Athanaze sweeping his way to a match-saving 92.
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Alick Athanaze played a vital innings of 92 to help the West Indies secure a hard-fought draw against South Africa in the rain-affected first Test at Queen's Park Oval on Sunday. Chasing an imposing target of 298 runs for victory, the West Indies were in early trouble but managed to salvage the match thanks to Athanaze's resilience and key contributions from his teammates.
South Africa, resuming their second innings at 30 without loss, quickly raced to 173 for 3 in just 29 overs before declaring, setting the West Indies a challenging target. Tony de Zorzi and Aiden Markram gave the visitors a solid start, scoring 45 and 38, respectively, before Tristan Stubbs injected urgency into the innings with a blistering 68 off 50 balls. His dismissal by Kemar Roach in the 29th over prompted South African captain Temba Bavuma to declare, leaving himself unbeaten on 15.
The West Indies' chase got off to a disastrous start, losing captain Kraigg Brathwaite for a duck in the first over. Mikyle Louis followed for nine, leaving the hosts reeling at 18 for 2. However, Alick Athanaze and Kaecy Carty began the process of rebuilding, putting together a valuable 46-run partnership before Carty was dismissed for 31 by Maharaj.
Athanaze continued to anchor the innings, forging another crucial stand of 63 runs with Kavem Hodge, who was also dismissed by Maharaj for 29. Athanaze's innings was a masterclass in patience and shot selection, as he found another steady partner in Jason Holder. The duo added 65 runs for the fourth wicket, with Athanaze inching closer to a well-deserved century.
Hodge made 29
Unfortunately, he fell just eight runs short of his maiden Test century, sweeping Maharaj to fine leg where he was caught. His innings, however, ensured that the West Indies could stave off defeat, with Jason Holder remaining unbeaten on 31 and Joshua da Silva not out on two when Bavuma decided to end proceedings, declaring the match a draw.
Maharaj was the pick of the South African bowlers once again, adding another four-wicket haul to his match tally, finishing with figures of 4 for 88 in the West Indies' second innings. His performance followed an equally impressive first-innings effort of 4 for 76.
Speaking after the match, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite expressed satisfaction with his team's batting display in the second innings. "I'm happy with our batting group. The guys were quite positive, and I'm so proud of the batting unit. We believed we could get those runs, and although it wasn't going to be easy, the fight and resilience shown were commendable," Brathwaite said.
He continued, "The pitch here in the Caribbean can be a bit slower, so it's about adjusting when to go slow and when to accelerate. Alick showed us that today with his approach. His plan was to sweep, and even though he got out to a sweep, he stuck to it and nearly got his century. Hodge was also good in England, and it's about continuing to build on these performances."
The first Test ended in a draw, but it was a match that saw both teams show their strengths. The West Indies will take confidence from their batting performance as they prepare for the second Test, knowing that they have the ability to challenge South Africa in the upcoming encounters.
The second Test gets underway at Providence in Guyana on August 15.
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de Kock spurs Royals to 10-run win (DLS) over Falcons in rain-affected match
The thirteenth match of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) proved unlucky for Antigua & Barbuda Falcons as Barbados Royals chalked up their third victory in a row with a 10-run win by DLS on a rain-affected evening in Bridgetown.
After being inserted the Falcons posted a competitive total of 176-5 largely thanks to a composed stand of 92 runs between Sam Billings and Justin Greaves, that was also a record for any wicket for the Falcons.
In response the Royals got off to a shaky start, Mohammad Amir stitched together a maiden in the first over of the Falcons bowling effort, a frustrated Rahkeem Cornwall then plinked his seventh delivery, his first from Chris Green, straight to Roshon Primus at mid-off. Primus celebrated the catch keenly but his fortunes would take a dramatic turn shortly afterwards.
With the Royals on 81-2 off eleven overs, needing 96 runs off the remaining 54 balls Primus served up an over that went for 23 runs and seemed to last an eternity. The over saw Primus lose his radar with four wides and three chest high full toss no balls accompanying a two fours, a six and the wicket of Quinton de Kock caught behind for 48 off 30 balls.
By the end of the over the Royals had motored to 104-3 with a crucial run rate injection. The players came and went from the field a couple of times as the rain clouds built over Bridgetown, a decisive and heavy downpour seeing the match eventually called and curtailed with seven overs to go. The Royals comfortably ahead on DLS to run out winners by 10 runs.
De Kock was named Player of the Match for another confident knock with the bat, the South African southpaw has racked up 154 runs in three innings at an average of 77 in this year’s competition so far – powering the Royals to second in the table on six points with Guyana Amazon Warriors ahead of them only by run rate.
Salt laments 'everything was good apart from the result'
England's stand-in captain Phil Salt took plenty of positives from Wednesday's defeat to Australia, claiming "everything was good bar the result".
Travis Head's superb knock of 59 from just 23 balls, which included plundering 30 from a single over, set Australia on their way.
England fought back with the ball, though, and were ultimately set a target of 180.
But big hitters Salt (20), Sam Curran (18) and Liam Livingstone (37) all went in quick succession as England failed to get going and lost by 28 runs.
"Everything was good apart from the result," said Salt, who was standing in for the absent Jos Buttler.
"They played well. Heady came out swinging in the powerplay and gave them a head start.
"We were a couple of wickets too far down. Heady's done that for a couple of years, it's about how do we shut that down?
"[But] good signs. They played well, we dragged it back, we should have chased it realistically. At times we could have taken partnerships deeper. But we've had a good look at them now."
Australia have won back-to-back T20Is against England for the first time since February 2018, as the hosts failed to win a third straight T20I at The Rose Bowl.
"It was a nice start. Nice to get under way," said Head.
"To set a platform like that with the hitters we had behind us, it was nice to do the job."
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh added: "We certainly looked on course for 200 but did our best to stuff it up, so it's nice to start the series with a win."
Head leads Australia to win as new-look England crumble in chase
Travis Head led the way for Australia, setting them on their way to a comfortable 28-run victory over England in their first of three T20Is on Wednesday.
England had salvaged some pride during Australia's late collapse, only to fumble their chance with the bat as they failed to reach their target of 180.
Australia got off to a flying start, with Head hitting 59 off 23 balls, including 30 off Sam Curran in a single over with three fours and three sixes.
Liam Livingstone helped to slow the tide with 3-22, including taking opener Matt Short (41), before the tourists collapsed, losing their last five wickets for 14 runs, with Jofra Archer taking two in two (2-31), to finish 179 all out.
The hosts just could not get going though, as Phil Salt was caught for 20 before Curran (18) and Livingstone (37) both departed in the space of four deliveries to stunt any England progress.
Jordan Cox (17), one of three debutants, had already been dismissed, thanks to Tim David's stunning catch at full stretch, before the lower order slumped to 151 in the final over.
The second T20I takes place on Friday in Cardiff, where England will attempt to force a decider for the final contest on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Unhappy homecoming
Australia have won back-to-back T20Is against England for the first time since February 2018, but the hosts would have expected much better when they saw the target set for them.
Instead, they failed to win a third consecutive T20 match at The Rose Bowl, their longest outright losing streak at the venue in the history of the format.
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