Top of the ICC batting rankings, the in-form Labuschagne put on a show as he reached 120 not out, while local hero Head joined him on three figures later in the day, finishing up on 114no at stumps.
They shared in a fourth-wicket partnership worth 199 and will resume on Friday looking to bat West Indies out of the match.
For Labuschagne, a third consecutive century and 10th of his Test career was complete when he cracked a boundary square of the wicket.
He was the more watchful of the hundred-makers, with Head more up front about his intentions, getting stuck into a mostly blunt West Indies attack and reaching three figures in just 125 balls, some 61 fewer than Labuschagne needed to reach his ton.
For Head, getting the job done brought obvious relief, after he was dismissed for 99 in the first match of the series in Perth. He brought up this century with a drive through mid-off for four, removing his helmet and waving to the Adelaide Oval crowd. Born in the South Australia city, this is his home ground and the century earned him the warmest of ovations.
After making 204 and 104no in the first Test, Labuschagne again mastered the West Indies attack. He came in at number three and shared in a stand of 95 with Usman Khawaja, who fell lbw to Devon Thomas for 62 to leave Australia 129-2 during the afternoon.
That soon became 131-3 when stand-in captain Steve Smith went for a duck, caught and bowled by Jason Holder, but from that point on it was all one way in Australia's favour.
Better late than never for Thomas
At the ripe cricketing age of 33, Thomas is a Test wicket-taker for the first time. A wicketkeeper by trade, he is not wearing the gloves in this game, his Test debut. With West Indies seeking to break the second-wicket alliance, Thomas was given a try with the ball by West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and made the breakthrough.
Thomas made his international debut in the limited-overs formats all the way back in 2009, and lately he has been a familiar face in their T20I side, but this is his first opportunity in the five-day game. He was the seventh bowler used by West Indies on Thursday, finishing the day with 1-43 from nine overs.
Labuschagne does it again
Ten centuries in a batter's 30 Tests is great going by anyone's standards, so hats off to Labuschagne. Taking into account the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle back in July, Labuschagne has made tons in four of his last five innings and his average has shot up to 61.81. He is 33 runs short of reaching 3,000 Test runs, which will be a target for day two.
Not since Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke plundered double tons against India in January 2012 had any pair of batters made 200-plus scores in the same innings of a Test match.
This first Test saw Australia follow up their opening-day dominance with more commanding batting to reach 598-4 on Thursday, before West Indies rallied to reach 74-0 at stumps, with debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul closing in on a half-century.
Labuschagne had been 154no overnight, and Smith was with him on 59, and they went on to post 204 and 200no respectively, sharing in a third-wicket stand of 251 runs. It was a second Test double century for Labuschagne, and a fourth for Smith.
Australia declared when Travis Head was dismissed on 99, edging the 95th ball of his innings into his stumps to give West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite a second wicket, ending a 196-run alliance with Smith.
In reply, Chanderpaul, son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, powered to 47no as Brathwaite battled to 18no, offering hope the tourists may be able to show sufficient defiance to still take something from this match, the first of two in the series.
Smith joins Bradman
Smith's century, which became a double, was his 29th ton in Tests, moving him level with the great Don Bradman on the all-time list. He and Bradman share fourth place among Australia century-makers, behind Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30).
Chanderpaul a chip off the old block
Facing the full assault of Australia's pace attack, Chanderpaul did not always look comfortable against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but he found a way to survive to the close.
Dad Shivnarine made 11,867 Test runs for West Indies, so Tagenarine is just 11,820 behind now. More relevantly, perhaps, Shivnarine made 62 in his first Test innings, against England in Georgetown in 1994. After this strong start, West Indies will hope his son can go significantly past that score on Friday.
The top-order batsman added a further knock of 104 not out to his first-innings score of 204 to help push the hosts closer to victory in the first Test.
With his efforts at Optus Stadium, Labuschagne is just the third Australian to achieve the feat, after Doug Waters in 1969 and Greg Chappell against New Zealand in 1974.
He is the eighth overall to manage it, joining an illustrious list, and the batsman acknowledged his achievements were yet to sink in.
