On another day of limited play due to heavy rain, West Indies struggled through the rest of their innings.
Jason Holder (36) and Kavem Hodge (25) were both taken before Keshav Maharaj (4-76) got his fourth wicket of the innings when Joshua Da Silva (one) was caught.
Kagiso Rabada's 3-56 put West Indies on the back foot, and even Jomel Warrican's 35 could not do much to up their score as they failed to mount a late push.
Jayden Seales was then bowled for four, seeing West Indies finish on 233, trailing the Proteas' score by 124 runs.
South Africa set themselves up nicely for the final day of the Test, with Tony de Zorzi (14) and Aiden Markram (nine) putting the tourists into a 154-run lead at the end of day four.
"Hopefully we can get a full day because that will obviously give us a realistic chance of getting a result," said Bavuma.
"To use the old cliche, we will have to take care of the first hour to set it up and if it's going our way, then we can throw caution to the wind to see what happens.
"But it's imperative that we set it up in that first hour."
De Zorzi and Markram will be looking to keep the pressure on when they resume play at 30-0 on Sunday at Port of Spain.
Earlier this week, the 31-year-old left-hander was named among the final 13-man Test squad that will compete against South Africa. His selection marked a two-and-a-half-year absence from the team, despite some believing the player to be among the region’s top talents.
Powell, who last represented the West Indies in 2018, during the team’s series against Bangladesh, was in contention for selection to the team last year but failed a fitness test in May.
With several first-string players opting out of the Bangladesh tour earlier this year, he was certainly favourite to claim a spot in the squad but was declared to not have met the fitness standard required by the Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel. Both the player and the Nevis Cricket Association (NCA) rejected the claims and insisted the batsman had in fact met the required fitness standard. Having been given another chance to shine, Power is, however, eager to claim the opportunity.
“I’ve been out of the team for two and half years now and I’ve counted each month I was not on it,” Powell told members of the media.
“So, it’s obviously a great feeling to be back, but being back is just the start. Obviously, now when I get my opportunity I have to go out and perform and cement my spot,” he added.
The 41-year-old big-hitter was left out of the line-up for the first six games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. With the team struggling to a 1-6 record, the player was scheduled to appear for the seventh match but was sidelined with a stomach illness.
Gayle eventually made his debut with an important 53 against Royal Challengers Bangalore that kept the team’s season alive. Since his introduction, KXIP's playoff chances have been revived as they have won three games in a row and go for a fourth on Saturday. In analysing the situation, Ganguly praised Gayle’s performance and believes some time on the sidelines may have helped the West Indies star. Typically an opener, Gayle has been brought into the line-up as a number three batsman with captain KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal doing a great job at the very top of the order.
“We all think Chris Gayle keeps laughing and roaming but it pinched him that he has been made to sit out,” Ganguly told Star Sports.
“These are the things to see and learn from. IPL is just too much competition,” he added.
Put into bat, Pride stumbled to 132 for five in the first hour after lunch on a rain-marred day.
But Mayers transformed the complexion of the innings with an array of meaty strokes to all parts of the ground to complete his second hundred of the season, against these same opponents, following his 106 in their first-round match at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St. Vincent
The left-hander, playing for his home franchise after spending four seasons with the Volcanoes, built strong alliances with the lower order to drag the Pride from the precipice, gaining admirable support from Kevin Stoute and West Indies pacer Kemar Roach in successive half-century stands.
Mayers shared 92 with Stoute for the sixth wicket and put on a further 92 for the seventh wicket with Roach to frustrate the Volcanoes in between two brief stoppages for rain.
Stoute scored 46, Roach made 41, Justin Greaves added 38, left-handed opener Shayne Moseley got 36 and West Indies batsman Shamarh Brooks gathered 33.
Mayers’ innings carried him to the brink of becoming the first batsman this season to clear the 500-run mark. He needs only two more.
Matthew Forde had a Windies debut to remember with three for 20 early on before Jos Buttler’s ill-judged hook to fine-leg saw him depart for a golden duck, which left England reeling on 49 for five in the 10th over.
