Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva just missed out on their maiden Test centuries while Alzarri Joseph produced his second-highest score as the West Indies dominated play on Friday’s second day of the second Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka.

Evin Lewis’ better than a run-a-ball century helped the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force romp to a five-wicket victory with 55 balls to spare over the Jamaica Scorpions at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium today.

Canadian track star, Andre De Grasse, admits to being impressed with the rapid progress of young Jamaica quarter-miler Christopher Taylor.

These days, the athletes often cross paths as both train in Florida with well-respected coach Rana Reider.  Taylor recently opened his season with a quick 45.73 clocking to finish second in the men’s Indoor 400m at the World Athletics Tour in Fayetteville, Arkansas a few weeks ago.

The outing was the prodigy’s first 400m race since 2019, but he had also surprised many last year with a brisk 10.42 over 100m.  De Grasse would, however, not have been among those surprised by the high level of those recent performances.

“He very talented, very, very talented.  Sometimes I ask the coach to put me in a workout with him because he is very good for 300 workouts for me when I am preparing for the 200m,” De Grasse told SportsMax.tv’s The Commentators.

“He is very good.  He just ran the other day and I am really happy for him.  His problem the last couple of years is trying to stay fit and he is very healthy right now and feeling good,” he added.

“It was very impressive (recent run) especially for an indoor season, he’s never done it before, so by the time he comes outdoor he should be in good shape.  I’ve been watching him, he’s been in the group for a couple of years now but I think he is taking a lot of things more seriously.”

Listen to the rest of the interview from this week's The Commentators podcast below.

West Indies middle-order batsman, Nkrumah Bonner, insists he always puts pressure on himself to do well, after scoring another half-century against Bangladesh on day one of the second Test.

On the back of a patient 86, which proved crucial to the Windies in their first Test win, Bonner once against set himself up to be the lynchpin of the innings.  At the close of the first day’s play, the batsman remained unbeaten on a watchful 74 from 173 balls.

Bonner’s stand brought stability back to the innings after the Windies lost three wickets for 29 runs after lunch.  The team had gone to lunch at 84 for 1, with Brathwaite on 36 and Shayne Moseley on six.

“For me, every innings that I play, I put pressure on myself,” Bonner told windiescricket following the innings.

“We get paid to make runs and to be consistent and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”

Bonner, who will resume batting with Joshua Da Silva on the second day, admits the team suffered from early mishaps but has targeted making around 350 from the first innings.

“We had a few soft dismissals, but that’s the nature of the game, me and Josh are there now, and we still have others to come, so we will have to just bat as long as possible.”

The West Indies threw away a solid start to the second Test against Bangladesh and had to rely on an unbeaten 74 from Nkrumah Bonner to end the day at 223 for 5 at Dhaka.

A superb, unbeaten century by Keacy Carty and a cameo from Hayden Walsh Jr, led Leewards Islands Hurricanes to a sensational victory over Barbados Pride in Match 3 of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup on Wednesday night.

 Current West Indies Women’s players, Shakera Selman and Shamilia Connell have joined the CG Insurance Super50 Cup television and radio commentary teams for the first time as part of a high-quality group of analysts.

With the formation of his record label Triple Century Records, Chris Gayle is promising to deliver hits of a different kind in the near future.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite is warning his team not to get carried away by last week’s victory over Bangladesh in Chattogram but to try to improve for the second Test that begins in Dhaka tomorrow (tonight Caribbean time).

Trailing by a mammoth 171 runs on first innings, the West Indies rallied to a remarkable three-wicket victory thanks to a double century from debutant Kyle Mayers and sterling contributions with the bat from fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva. Spinners Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall also played their part with the ball.

Understandably, the players are still euphoric over the improbable victory but Brathwaite said it was now important to remember that everything starts anew for the second Test.

"The biggest thing is not to get carried away. We are happy with the win, but we know we start from zero,” he warned.

“It is one of the things that the coach has stressed on in the practice sessions. Guys are working hard. For me, to them is to stay disciplined and stick to your plans both as a bowling and a batting unit.”

"We as a team don't want to get too far ahead. We have five days of Test cricket to play. We are very happy to have won the first Test. We want to buckle down. Victory has meant a lot for us. The guys are very proud of winning the first Test, but we look forward to the next five days."

The victorious captain said the focus must now be on playing even better cricket once play begins in Dhaka.

"We can improve on our first innings score to help us set the game up better. We did well in the second innings. We have to be a little sharper in the field in periods when there's probably been a partnership. We can be a little tighter," he said.

West Indies middle-order batsman, Nkrumah Bonner, has recalled drawing inspiration from gritty India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara in wake of the team’s recent triumph over Bangladesh.

Pujara earned widespread commendation for a gutsy performance against Australia last month, where the India batman took hits to the head, elbows, hands, and ribs.  In total, ten balls crashed into him throughout his 211-ball innings.  His stubborn 56, however, was crucial to a historic win for an understrength India, in Australia.

Bonner may not have had to put up with as much physical punishment from the Bangladesh bowlers, but certainly showed plenty of determination in his gritty 86 from 245.  The knock, alongside a cracking 212 from Kyle Mayers, was critical in anchoring an understrength West Indies to a surprise win, in Bangladesh.  Bonner admits he has been taking close note of the India batsman and tries to emulate a few of his qualities.

“I like to see how he goes about his batting.  I think he is very tough mentally and it’s something that I’ve taken from him,” Bonner told members of the media, via a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.

“There is nothing that really troubles him, so I idolize him a lot,” he added.

West Indies batsman, Nkrumah Bonner, admits that it was disappointing to miss out on what would have been a debut century against Bangladesh but is far more satisfied with a surprise victory for the team.

The 32-year-old Bonner stroked a solid 86 from 245 balls, as part of a match-defining partnership with Kyle Mayers, who managed an unbeaten double century to steer the West Indies to a historic victory.

Mayers and Bonner remained unbeatable for the first two sessions but after cutting loose for a 6 off Taijul Islam, Bonner was dismissed lbw the very next delivery, after missing a flatter length delivery from the spinner.

“Personal milestones are always good but obviously we know that we do everything for the team,” Bonner told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.

“Obviously it would be good to make a 100 on debut but it wasn’t mean to be and I’m really just happy that we won the game,” he added.

Though Bonner did not get to triple digits on debut he still managed to make it into the record books.  The 216 runs partnership with Bonner was the second-highest partnership by Test debutants, behind Pakistan's Abdul Kadir and Khalid Ibadulla, who put on 249 back in 1964.

Shimron Hetmyer top-scored with 80 off 52 balls, while all-rounder Romario Shepherd made 58 not out from identical deliveries, as Guyana Jaguars recorded a comfortable win over Barbados Pride in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup on Monday night.

Shepherd also took a wicket and bowled with pace on a good surface at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. He won the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match award. Guyana batted first and made 235. After a rain break, the target was revised to 232 off 47 overs. Barbados Pride reached 91-5 in the 30th over when the rain returned and brought an end to the match.

Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair, a member of the victorious West Indies Emerging Players team back in 2019, took 2-17 from 7.3 overs as Guyana Jaguars bowled well. His first wicket was opener Justin Greaves, caught at mid-wicket by Hetmyer and the second was Roston Chase, beaten and bowled.

“I’m really pleased with my performance. I have been working really hard on my batting and I was happy with the way I played and the contribution I made to help the team win,” Shepherd said.

“I’m in good shape and the ball is also coming out really well. This was a good victory for us … you always want to start with a win.”

West Indies coach Phil Simmons believes the team needs to improve in all areas going forward and especially if they are to win the second Test against Bangladesh set for the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.