It took West Indies less than three days to wrapped up victory in the first Test against Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, in Antigua. It was an impressive display of line and length from the host’s seamers that presented their top-order with the ideal opportunity to rectify their form. That left the matter of seizing the moment, which they did.
Entering this series, the entire Windies top-order were due on runs. They could not have been presented with a better opportunity than when their rampant seamers offered up a deficit of merely forty-three runs, after winning the toss and inserting the visitors. In a period of distinct brilliance, Kemar Roach produced 5 wickets within the span of twelve deliveries which left the Bangladeshis reeling. When Roach was unable to continue because of a right hamstring problem, Holder and Cummins stepped up. Cummins notably made use of the foundation set by Roach in seeking to put a rather indifferent series (Sri Lanka) behind him; making no hesitation in pitching the ball up when he was introduced into the attack.
Likewise, when the time came for the West Indian top-order to bat, they capitalized on the opportunity afforded them by their bowlers, accounting for 294 of the 406 runs the team put on the board. The century opening stand (which brought Devon Smith a half-century) was just what the dressing room would have wanted. However, while Brathwaite stuck around to bring up his 7th Test century it was disappointing that no other batsman followed suit. Disappointing as, Windies were looking to bat for as long as possible, in the hope that Roach would eventually be fit enough to bowl. That said, Windies will be happy with their showing with both bat and ball, although this performance was not void of no-ball issues. It should be reminded that this issue will not ‘disappear’ but should be rectified with time. Finally, Holder and his men will be relishing what Sabina Park holds but should expect a better performance from Bangladesh based on their showing with the ball on Day 2.
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