"I've only found out about the club," Labuschagne said. "I haven’t really had time to reflect on it yet. As a player, you never know how special it is until time goes by.
"You get to those periods where you don’t make as many hundreds, and you miss out a few times. You're like geez, remember that day?
"I feel very privileged to be able to be even named with those players in that club."
West Indies duo Brian Lara and Lawrence Rowe, India's Sunil Gavaskar and England's Graham Gooch are among the others to have achieved the feat, with Sir Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara the last to have done it before Labuschagne.
Australia will look to secure victory on the final day in Perth after finishing Saturday needing seven wickets for victory, having been held off by Kraigg Brathwaite's stubborn century in response.
Labuschagne is currently playing for Glamorgan in England's County Championship and Australia's selectors have decided it will be more practical for the batsman to remain in the UK.
Australia will play five T20s in St Lucia and three ODIs in Barbados.
Although Labuschagne has not represented his country in the shortest format, he has three fifties and a century in 12 ODI innings, at an average of 39.41.
"Anyone who knows Marnus understands he would give absolutely anything to play for Australia and he is deeply upset to miss out due to circumstances beyond anyone's control," Australia's selection chairman Trevor Hohns said.
"We worked through numerous options in conversations with Marnus to find a workable solution but ultimately came to the conclusion it was more practical for him to remain in the UK.
"Had we not been in the middle of a global pandemic, Marnus would be on this tour as a well-established member and important part of the one-day side.
"It's an unfortunate circumstance of the many challenges the world is facing right now. As it stands, Marnus has the opportunity to continue in county cricket and T20 games with Glamorgan as we head into the [T20] World Cup and home summer."
Daniel Sams asked to be left out of the tour, which could yet be followed by a limited-overs trip to Bangladesh, for personal and mental health reasons.
The all-rounder tested positive for COVID-19 during his recent stint in the Indian Premier League, which was subsequently postponed due to the worsening coronavirus situation in the country.
Cricket Australia's integrity unit has contacted Cameron Bancroft to ask whether he wishes to provide any new information over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal that saw himself, Steve Smith and David Warner banned.
In an interview with The Guardian on Saturday, Bancroft hinted Australia's bowlers during that Test match against South Africa at Newlands – who were not punished – knew about activities undertaken to illegally alter the condition of the ball.
"Yeah, obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory," he said.
Preliminary Australia squad for limited-overs tour of the West Indies:
Aaron Finch (captain), David Warner, D'Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Josh Philippe, Alex Cary, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Swepson, Tanveer Sangha, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Josh Hazlewood, Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye
The qualifiers are expected to take place in Sri Lanka, in December of this year, giving the team just around 7 months to prepare. The presence of the coronavirus and protocols put in place to stop its transmission, however, has meant that regional competition for female cricketers has been put on hold.
It is a similar case for international fixtures, with the team having not played a series since November of last year when the Windies faced off against England.
“Not being able to play enough cricket, you would not say it is enough time but we have to try to understand the situation and work with it as best as we can,” Walsh told members from media from Antigua, where the team was gathered for a training camp.
“In an ideal world we would be able to tour and play as much cricket as we could then yes,” he added.
“It is a tickling situation, but it is something that is understandable, so we have to do what we can and get in as much as we can. The back of the year might be a little busier coming closer to that time. I am still hoping that we can have a couple of tours and play and have the regionals and stuff. Once the girls are playing, I much prefer that because it gives me a better chance of seeing who is in form, seeing who is improving, who is not improving. With them not being able to play that’s my biggest challenge.”
For the first time in decades, the likes of Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Andre Russell will not be a part of the team. While Bravo and Pollard have retired from international cricket, Russell was not selected for the squad after an indifferent run of form.
Instead, the unit will feature the likes of burgeoning T20 star Nicholas Pooran and a host of other talented players yet to prove themselves on the international stage for the Caribbean team.
"It will be very difficult for the West Indies team as the captain of the team is new and there is no Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, and Bravo in the team," Gayle told India daily Dainik Jagran.
Despite the relative lack of experience, Gayle believes the team’s talent could, however, make them a dangerous prospect for any opponent on a given day.