Duckett ensured there was no capitulation, amassing 71 in 73 balls, and Liam Livingstone contributed 45 but they were prised out in quick succession in an ODI reduced to 43 overs each then 40 due to rain.
The start of this third ODI – with the teams sharing a win apiece in Antigua – was delayed by a couple of hours because of intermittent downpours but the Windies won what seemed an important toss.
While Matthew Potts replaced Brydon Carse, who was feeling unwell, the Windies brought in Forde, a 21-year-old seamer who capitalised on some unpredictable bounce and a hint of sideways movement.
Forde broke through in the first over as Phil Salt’s lame chip just about carried to Alzarri Joseph. Salt had put on four successive fifty-plus opening stands with Will Jacks but had to trudge off forlornly for four after replays showed Joseph with his hands under the ball.
It got even better in Forde’s next over when Zak Crawley tried to leave only to be surprised by some extra bounce, with the ball thudding into his glove and looping gently to Alick Athanaze in the cordon.
Forde’s only misstep came when he misfielded on the boundary after Duckett’s meaty pull, giving the left-hander the first of three fours in an over off Romario Shepherd. Forde immediately atoned, though, hitting a nagging length and finding a bit of shape to take the edge of Jacks, out for 17 off 20 balls.
Luck was with the Windies following the run out of Harry Brook, whose momentary hesitation before setting off for a single after nudging into the leg-side was his undoing following Joseph’s direct hit following an excellent pick up and throw off his bowling. Not even a desperate dive could save the Yorkshireman.
Two balls later and Buttler’s rush of blood to the head left England five down after 9.4 overs.
England have endured some epic collapses in the Caribbean and this briefly threatened to be added to the list but Duckett and Livingstone ensured they avoided total calamity.
Duckett put away his customary sweeps to the spinners until he had adjusted to the bounce and was nearing 50, after which he unleashed a couple of unrestrained pulls off Joseph for six and four.
Livingstone was initially watchful but followed Duckett in going on to the attack as he also cleared the rope off Joseph before being dropped on 31 when Keacy Carty shelled a simple chance in the deep.
An 88-run stand was ended when Duckett got a leading edge to short midwicket while Livingstone also seemed to be undone by the ball holding up a little as he clubbed to mid-on in Shepherd’s next over.
Another shower led to a 45-minute delay and another reduction in overs, leaving England seven more to negotiate.
From 167 for seven, the challenge would have been to post a 200-plus total and they did so courtesy of a handy last-wicket unbroken partnership of 35 from Gus Atkinson (20 not out) and Potts (15no)
At lunch on the final day, the West Indies have already lost their openers and Shai Hope with just 25 runs on the board but more importantly, still with 74 overs to face and 287 runs to get.
England only batted for 11 overs of the morning session as Ben Stokes went into limited-overs mode to help them push their lead to 311 before a declaration 11 overs into the day.
Stokes was unbeaten on 78 off 57 balls as England declared on 129-3, giving the hosts 85 overs to bowl out the West Indies and tie the three-match series at 1-1. They will have two new balls to get the victory.
Any result looks possible on the final day — as was the case in the first Test in Southampton last week, when the Windies won by four wickets after chasing down 200 for victory.
West Indies' aim will likely be survival, though, with the victory target of 312 unlikely.
Stokes smashed two sixes over long-off as the big-hitting allrounder and England captain Joe Root put on 53 runs in the first 43 balls of the morning before Root was run out for 22 — effectively sacrificing his own wicket to get Stokes back on strike.
Now alongside Ollie Pope (12 not out), Stokes still had time to slog Jason Holder down the ground for another six, pushing the lead past 300, before Root called them back in.
By then, England had made 92 runs off 66 balls.
The second new ball will be available for England after 80 overs.
John Campbell, 4, was the first to go, going caught behind off the bowling of Stuart Broad, while his opening partner Kraigg Brathwaite was trapped on the crease off the bowling of Chris Woakes for 12.
