Friday, March 29, 2024

Too many wickets gone, says coach

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LONDON – Coach Ottis Gibson has praised  the West Indies batting effort but conceded the Caribbean side lost too many wickets on the opening day of the first cricket Test against England here yesterday.
Sent in at Lord’s, West Indies finished the day on 243 for nine, thanks to an unbeaten 87 from veteran left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Opener Adrian  Barath found some form with  a stroke-filled 42 while Marlon Samuels got 31 and Darren Bravo 29.
“[It was a] tough day, sort of. We battled hard to 240-odd. That’s not a bad score for us but maybe  a couple of wickets too many,” Gibson said.
“Two hundred and forty-three for four or five would have been an excellent day but 243 for nine, we’ve lost a few too many, let’s be honest. At the same time we’ve got our 243 on the board and it’s important that we try and eke out a few more tomorrow [today].
“We’ve played four seamers and if conditions stay like this (overcast) overhead, the pitch may stay the same for two or three more days and our four seamers may be able to do some damage.”
West Indies slipped to 32 for two after opener Kieran Powell (5) and  vice-captain Kirk Edwards (1) fell cheaply but Barath and Bravo repaired the innings with a 54-run, third-wicket stand.
When both batsmen were out in quick succession to leave the Windies on 100 for four, Chanderpaul and Samuels combined in an important 81-run, fifth-wicket partnership which revived the innings.
“We got some good youngsters that got in and got some scores and got out, but again, the first day of a Test match at Lord’s in bowler-friendly conditions, I think we’ve done reasonably well, but I’m a little bit disappointed with the wickets we’ve lost,”  Gibson said.
“We know what they’ve got inside of them, so you would hope when Test match time comes around at Lord’s, the home of cricket, that people would give their best.”
“I thought Barath played very well in the morning session when the ball was swinging and seaming all over the place. It was unfortunate  he couldn’t start again after lunch.
“Kieran Powell got a very good one from Jimmy [James Anderson] who’s on top of his game  at the moment in these conditions. Shiv and young Bravo bound the innings together nicely, but unfortunately Bravo got run out. But Shiv is still there going for us.”
Bravo’s tragic run-out was a big blow for West Indies especially with the gifted left-hander unfazed by England’s attack.
“You never like to see run outs in Test match cricket and that run out hurt us a little bit because Brav was starting to look set and look really good and Shiv and Brav are the two form players in our line-up,” Gibson lamented.
However, he praised Chanderpaul’s contribution which saw the 37-year-old batsman overtake Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar as the ninth-highest run-scorer in history with  10 142 runs.
“To get our youngsters to learn from him is something we’ve started  to major on,” said Gibson.
“He’s spending a lot of time working especially with our young  left-handers and the way that he goes about his preparation is something that we all should be looking to learn from. He has continued to churn out the runs as he did again today and he’s really  a credit to himself and  an asset to us.” (CMC)

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