"Yes, it is definitely that the players who are included in the West Indies team are talented and can prove to be dangerous for any team. As everyone knows it is just a matter of adapting your strategy in the right way on match day. I hope the team plays well," he added.
The West Indies will bow into action with a Group Stage encounter against Scotland on Sunday.
The tournament, which will get underway on Friday will be played across the Caribbean territories of St Kitts, Antigua, and Guyana, in addition to T&T.
With case numbers for the Covid-19 pandemic remaining high, however, the T&T venues, Queen’s Park Oval, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, and Diego Martin Sporting Complex will only be occupied by players and officials.
Despite that fact, however, Camacho expects the tournament to be a success.
“We wouldn’t be able to have spectators at attendance. While this is a downer for some, I don’t think this will impact upon the quality of the tournament itself or on the organisation that has been put in place,” Camacho said.
“The facilities, both for training and competitive matches, are world-renowned, world-class and the best of the best,” he added.
“We are very confident that all the players, officials, attendees will have a wonderful experience, that would be to the benefit of Trinidad and Tobago.”
The tournament will get underway at the
Providence Stadium, in Guyana, on Friday, with the West Indies playing against Australia.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite has had a welcome return to form with two Test half-centuries and a century in his last four Test matches but fellow opener John Campbell has not been inspiring much confidence with his performances.
The Jamaican has scores of 3, 23, 36, 18, 42, 11, 5, and 10 in his last four Tests. His last half-century, 68, was made in the second Test against New Zealand in December last year.
As a result, solid opening partnerships for the Caribbean side have been rare and this is a worry for Harper.
“I think it has been a concern for a while. It was pleasing to see the captain get some big scores, but we need the partnership, on the whole, to be solid,” Harper said this past week on Mason and Guest.
But while Campbell has been struggling for form, Harper acknowledges that the batsman has been working hard to correct his flaws, like the ones that saw him get out in similar fashion in all four innings in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka.
“We were delighted to see Campbell applying himself and being more patient, but we need some more positive returns,” he said.
There are several players who could come in to bolster the batting but recent history does not offer much hope for success. Players like Shai Hope and Shayne Moseley are potential replacements; Hope especially who has shown a welcome return to form in the ODIs against Sri Lanka, but Test cricket is a different prospect for a player who has struggled in that format of the game.
Moseley, who has shown promise, is yet to demonstrate that he is ready after several failures.
“It is something we are looking at. We are looking at our best options. At the moment, from a red ball perspective, we don’t have enough openers who are knocking down the door in terms of performances,” he concluded.
Benjamin, 53, made his remarks on Mason and Guest in Barbados on Tuesday.
Gibbs, who took 309 Test wickets, while playing for the West Indies between the late 1950s and early 1970s, speaking on Mason and Guest on April 21, was critical of the current crop of spin bowlers in the Caribbean.
“They’re not spinning the ball,” he said.
Asked his thoughts on Cornwall, who has taken 13 wickets in the two Tests and 303 First-Class wickets in 62 matches, Gibbs said, “How can you take two steps and bowl? Where is your rhythm, where is that rhythm?
"As a spin bowler, you have got to use the crease, you have the return crease and you have the stumps, you have to bowl between those two.”
His comments sparked debate across the Caribbean with many, including retired fast bowling great Curtly Ambrose, coming to the defence of the giant spinner from Antigua.
On Tuesday, it was Benjamin’s turn to rush to Cornwall’s defence.
“What he spoke about for Rahkeem Cornwall was bowling off two paces. That is one of Rahkeem’s strengths. No rhythm, he hurries the batsmen, he gets through his balls quickly,” said Benjamin, who is the bowling coach for the West Indies U19 squad.
“The fact that Lance Gibbs was concerned about it just goes to show you how far out of the game Lance Gibbs is.
“Lance Gibbs is 85 years old, I don’t think he is in tune with what is going on in modern-day cricket, and he went away thinking that he was onto something but for me, he scored nought.”