Shai Hope’s struggles with the bat have also continued as Broad got a delivery to nip back at him, taking the top of off stump, with the batsman hapless after his decision to play back to a fullish delivery.
Roston Chase, yest to score, and Shamarh Brooks, 2, are the batsmen at the crease.
England are set to return to action with three behind-closed-doors Tests against the Windies at the Rose Bowl and Old Trafford.
However, current five-day captain Root may be missing for one of those fixtures as his wife, Carrie, is due to give birth, with the batsman conceding he would leave the bio-secure areas in Southampton and Manchester to attend the birth.
Root has not missed a Test since being named captain in 2017 but has backed current vice-captain Stokes to step up should he not be available.
However, Pietersen has advised against having all-rounder Stokes fill the void given his own brief experience of a role he had for only three Tests.
"Do I want to see Ben Stokes change from who he is and the current player he is? Probably not, Jos Buttler would be my guy," Pietersen, who resigned as England captain in 2009, told talkSPORT.
"The entertainers and the guys that have to carry the mantle in the team sometimes aren't the best captains and sometimes struggle with the extra added pressure.
"As a player you are looked at completely differently until that phone call comes and you are announced as the Test captain.
"Responsibilities change, communication changes, the way in which you carry yourself in the dressing room changes.
"I struggled with it, I absolutely hated it and I was rubbish. You have to change and I couldn't command the respect of the dressing room. You say something and it is frowned upon, it is a completely different story."
Archer, one of the heroes of England's Cricket World Cup triumph last July, made an unauthorised trip home between the first and second Tests to see an unnamed person, breaking the protocols put in place for the games at bio-secure arenas.
England announced Archer would need to self-isolate for five days and could therefore not take his place in the XI when the second Test began at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The team's managing director Ashley Giles claimed "it could have been a disaster" that cost the England and Wales Cricket Board "tens of millions of pounds" as international cricket adjusts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Stokes - himself no stranger to attracting headlines away from the field following a fight in Bristol in 2017 - stressed Archer will not be hung out to dry by the squad.
"I think from us as players and as England Cricket group, this is a time where our way of operating really needs to come through," said Stokes, who was later cleared of affray following the incident in Bristol.
"We really need to be there to support Jofra right now because obviously he's a big talking point.
"Obviously he is by himself because of everything else going on at the moment but it's making sure he doesn't feel like he's by himself. The worst thing we can do right now as a team is to just sort of leave him and see him in five or six days' time and then say, 'Alright'.
"Times like these for people are very, very tough and you can feel like you are all by yourself but I don't think anybody is going to allow that to happen.
"Jofra is a massive part of this group, as everybody is. If it was anybody else bar Jofra it would be the exact same way of handling it that we would do as a team.
"It's all good being there for people when things are going well but what really comes through is how you operate with someone when they need you the most."
Stokes was once again instrumental on the second day at Old Trafford, scoring 176 - his 10th Test century - as England made 469-9 declared before having West Indies 32-1 in the 14 overs before stumps.
The all-rounder made 260 alongside opener Dom Sibley, whose patient 120 might have silenced some critics following his struggles in Southampton, where he was out for a duck but went on to make a second-innings half-century.
"It's great signs for us going forward that all the noise around him after Southampton literally hasn't affected him whatsoever," Stokes added.
"It's a great way to respond to any criticism that there was by going out and banging 100."
While the majority of his exploits in the game’s shortest format have occurred in the league format, Gayle has also made his presence felt on the international stage. The towering left-hander played a crucial role in the West Indies winning two T20 world titles, first in 2012 and then again in 2016.
In addition, Gayle is fifth on the all-time list for the most T20I sixes with 105 registered so far. India's Rohit Sharma is at the top of the pile with 127. The player is fourth on the list of highest scores, with 117 off 57 balls, and is one of only nine players to score more than one century in T20I cricket.
