A maiden Test century for Justin Greaves headlined a dominant day for West Indies against Bangladesh on day two of the Antigua Test. After his 115 helped West Indies post 450 for 9, West Indies bookended the day with two Bangladesh wickets, leaving the visitors 410 behind with eight wickets in hand.
It was a fine recovery after slipping to 261 for 7 despite an overnight score of 250 for 5. Greaves shared a 140-run eighth wicket stand with Kemar Roach, who batted for more than four hours for 47, his highest Test score in his 15-year career.
Greaves' unbeaten 115 justified his Super50 form, where he struck three consecutive centuries earlier this month. He made a patient effort, striking just four boundaries in his 206-ball stay. It was the perfect follow-up to the nineties that Alick Athanaze and Mikyle Louis had scored on day one to lay the foundation.
Bangladesh continued to give away strong positions with the ball, toiling for 144.1 overs, but unable to bowl out the home side. Hasan Mahmud took three wickets, all of them on the second day. Taskin Ahmed toiled hard and even found the edge of Greaves' bat once but nobody appealed. The spinners, stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam, shared three wickets from their combined 73.1 overs.
West Indies declared with Bangladesh needing to bat out a maximum time of an hour and 45 minutes. But there was no respite for them against the four-man West Indian pace attack. Zakir Hasan fell for 15 after he under-edged a Jayden Seales delivery onto his stumps. The left-hander struck three fours in his short stay, all off Seales, but was slightly unlucky with the ball shaving the leg-stump. Mahmudul Hasan Joy edged Alzarri Joseph for 5, shortly after he was dropped on the same score.
DESPITE HAVING a dominant record against Bangladesh at home, West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite has given the assurance that his side will not underestimate the visitors in their two-match series starting today.
Bangladesh last won a Test series in the Caribbean 15 years ago, with the Windies having swept the last two against them 2-0.
However, speaking during a pre-match press conference yesterday, Brathwaite said history would not dictate the outcome of the series.
“Everything that is gone is history. We are playing against a talented Bangladesh team. What is gone is gone and, obviously, we have to come tomorrow and start well in whatever we do.
“… We’re playing against a talented Bangladesh team and it won’t be easy. The performances before are gone, so we have to come ready to go tomorrow morning,” Brathwaite insisted.
Bangladesh will get their usual Caribbean welcome. They will play the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, where they have opened the two previous tours with scores of 103 and 43 all out. This time, the visitors are also without two of their best batters, Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto, so the job to tackle West Indies' pace and bounce will become that much harder for an under-par batting line-up.
Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph have the returning Alzarri Joseph to form a lethal attack. Kemar Roach is also in the squad, and given his superb record against Bangladesh, a four-man attack could be the way West Indies go. Add Anderson Phillip in the mix, and Bangladesh's problems are likely to amplify.
West Indies, on the other hand, would like their batting unit to fire. The likes of Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Mikyle Louis, Keacy Carty and Justin Greaves are relatively new to the scene but it has been a year of promise for this batting line-up. They hold the key for the future, but their top seven have the lowest batting average among all teams this year. West Indies have won just one out of the seven Tests in 2024 so the batting, despite its lack of experience, must now step up.
Their opponents are also undergoing a batting nightmare. South Africa brushed aside Bangladesh at home in a 2-0 defeat that will rankle for a long time. Bangladesh's overall batting has been ordinary, and now without Mushfiqur and Shanto, these West Indies Tests will feel like an uphill climb.
Two misfiring batting line-ups and impressive fast bowling attacks could produce a tight contest. It will be up to the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite and Mominul Haque to get their respective batting line-ups in order. The fast bowlers meanwhile will want to ensure that the runs come at a premium.
Cricket fever is about to ignite in Guyana as local cricketing sensation Shimron Hetmyer gears up to represent the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the inaugural ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSLT20).
This marquee tournament will take place from November 26 to December 7, at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, featuring five elite teams from around the globe vying for a US$1 million prize pool.
Expressing his excitement, Hetmyer shared, “I’m thrilled to represent the Guyana Amazon Warriors on home soil in this historic tournament. The GSLT20 is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our talent against world-class teams, and I can’t wait to see the stands filled with our passionate fans cheering us on. Let’s make this a tournament to remember!”
THE BARBADOS Pride will have the services of West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase when they face defending champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the first semifinal of the Regional Super50 tomorrow.
Chase was previously unavailable, as he was part of the West Indies squad that played England in the just-concluded One-Day International and T20I series which ended on Sunday.
While Chase’s addition will be welcomed, Barbados will be without their captain Kyle Mayers as well as Kadeem Clarke, who have been granted leave to take part in the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 tournament.
“The national selection panel has confirmed that Roston Chase and Shian Brathwaite will join the Barbados Pride squad as replacement players for Kadeem Alleyne and Kyle Mayers respectively,” the Barbados Cricket Association stated in a press release yesterday.