The crafty ball-turner has spent some of the COVID-19 lockdown naming best XI’s of players from countries that he has faced. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Lara who seems to have made the biggest impression on the spinner. Lara had the penchant to be brutal against Australia, who he averages 51 against in Test cricket, and scored a best of 277 in Sydney in 1993. The innings has often been described as one of the finest ever played in Test cricket.
"Lara and Sachin (Tendulkar) were the two best batsmen of my time, his 277 run-knock against us was one of the best innings I saw him play," Warne said on Instagram.
Also making the cut were Desmond Haynes, who was picked to open with Gayle. Next up was Richie Richardson. The middle-order featured the likes of Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ridley Jacobs.
The bowling line-up was led by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh and feature Ian Bishop and Patterson Thompson.
Warne’s XI
Desmond Haynes, Chris Gayle, Richie Richardson, Brian Lara (c), Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper, Ridley Jacobs, Ian Bishop, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Patterson Thompson.
In fact, Lara pointed out that a technical and tactical approach will be integral to West Indies chances, especially given the strength of England’s line up, coupled with their aggressive approach and home conditions at Lord’s, which they will relish.
With that in mind, Lara believes the best way to defend against the opponent’s strengths is to take an attacking approach in the field.
“I think more important is how the bowlers and the captain handle it in the field because we have to stay positive. We have to stay aggressive in terms of having attacking fields, having players in attacking positions, because the way they (England) bat, England are going to have you pushing players out on the boundary – which is what they want,” Lara said during a recent interview with Sky Sports.
“You push your deep cover back or your third man back, your deep backward square back, it creates opportunities for them to get singles – four, five singles an over is actually great scoring. We’ve got to be very technical and tactical in terms of how we approach this series,” he added.
Unlike England, who has upped their game in Test cricket to what has been labelled ‘Bazball’ under Head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, West Indies has been quite the opposite.
England’s alteration has resulted in them now playing an attractive brand of aggressive cricket, particularly with the bat.
West Indies, on the other hand, have been more traditional, and Lara is of the view that the regional side should remain on the same path, instead of attempt to adopt England’s style of play.
“I don’t think first of all, as a batting team, that (aggression) is our style, which actually is a little bit of a negative. If you’re going to come up against a side that’s scoring at five and six runs an over and you’re just going to score at 2.5, three runs an over, that in itself is asking for trouble,” Lara reasoned.
“England is playing a style of cricket that is difficult to beat them, coming from behind. We’ve got to get them out cheaply in the first innings to stay in front of the game. If you get behind England – with the pace they play the game at – it’s impossible to get back into the game,” he noted.
Despite the loss of Kemar Roach to a knee injury, Lara, 55, said he is more concerned about the batting.
“I’m not worried too much about Kemar Roach missing out or the bowling attack. I think the bowling attack is pretty formidable,” he declared.
“I think the batting is where the experience is lacking. They’re trying, the batters are trying, but it’s the fact that, how much experience have they had in English conditions. So I’m hoping we can pull through in that department,” Lara ended.
“It’s a young group, ably led by Kraigg Brathwaite, of course, but I feel like some of the guys can really come into their own in this series,” Lara, who is with the team as a performance mentor, said in a CWI interview on Saturday.
“It’s a tough opposition but I believe that’s the way we can get the best out of them,” he added.
The West Indian selectors have started to look to the future in the batting department with the selections of 22-year-old Kirk McKenzie and 24-year-old Alick Athanaze.
Jamaica’s McKenzie earned his selection on the back of some good performances in the inaugural Headley Weekes Tri-Series and in a subsequent A-team tour of Bangladesh.
He had scores of 221 and 50 in the Headley Weekes series and followed those up with scores of 91 and 86 against Bangladesh A.
Athanaze captained the Windward Islands Volcanoes in this season’s West Indies Championship and scored 647 runs in five matches at an average of 64.70 with a pair of hundreds and four fifties.
“They’re both young, capable players. Of course, you’d hope they had a little more experience in the first-class arena but, looking at their style of play and their attitude, I believe they do have what it takes to perform at the highest level,” Lara said.
“It may take some time but, obviously, as an international cricketer, if you’re entering this stage it doesn’t matter what age you enter; you’ve got to learn very quickly and I think they have that sort of attitude to want to learn and be willing to listen. I look forward to good things in the future,” he added.
