecutive record breaking batting performances!
I concur with this view.
With these good performances, we now need some of the experienced batsmen to come back into the team so that they can help the young ones. Darren Sammy cannot be on my best 11 players. He has good intentions but he is occupying space right now.
Ummm….’Experienced’ batsmen like whom may i ask?
Ummm….’Experienced’ batsmen like whom may i ask?
The inexperience is what has contributed to hope.. Bring them back for the purpose of passing on their “SHAMEFUL EXPERIENCE”?
This Team seems more committed than teams in the recent past.
The young guys should be given a chance to succeed (or fail) before being replaced with “experienced batsmen” who appear to have grown comfortable with losing.
Big-Up to the batsmen for 2 consecutive record breaking batting performances!
To the extent that you need some of the experienced batsmen to come back on the team Sammy will not on your 11 best players. and if by experienced you mean Gayle and others like him, you are doing West Indian cricket a disservice. Gayle comes across like who thinks he is bigger than the game. West Indies should not be a team that solely depends on a big inning from the likes of Gayle.
Sammy comes across as hard worker. A captain who tries. He is not yet and might never be a Gary St. Auburn Sobers or a Clive Lloyd, but I love the principle of humility and respect he brings to the game and to West Indies. I support Sammy.
you are kidding right????????? please tell me that was a joke..
I am very excited about this young Windies batting line up, not just because of their performances in this current test, but the potential i see in a number of them to emulate previous West Indies greats. i am particularly impressed with Daren Bravo and Young Powell. Daren Bravo looks like a new Brian Lara and Powell looks so much the replica of a left handed Laurence Rowe. He seems to have so much time to play the ball and has a well balance posture. His main strength comes from the wrist and his timing is immaculate. In order to get these youngsters to develop into a world beating batting line up, the selectors should stick with them to enable them to get valuable experience. Although the likes of Shiv Chandrapaul has made his contributions for the windies and continues to perform well, i think the emphasis should now be on enabling these youngsters to come through if West Indies are to become a force in world cricket again. The fans also need to be patient with them and not expect too much too soon.
Funny how people like huge and fast run scorers but forget the consistent ones, the ones that bat through the entire innings and keep partnerships going. Like shiv. And I see alot of shiv in brathwaite. I think is is probably more vital than most. West indies always have fast scorers but never ones to hold the innings together. Just my opinion. It’s great to see them playing as a team and not individuals though. That has been a huge issue. We always had individuals, not a team
but the 590 was done at a reasonable pace and that is what makes the effort even more commendable.
Congrats Lil B… i know the similarities between you and lara continue, but for your sake i wish ppl would give it a rest and let you play your game as you wish.
p.s. you scored 166 in your 13th innings and Lara scored 167 in his 13th innings. #just saying
RALLY!!! WI’ ALL IN!
Rallllllyyyy, Rally round the West Indies, now and forever!!!
it’s great that these guys and come around and restore hope among their fans
Well done Windies! Hopefully this current crop of cricketers can excel and remain committed to West Indies cricket unlike some recent West Indian cricketers who seem more committed to serving their master ie money.
Let’s not forget that the board pushed loads of players away. They treated them badly fir years and made some relationships unrepairable. Take Brian Lara comments last week. He said west indies don have the political infrastructure needed for us to be successful. I.e the board n the politics. That we take good talent and make it average while teams like England and India take average talent and make it good. Politics killed the cricket for years and some of those guys got fed up.
Lara was a great batsman and there can be no doubt about that. But was he the ultimate team player? was he able to lead a cohesive unit? were there factions and splits under Lara’a leadership? Please stop placing your emphasis on Lara’s quotes. Lara has his running feud with the ‘Board”, and some of his issues were justified. However most of his post retirement pronoucements are critical or negative. Lara wanted the “one man show”. Well he was a great batsman but not a great team bulding leader.
This is my comment for discussion purposes.
KEEP UP THE FIGHT WEST INDIES!
this is what they have to do ,make believers out of us,just play basic cricket,and i must say i was impressed with the batting performance,it sure is a long time we have not seen that level of patience at the wicket by our batsmen.