Pollard, the West Indies T20 captain, was part of the successful World Cup-winning team in 2012. He has scored a total of 1226 runs and has blasted 78 sixes with a highest score of 75 unbeaten. Gayle and Pollard were the only West Indian men named to an ICC team of the decade
ICC T20 team of the decade
Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, MS Dhoni (c), Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Lasith Malinga.
The in-form Blackwood scored a solid 68 from 146 deliveries, before being caught by Liton Das off the bowling of Mehidy Hasan. Prior to his dismissal, Blackwood formed part of a crucial partnership with Joshua Da Silva worth 99 runs, which formed the bedrock of the team’s 259 first innings score.
The batsman, however, seemed well settled before getting a feather touch to a length delivery that seemed to just be spinning past the batsman.
“It was very frustrating because I’ve told myself that I really want to convert more of these half-centuries into centuries,” Blackwood said, following the day’s play.
“I’m stepping in the right direction, but I was very disappointed with the way that I got out. But, I guess next innings I just have to hold down my head and bat in the same fashion,” he added.
The West Indies still trail Bangladesh by 218 runs. Mehidy ended the innings with a tidy 4 for 58, with Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, and Nayeem Hasan claiming two wickets apiece. Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite top scored with 76.
The stylish 30-year-old batsman has evolved as a red ball specialist over the last few years but was called into the team after recently returning Shimron Hetmyer pulled out of the squad due to personal reasons and allrounder Keemo Paul was ruled out with an injury.
The aggressive batsman has only ever played two ODIs and has a high score of 11 but has long been proposed as an option for the format because of his aggressive scoring instincts. In Test cricket, he averages 31.29 and has three half centuries.
Blackwood is ever to prove that he has improved much as a batsman since his previous two appearances.
“I was over the moon. I’ve always been telling myself that I wanted to come back into the team and make a difference, so right now I have the opportunity to do just that,” Blackwood said.
“My game has developed a lot. I haven’t played regional 50 over cricket in three years because of West Indies duties but in-between that I’ve played a bit and I’ve scored some 100s batting at the top of the order and at number three. So, I have the experience batting the new ball and the old ball.”
The pair came together on Friday with the West Indies in dire straits at 89 for 6 and staring down the barrel of a swift and savage defeat.
However, the two set about to resist the much-vaunted New Zealand bowling attack to take the match into a fourth day. Joseph scored a career best 86 before he was the eighth wicket to fall as the West Indies plummeted to defeat.
Blackwood, who scored his second Test hundred during the partnership, said he and the Antiguan fast bowler agreed to try and stretch the game as much as they could.
“When Alzarri came to the crease I just told him to play his natural game and that I would try to bat as long as possible," Blackwood said.
"We agreed to stay here with each other. I hit two balls in the air and then I told myself that I need to stay here with Alzarri and bat.
“He takes pride in his batting, as well as his fielding. It’s good to see him come out and bat the way he did. I’m pretty proud of myself as well the way I went about things today. A mixture of aggressiveness and then try to get a good selection (of shots) as much as possible.”
West Indies will be hoping for Joseph to be better with the ball and at least as good with the bat when the second Test begins at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on Thursday, October 10.
Blackwood crafted a crucial 95 from 154, to provide the backbone of the team’s second innings, in a four-wicket win over England. Despite the player's herculean effort, there was a ting of disappointment as he was caught by James Anderson, off Ben Stokes, just five runs short of what would have been a second Test century.
“He (Russell) was very proud but he said he had mixed feelings. He was happy and sad at the same time because he really wanted me to score the hundred, but happy that I scored some runs and eventually the team won,” Blackwood told members of the media during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.
The batsman also credited his improvement to a newly acquired fierce work ethic, which has seen himself and compatriot Russell putting in the required hours on and off the pitch.
“Over the past year or so I have been working hard with Andre. Andre Russell is like my mentor, so we work every single day, seven days a week. So, I am just pleased now to come and score some runs. It shows that once you put in the work you will get the runs,” he added.