These matches will mark the start of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle for both teams.
“Obviously, we’ve got two very important Test matches against India that start the two-year cycle for us. We know, whether it’s at home or away from home, they’re one of the top teams in the world,” Lara said.
“I think the guys are moving in the right direction in terms of where we started the camp and where we are at this present moment only a few days out from the first Test match in Dominica,” he added.
The two teams had very different results in the 2021-23 cycle. India, currently the top-ranked Test team in the world, finished the cycle second behind Australia, who they recently lost to in the World Test Championship Final.
On the other hand, the West Indies ended the cycle in eighth, only finishing ahead of Bangladesh.
In one of a few instances the batting star was not greeted by applause and gestures of widespread adoration on his sojourn to the crease, Lara was booed by the Sabina Park crowd when strode out for the second Test of the 1999 Australia tour of the West Indies.
During a tumultuous period for the Windies, the issue for some home fans stemmed from what they believed to be disrespect shown to bowling legend Courtney Walsh in what they deemed to be a hostile takeover of the captaincy by the Trinidadian. Walsh, who was appointed captain in 1994, served as captain for 22 Test matches before being replaced by Lara in 1998. On the back of a heavy loss to Australia in the first Test and having also previously been whitewashed by South Africa, The Prince found himself occupying the unusual status of public enemy.
His response, a classy, shot-filed 213, which would go on to underpin a massive 10 wicket win at Sabina Park to level the series, it must be said, went a long way in lightening the mood.
“Everyone says the 153 was second maybe to Sir Don Bradman’s (Against England at Melbourne in 1936-1937), maybe post-war, one of the better innings, but a week before that I was in Jamaica where we played against Australia in that second Test match,” Lara told 7Cricket.
“We came off scoring 51 in the fourth innings in Trinidad and I stood there in Jamaica, I was given the captaincy for two Test matches, on probation, never before had that happened in the history of West Indies cricket…that 213 in Jamaica was for me (special) in terms of not just batsmanship but my inner strength to come out of that situation I was in,” he went on.
“I was facing expulsion as the captain, of course, I was going to be playing, the captaincy was not that important to me that I wouldn’t play, but the threat of the expulsion and the fact that everyone was sort of jeering against me, in the Caribbean, was just unbelievable.”
India batting great Sachin Tendulkar led the way with 65, as the host team posted 218 for 3 after facing their 20 overs. Earlier, the match was lit up by a cameo from Virender Sehwag who made 35, while Yuvraj Singh cashed in with three sixes in his brisk 37 off 20.
In pursuit of the target, a 99-runs second wicket partnership between opener Dwayne Smith and Narsingh Deonarine got the Windies off to a strong start. While Batting icon Brian Lara’s 46 from 28 balls brought the Windies to within 24 runs of the target with two overs remaining.
However, a stifling spell from Indian seamers Vinjay Kumar and Irfan Pathan scuppered the regional team’s run chase. It was Kumar who accounted for the dangerous Lara in the 19th over and also removed bowler Tino Best at a crucial juncture. The West Indies finished on 206 for 6. Best claimed two wickets, including that of Tendulkar in the first innings. Kumar claimed two for the India Legends who will face Sri Lanka Legends in Friday’s final.
Gomes, 66, played 60 Tests for the West Indies between June 1976 when he made his debut against England and March 1987 when he played his last Test against New Zealand. He scored 3171 at a decent average of 39.63, amassing nine centuries and 13 half-centuries along the way.
However, his knock of 123 against India, he says, was perhaps his best.
“The one that stands out for me would be the one in Trinidad. If you remember, we were three wickets down with one run with Gordon, Desmond and Viv back in the pavilion, and then I came in and together with Clive and we put on 200-plus run for the fourth wicket. I think that hundred stands out because we had to build back that innings and we got a respectable total,” said Gomes who now lives in Canada while speaking on Mason and Guest in Barbados on Tuesday night.
“That was more refreshing.”
