Fortunes fluctuated as the opening Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka was drawn in Antigua Thursday.
West Indies supporters will be happy that at least two rookies in Nkrumah Bonner and Kyle Mayers buckled down with the bat on the final day in exhibiting the tenacity they also displayed recently when the team swept the two-match Test series in Bangladesh.
Set 375 to win and entering the last day on 34 for one, West Indies went on to score 236 for four off 100 overs on a placid pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Bonner hit a maiden Test century, finishing with 113 not out from an overnight 15, while Mayers scored 52 to follow up his first innings 45 and a couple wickets in the second innings.
The statistics will show that Player Of The Match Bonner occupied the crease for 423 minutes. It was a splendid effort. He faced 274 balls and struck 13 fours and one six.
Bonner, a 32-year-old Jamaican and 28-year-old Barbadian Mayers added 105 in just over two-and-a-half hours for the third wicket with Mayers counting five fours in his 113-ball knock.
Both stepped onto the Test arena last month in Chattogram when West Indies were not at full strength as some players opted out of the tour because of Covid-19 concerns.
And both were outstanding. Mayers managed the most runs (261) including an unforgettable 210 not out in the first Test. He also finished with the best average of 87.00.
Bonner scored 231 runs (ave: 57.75) and was named Player Of The Series.
No doubt keen to cement their places in the side, attention to detail in the second innings against Sri Lanka was most heartening.
Stepping up to the highest level of the game is one thing. Performing is another and Bonner made a telling comment at the end of the match.
“Test cricket is hard, hard work. It examines everything about your game… your fitness, your skills, your technique. You have to be mentally very strong. Sri Lanka have a good attack with lots of variety so there is no time to relax,” he said.
Bonner can be considered as a late developer, having started his first-class career in 2010. Now after 72 matches, he has 3696 runs (ave: 29.10) with four centuries and 21 half-centuries.
I recall when Bonner was a student at the Sagicor West Indies High Performance Centre at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of West Indies some ten years ago, he impressed then HPC batting coach and former Guyana and West Indies captain Carl Hooper, who described him as having “very good hands”.
But from an international perspective, he was given only a couple Twenty20s between 2011 and 2012 and would have been wondering about his career at the highest level.
In his post-match comments yesterday, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite pointed to the attitude of the team while praising Bonner and Mayers.
“I am happy with the attitude as a unit. Bonner and Mayers set the standard high. Once the attitude is right, the sky is the limit,” Brathwaite said.
Reflecting on the match, West Indies made a strong start and were in a favourable position to press for a win after the first two days.
Sent in, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 169 off 69.4 overs and West Indies closed the first day on 13 without loss off 13 overs.
Opener Lahiru Thirimanne hit the topscore of 70 in 293 minutes off 180 balls with four boundaries before he was seventh out with the score 160.
Former captain Jason Holder, with five for 27 off 17.4 overs and experienced fast bowler Kemar Roach, who took three for 47 off 16 overs, bowled intelligently.
But West Indies were kept on a tight rein with the admirable pacer Suranga Lakmal in the forefront, grabbing five for 47 off 25 overs in a total of 271 off 103 overs.
Considering that West Indies were 171 for seven at one stage, the efforts of wicket-keeper/batsman Joshua Da Silva and Rahkeem Cornwall in adding 90 for the eighth wicket must be appreciated.
Opener John Campbell scored a gritty 42 in three-and-a-half hours and Mayers took the attack to the bowlers in his 45 off 70 balls with six fours and two sixes.
Da Silva made 46 off 124 balls, counting five boundaries while Cornwall managed his first Test half-century in topscoring with 61 off 85 balls including nine fours and two sixes.
Yet, there is no doubt that Da Silva would have been disappointed with the manner of his dismissal. Backing away to upper cut fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, he edged a catch to wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella.
Sri Lanka’s second innings total of 476 all out off 149.5 overs was commendable.
Debutant Pathum Nissanka made an impressive century – 103 in 341 minutes off 252 balls with six fours. His sixth wicket stand of 179 with Dickwella, who scored 96 in 274 minutes off 163 balls, somewhat deflated West Indies after pacer Alzarri Joseph had removed Dhananjaya de Silva for 50 early on the fourth day with the overall lead only 157.
There were also vital knocks by Oshada Fernando (91) and Thirimanne (76).
Roach took three for 74 off 27 overs, off-spinner Cornwall, three for 137 off 42.5 overs and medium-pacer Mayers, two for 24 off nine overs as seven bowlers were used.
Shannon Gabriel failed to pick up a wicket in the match while conceding 89 runs off 27 overs including 18 overs for 67 runs in the second innings. He looked a bit short of work.
In relation to the 22-year-old Nissanka, his first-class record is impressive. After 34 matches, he has 3557 runs including 14 centuries, at an average of 67.11.
With only a three-day break before the start of the second and final Test at the same venue, there will be some curiosity as to how the pitch is likely to play.
It will be the 10th Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Of the nine matches there, West Indies have won three – by nine wickets against New Zealand in 2012, by an innings and 219 runs against Bangladesh in 2018 and by 10 wickets against England in 2019. They have been beaten twice – both against India – by an innings and 92 runs in 2016 and by 318 runs in 2019.
Keith Holder is a veteran, award-winning freelance sports journalist, who has been covering local, regional and International cricket since 1980 as a writer and commentator. He has compiled statistics on the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) Division 1 (now Elite) Championship for over three-and-a-half decades and is responsible for editing the BCA website (www.bcacricket.org). Email: Keithfholder@gmail.com