The middle-order batsman’s previous encounter against the Sri Lankans earlier this year did go quite to plan after managing just 42 runs in two matches with a high score of 18. Ahead of the upcoming series Blackwood who admits to being a better frame of mind this time around is determined to set things right.
“To be honest, the last time I played Sri Lanka my mind wasn’t right at that time, but now my mind is fully there, so, I’m looking forward to a very good series,” Blackwood told Windies cricket.
Despite not typically being a threat with the ball, Blackwood believes he might even be able to make an impact with the ball, should the surfaces in Sri Lanka live up to their usual reputation of being more friendly to slower bowling.
“I always tell the skipper that I want to bowl a few overs because I have the golden arm. As you can see, I always get one of the wickets. So it will be very interesting this series if I can get a few overs.”
From the original squad, left-handed batter Shimron Hetmyer is unavailable due to personal reasons; allrounder Keemo Paul is ruled out with an injury and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie has failed to recover from the hand injury sustained during the CG United Series against India last month.
The replacements are middle-order batter Jermaine Blackwood and leg-spinning allrounder Yannic Cariah. Blackwood is called up for the ODI squad for the first time since 2015. Cariah earns his first squad call-up for the West Indies after being promoted from the West Indies A squad that has been playing against Bangladesh. Cariah captained the West Indies Emerging Players team that won the CG United Super50 Cup (then the Colonial Insurance Super50 Cup) in 2019. Odean Smith, the seam-bowling allrounder, has been added as a reserve.
CWI’s Lead Selector, The Most Hon Dr. Desmond Haynes, said: “Hetmyer has to attend to a family matter in Guyana. Unfortunately, Motie is not yet able to rejoin the squad and Keemo is struggling with an injury. However, it provides an opportunity for Yannic Cariah to get a chance. He is someone that has been performing well on the regional circuit and we feel now is the right time to integrate him into the senior team set-up. Odean Smith has been added on the back of some notable performances in the T20I Series. He has displayed the all-round ability to change games and we look forward to his continued development.”
The three matches are West Indies’ last remaining three fixtures in the ICC ODI Super League as West Indies aim to automatically qualify for the 2023 ICC World Cup in India. West Indies will be seeking to win the CG United ODI Series to secure one of the automatic qualification places reserved for the top 7 teams in the ODI Super League table, excluding hosts India.
Fans can purchase their tickets at tickets.windiestickets.com or via www.windiescricket.com/tickets avoiding the need to queue or travel and to choose their preferred seat. The Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard, provides advance tickets for every West Indies home fixture, delivering tickets securely and directly to fans’ ticket accounts to store on their mobile devices or to print out for entry into to the stadium. The stadium venue box office, located along Fontabelle Road close to the Kensington Oval gates, is also open daily from 9am to 5pm for patrons to make in-person ticket purchase.
For all matches, adults can purchase half price tickets for children under the age of 16 and seniors can also benefit from half price tickets as well. Fans in the West Indies can watch the CG United ODI Series exclusively live on ESPN Caribbean or listen to live radio commentary on the West Indies YouTube channel. Fans in New Zealand can watch exclusively live on Sky Sport.
FULL SQUAD
Nicholas Pooran (Captain
Shai Hope (Vice Captain)
Jermaine Blackwood
Shamarh Brooks
Yannic Cariah
Keacy Carty
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Jayden Seales
Kevin Sinclair
Traveling Reserve
Odean Smith
Since that 2019 series which India won 2-0, also in the Caribbean, the West Indies have played 12 series. Out of those 12, they have won four, drawn two and lost six. Three of those series wins have come in their last five series.
On the other hand, India, have won eight out of 12 series since then, including three of their last five.
West Indies vice-captain, Jermaine Blackwood, hopes the West Indians can step up to the plate against the mighty Indians.
“India is the number one team in the world right now,” Blackwood told SportsMax.tv.
“We, as a team, for the past year or two, have been playing some good cricket and now we just want to take it to another stage,” he added.