In the match played from March 11-16, Gomes scored (123) and Captain Clive Lloyd (143) as the pair shared in a stand of 237. Gomes batted for 446 minutes and faced 333 balls in his obdurate knock that included only 12 boundaries.
Jeffrey Dujon (31), Michael Holding 24 and Joel Garner, an unbeaten 21, helped the West Indies to 394 in reply to India’s first innings of 175.
The match ended in a draw as Mohinder Armanath (117) set the stage for strong Indian second innings that saw Kapil Dev smash 100 from just 95 balls with 13 fours and three sixes as India piled up 469 for 7. Yasphal Sharma contributed an even 50 to the mammoth total.
Gomes took 1 for 45 as the West Indies fast bowlers toiled on the docile Queens Park Oval pitch.
Gomes said he will always remember his first Test century. He scored that one against Australia at the Bourda Oval in Guyana in 1978. Jamaica’s Basil ‘Shotgun’ Williams also scored a century in that match.
Batting first the West Indies scored 205. Gomes scored only 4 as Jeff Thompson and Wayne Clark taking four wickets each.
Australia replied with 286, their captain Bobby Simpson top-scoring with 67.
Batting a second time Gomes scored 101, Williams 100 and Sew Shivnarine 63 as the West Indies posted a total of 439.
However, Graeme Wood (126) and Craig Serjeant (124) laid steered Australia to 362 for 7 and a three-wicket victory over the West Indies.
The tourists were deep in the mire on 114-9 after being put in by Kraigg Brathwaite in the third and final match of the series following draws in Antigua and Barbados.
Kyle Mayers (2-13) started the procession of wickets, with England in disarray after Jayden Seales (3-40), Kemar Roach (2-41) and Alzarri Joseph (2-33) ripped through the middle order.
But Leach (41 not out) and Mahmood (49) resembled top-order batters as they put on 90 before the seamer was dismissed by Jermaine Blackwood in the last over of the day in St George's, where England were all out for 204.
Zak Crawley gifted Mayers the first wicket, driving straight to Brathwaite at cover, and the same bowler had Root caught behind without scoring before Seales trapped Dan Lawrence lbw to leave England in trouble on 46-3 at lunch.
Things went from bad to worse for England as they lost three wickets without scoring a run, with Ben Stokes caught and bowled by Joseph misjudging a pull and Jonny Bairstow out for a duck after Alex Lees (31) nicked Roach behind.
Seales produced good pace to skittle Ben Foakes and Roach made a mess of Craig Overton's stumps with a quick delivery that nipped back significantly, reducing the tourists to 90-8.
Woakes (25) looked comfortable until he was bowled through the gate by Seales, but Leach and Mahmood settled in to turn the tide in unlikely fashion.
Leach was dropped by Mayers on 10 and John Campbell slipped a chance Mahmood offered up when he had 15, with the seamer adding insult to injury by launching the next ball from Mayers for six.
The runs continued to flow despite the second new ball being taken, but part-time spinner Blackwood bowled Mahmood just before the close to provide some relief for the flagging Windies.
Mayers makes big impact on his return
All-rounder Mayers got the nod ahead of spinner Veerasammy Permaul for his first Test of the year.
He justified his recall in quick time, seeing the back of Crawley before drawing an edge from Root with a scrambled seam getting the ball to nip away from the in-form England skipper.
Seales, Roach and Joseph also ran riot in the afternoon session to put England on the ropes before the tail wagged.
Leach and Mahmood haul England off the canvas
The Windies lost their way as Leach and Mahmood batted with a combination of tenacity and skill.
This was just the second time a number 10 and 11 were the two leading scorers in a Test innings, with the first pair being Tom Garrett and Edwin Evans for Australia versus England at the SCG way back in 1885.
Playing in only his second Test, Mahmood bettered his best first-class score of 34 and fell agonisingly short of a maiden half-century. Leach faced 141 balls in his latest rearguard act.
The 24-year-old all-rounder was named as captain of the Caribbean team last week, taking over from Stafanie Taylor who took charge of the team in 2015.
Matthews has been a rising star for the team over the last two years and was the most outstanding player for the West Indies women during the last ODI World Cup. However, leading a squad that still has quite a few veteran players, will be an entirely new experience.