From an individual standpoint, the middle order batsman has had a rough time of it against his upcoming opponents.
In five matches, Blackwood has scored 184 runs at an average of 28.26 with a pair of fifties.
The Jamaican says he’s hoping to rectify that in this series.
“That’s why I’m here working so hard. Me and the captain spoke about wanting to lead the team with the bat and we’ve been doing that for the last year or two. That will be more important now playing against a team like India,” Blackwood said.
Brathwaite has also had a tough time of it against India, averaging just 22.40 in 11 matches.
With all that in mind, the pair will have to come good for the West Indies to have any chance of knocking off the number one Test team in the world, a sentiment which Blackwood echoes.
“We have to make sure we score the bulk of the runs. I know that we’re going to play against a tough opponent and I know that I want to score some runs for myself and the team,” Blackwood said.
“Whenever I score runs, the team normally feeds off that so that is the mentality I want to take into this series,” he added.
The tournament will include five nations: India, West Indies, South Africa, Australia, and Sri Lanka. The competition will feature 11 matches, which will be held at the Wankhede Stadium, DY Stadium, MCA Stadium, CCI Ground, and the Brabourne Stadium. The finals will be played at the Brabourne Stadium on the 22nd of March.
The sprinter, an avid cricket fan, will rub shoulders with the likes of Windies legends Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The other teams will also have some of their legends on display. The India squad will be led by the Sachin Tendulkar and include Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. Brett Lee will captain the Australian Legends side. Jonty Rhodes will be the leader of the South African Legends, and Tillakaratne Dilshan will represent the Sri Lanka Legends.
Blake, more known for his exploits on the track, has run the second-fastest times ever recorded over the 100m and 200m and won silver medals in both events at the London 2012 Olympic Games behind more celebrated compatriot Usain Bolt.
The tournament is geared towards bringing attention to road safety, a major issue that affects the country.
Schedule
Match 1: March 7, 2020
India Legends vs West Indies Legends
Wankhede (Mumbai)
Match 2: March 8, 2020
Australia Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends
Wankhede (Mumbai)
Match 3: March 10, 2020
India Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends
DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
Match 4: March 11, 2020
West Indies Legends vs South Africa Legends
DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
Match 5: March 13, 2020
South Africa Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends
DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
Match 6: March 14, 2020
India Legends vs South Africa Legends
MCA Stadium (Pune)
Match 7: March 16, 2020
Australia Legends vs West Indies Legends
MCA Stadium (Pune)
Match 8: March 17, 2020
West Indies Legends vs Sri Lanka Legends
MCA Stadium (Pune)
Match 9: March 19, 2020
Australia Legends vs South Africa Legends
DY Patil (Navi Mumbai)
Match 10: March 20, 2020
India Legends vs Australia Legends
MCA Stadium (Pune)
Match 11: March 22, 2020
FINAL (TBC vs TBC)
Brabourne Stadium (CCI, Mumbai)
Mitchell Starc also claimed a wicket to leave West Indies on 38-4 in their second innings and needing an improbable 459 runs to avoid defeat on Sunday.
West Indies resumed play on day three on 102-4 and got off to a poor start when shining light Tagenarine Chanderpaul (47) was run-out by Starc.
Jason Holder (0) then edged Starc behind and, while Anderson Phillip (43) and Joshua da Silva (23) put together a 60-run seventh-wicket stand, the Windies soon faded again.
The tourists reached 214, and Australia then built up a seemingly unsurmountable lead as they posted 199-6 declared in their second innings and sent their opponents back in to bat.
Usman Khawaja top-scored with 45 off 50 balls for Australia, while Marnus Labuschagne (31), Steve Smith (35) and Travis Head (38 not out) all contributed in a rapid 31-over innings from Australia.
West Indies' opening batters were 15-0 off five overs when Smith brought in Boland, who took the wicket of Kraigg Braithwaite (3) off his first ball.
Boland then trapped Shamarh Brooks (0) in front with a ball that nipped back into the right-hanger from his third delivery, before snaring Jermaine Blackwood (0) with his sixth.
Chanderpaul did not fare much better as he was dismissed for a second time in the day three overs later for 17 when caught by Alex Carey off the bowling of Starc.
Labuschagne adds further misery
West Indies are winless in their past 18 Tests against Australia since 2003 and they have not had many – if any – worse days across that run than Saturday.
They lost 10 wickets for 150 runs across two innings, either side of Australia piling another 199, with Labuschagne's 31 taking him to 502 runs from his four innings – the sixth-most scored in a two-Test series.
Boland rips through Windies
Boland famously took 6-7 against England on his Test debut in last year's Ashes and he produced a display that was equally as ruthless here.
The 33-year-old, making just his fourth Test outing, claimed 3-9 off 5.2 overs bowled and now has a bowling average 9.81 for his 21 wickets.
Shannon Gabriel then took two of the four Bangladeshi wickets to fall by the end of play that left the West Indies fully in charge of the match.
Resuming from their overnight score of 223 for 5 with Bonner on 74 and Da Silva on 22, the pair that put on a sixth-wicket stand of 45 overnight, extended that partnership to 88 when Bonner was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who had him caught by Mohammed Mithun at leg slip for 90, his highest Test score.
His dismissal brought Alzarri Joseph to the crease and together with Da Silva put on 118 runs for the seventh wicket which took the West Indies from 266 for 6 to 384 for 7 when the Trinidadian wicketkeeper/batsman was bowled by Taijul Islam for 92, which surpassed his previous best of 57 against New Zealand last December.
Joseph went shortly after with the score at 396, caught by wicketkeeper Liton Das swiping leg side at a Abu Jayed delivery. The Antiguan hit eight fours and five sixes in his score of 82 that was just four runs short of his Test-best of 86 made against New Zealand in early December 2020.
The West Indies added 12 more runs with Jayed and Islam mopping up the last two wickets as the visitors were all out for 409, their best total of the series.
Jayed returned figures of 4 for 98 while Taijul Islam took 4 for 108 in the West Indies innings that lasted 142.2 overs.
Tasked with batting out the remaining 37 overs to conclude the day’s play, Shannon Gabriel dismissed Soumya Sarkar for a duck and Naismul Hossain Shanto for 4, to have Bangladesh in early trouble at 11 for 2 after just 14 balls.
Tamim Iqbal and Monimul Haque began to repair the damage with a third-wicket stand of 58 when Rahkeem Cornwall had Haque caught behind for 21 as Bangladesh stumbled to 69 for 3. The home side fell into deeper trouble two runs later when Joseph had Iqbal caught at short midwicket for 44.
Mushfiqur Rahim, who is unbeaten on 27 and Mithun, six, ensured that Bangladesh got to the close on 105 for 4, still 304 runs behind the West Indies first innings total.
The 35-year-old Bonner has earned plenty of accolades for gritty performances for the West Indies since making his debut against Bangladesh in 2021. The player has, however, struggled vor vorm ov late, managing just 65 in his last 5 innings and has been hit twice off short pithed bowling in the last year.
Bonner has been ruled out of the current Test series against Australia after being struck on the back of the helmet by a Cameron Green bouncer. Despite being allowed to continue batting for another few hours Bonner is now under the team’s concussion protocol.
In light of the latest incident, questions have been raised regarding the player susceptibility to pace bowling.
“Short bowling is simple yet complex, you are either looking to attack the ball or defend it. I think. In simple parlance either you are hooking or you ducking. I think either Bonner is caught between two minds,” Smith told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“…He takes his eyes off the ball. We’ve seen him now being struck. If we’re being honest, we can pinpoint some of the technical deficiencies our batters have,” he added.
“We can’t knock Bonner because he’s done reasonably well up until this point, but you know he’s languid, he always looks little bit slow on the ball and these hard bouncy surfaces will show that up.”
Bonner has recorded two 100s and three 50s for the West Indies in 15 matches so far.