“I’m still trying to balance being player and captain. As a player, I am still trying to perform as best as I can and lead by example. That’s something a captain needs to do, lead by example, 100 percent,” Matthews told the Mason and Guest show.
“I know my success as a player is very important to the team. Obviously going forward at the same time I am captain as well. It’s a lot to take on, it’s obviously a team first mentality and I have a lot of learning to do on the job.”
In the aftermath of the recent squad selection for the West Indies tour of Bangladesh, plenty of eyebrows were raised not only due to the absence of 12 first team players but following the non-selection of promising young fast bowler Chemar Holder for the Test cricket squad.
The team has the typical fast-bowling trio of Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, and Alzarri Joseph but with captain Jason Holder opting out of the tour, many thought Chemar would have been a natural replacement, particularly after a promising debut in difficult circumstances last month.
Cricket West Indies chief of selectors Clive Lloyd, however, explained that the panel had chosen to include more spinners at the expense of Holder, due to the nature of spin-friendly surfaces in Bangladesh. Lloyd believes the decision could cost the young bowler valuable experience.
“These guys need to play in those countries where it’s not that helpful and you learn to bowl a better line and length,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“On the dead pitches, someone like (Collin) Croft would still be disconcerting. He would be getting it up into your neck. The point is that our fast bowlers bowled well on any kind of wicket,” he added.
“Our bowlers were not deterred by slow pitches and that is what our youngsters have to learn, to bowl on pitches that are not responsive. Dennis Lille, when he realized the pitch was not helping, he would cut down his run and bowl a different kind of delivery, cutters, and so on and make you think about your cricket. So did Richard Hadlee, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, all these guys would have learned to bowl on wickets that are not responsive. If we are just going to rest people because the wickets are not responsive then something is wrong.”
Many were left astonished after Holder, who has had a few standout stints in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and international T20 cricket in recent months, was only named among four reserve players.
“Leaving a player of the standard and quality of Jason out of our final 15 was a difficult decision and it provoked a lot of debate,” Harper told members of the media via an online press conference.
“When we look at the type of composition we wanted, considering the all-rounders that we had and the balance, he was unfortunate not to make it,” he added.
“It was a 15-man squad, everyone couldn’t make it, different things were taken into consideration and Jason just missed out, but with a player of his stature and quality it was a difficult decision and one we didn’t take lightly.”
In 10 matches and three series against Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, Holder totalled 90 runs, had an average of 30, and claimed 9 wickets. He, however, struggled in the team’s most recent series against Pakistan totalling just 2 runs and 4wickets in four matches.
The team was, however, also bolstered by staunch lower-order resistance to close the day, with the unbeaten last-wicket partnership of 62 between Preston McSween and Sherman Lewis continuing to frustrate the Jaguars.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the Windwards found themselves in early trouble when opener Kimani Melius was struck on the helmet by a delivery from Clinton Pestano and forced to leave the field without scoring.
Smith began in shaky fashion but dominated an early partnership with Kavem Hodge, who came in after Melius. Hodge was dismissed for 10 after being caught by Leon Johnson off the bowling of Keemo Paul, while Smith went on to record his 64th First-Class half-century. It was Paul who also brought that innings to an end with the batsman on 52.
Smith and Athanaze had produced a partnership of 49 before the former was dismissed. Athanaze then kept a productive middle-order going after next pairing with Keron Cottoy to put on 63 for the third wicket. The partnership ended when Cottoy was caught by Johnson off the bowling of Paul and Athanaze, who looked in good shape for triple figures, departed after unsuccessfully attempting to reverse sweep Veerasammy Permaul and being adjudged lbw on 68.
From 190-4, the Volcanoes quickly slipped to 195-6. Melius was dismissed for three following his return to the pitch. With Kenneth Dember dismissed on 6 and the team struggling at 215, in the 73rd over, the innings looked set to be over, but McSween went on the attack against the bowler with some clean hits late on.
Guyana spinners Gudakesh Motie (3-61) and Permaul (3-5) have managed a combined six wickets for far, while Paul claimed 3-64.
