The West Indies have not won a home Test series since 2022 when they defeated Bangladesh 2-0, producing a pair of dominant seven and ten wicket wins at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, respectively.
Two years later, the regional side will have an opportunity to replicate that score line when they take on the same opponent in the second Test beginning on Saturday at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
The West Indies will, no doubt, be confident heading into this game after a dominant 201-run win in the first Test last week.
With that in mind, the team will need to exercise killer instinct to defeat a gritty Bangladesh side who will be looking to avoid a third series defeat in a row after losses to India and South Africa in September and October.
Vice-captain and wicket-keeper/batsman Joshua Da Silva shared these sentiments upon his arrival to the island ahead of the second Test.
“Coming here 1-0 up in the series, it’s always a good feeling but we’re not finished yet. We’re looking to make that 2-0 and win the series,” Da Silva said.
The first Test was a trip down memory lane for fans of West Indies cricket as the hosts used a barrage of pace to trouble the Bangladeshi batsmen. With no specialist spinner in the line-up, the majority of the wickets came from Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph and Jayden Seales with Justin Greaves also getting in on the action.
“Raw pace and talent,” Da Silva said describing what fans can expect if the same bowling attack in fielded on Saturday.
“Led very well by Kemar (Roach) and Alzarri (Joseph). We also have the newcomers like Shamar (Joseph) and Jayden (Seales) who’s bene around for some time now but is still learning his craft. The pace is there and you can see the fear that they put into the batsmen. It’s about using that advantage that we have and hopefully that’s a reason we make it 2-0,” he added.
Individually, Da Silva will be hoping this trip to Jamaica is similar to his last when he captained the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force against the Jamaica Scorpions in the West Indies Championship in April.
Da Silva made 106 off 140 balls and helped the Red Force defeat the Scorpions by an innings and 125 runs.
“It’s always nice to be in Jamaica. Last time I was here I got a First Class hundred so hopefully that form can continue,” he said.
With scores of 5, 1, 2*, 4, 27, 14 and 22 in his last seven Test innings, Da Silva will be hoping for a repeat of that performance against the Scorpions.
The West Indies got a commanding score of 450-9 declared in the first innings of the first Test but were bowled out for 152 in the second innings.
Heading into this game, Da Silva has called for more consistency from the batting unit, himself included, this time around.
“The first innings we got 450 which was the goal. You cannot bat well all the time but at the end of the day we just need to be consistent. I think that’s what the batsmen need to do, myself included. As a batting group, we have some young batsmen in the middle order. Guys with less than 10 Test matches or coming up on 10 so, for us, it’s about learning to be consistent and getting those 300-400 scores,” he said.
“We know we’re going to get the wickets. It’s just for the batsmen to put on the totals for them. I’m not worried about it. I believe we have the talent it’s just about the boys finding their feet and I’m confident we’ll get the job done,” he added.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Rangpur Riders dominate Victoria to win inaugural Global Super League title
Rangpur Riders dominated Cricket Victoria to win by 56 runs and become the inaugural ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) champions on Friday at Providence Stadium in Guyana.
The Bangladeshi outfit put in a near flawless performance in the final and carried on where they left off after Thursday’s victory over the Lahore Qalandars that saw them finish second in the standings on net run rate.
Victoria had looked the team to beat all tournament and Riders duly did put in an impressive all-round performance.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Riders captain Nurul Hassan couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to the evening as his Steven Taylor and Soumya Sarkar hit the ground running, showcasing some quality batting to put together a towering 124-run partnership for the first wicket.
Both Taylor and Sarkar hit half centuries, with the former eventually falling for 68.
Sarkar carried on despite losing his partner, smiting seven fours and five sixes to make 86* runs off 54 deliveries, a player of the match performance in the final that saw him help Riders post an imposing 178-3 off their 20 overs.
Victoria had looked confident all tournament but wilted in the final in the face of such a lofty target.
Joe Clarke offered the most resistance for the Australian outfit with 40 off 22 deliveries but a procession of wickets saw Victoria bowled out in the 18th over for 122 as Riders capped off a superlative evening with both bat and ball.
The wickets were shared around by Riders’ bowlers but Harmeet Singh’s slow left arm tweak was the standout, he collected 3-19 off his four overs to challenge Sarkar for player of the match and secure Rangpur Riders grasp on the GSL trophy.
South Africa pull away from Sri Lanka on day three
South Africa ended day three of the second Test against Sri Lanka with a 221-run lead, with Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs combining to put the hosts in the ascendency.
Sri Lanka resumed at 242-3 but lost their final six wickets for just 67 runs as the Proteas took a slim 30-run lead from the first innings.
Marco Jansen dismissed Angelo Matthews (44) and Kamindu Mendis (48) in quick succession to get the ball rolling for the Proteas, with Dane Paterson then proceeding to tear through the Sri Lanka tail.
He added four more wickets to Friday's dismissal of Dinesh Chandimal to bring up his first five-for in Test cricket, with three of them coming in a terrific 89th over.
Tony de Zorzi put on a 55-run first-wicket stand when the Proteas took up the bat, before spinner Prabath Jayasuriya beat him all ends up with a full delivery.
Aiden Markram also made 55 before falling victim to a sensational one-handed catch from the diving Kusal Mendis, with Ryan Rickelton (24) following as South Africa slipped to 109-3.
However, Bavuma and Stubbs restored calm, sharing 84 runs in an orderly stand that took South Africa to stumps without further loss. They will resume at 191-3 on Sunday, knowing no team has ever completed a chase of more than 271 runs at St George's Oval.
Data Debrief: Bavuma and Stubbs show the way
South Africa were teetering somewhat at 109-3, but some watchful batting from Bavuma and Stubbs ensured they would enter day four in a commanding position.
Bavuma (48*) is now closing in on his fourth straight half-century of the series, while Stubbs (36*) hit the best score of his Test career (122) in South Africa's second innings of the first Test. Anything close to that knock would surely put the contest beyond Sri Lanka.
West Indies 2025 home Test series against Australia expanded from two to three games
Australia will play three Tests during their 2025 tour of the West Indies after Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) agreed to expand the original schedule of two Test matches which is set to take place in June-July.
The series will be part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, which asks for a minimum of two Tests between participating teams.
Australia’s previous Test series in the Caribbean took place in 2015, where the Michael Clarke-led side dominated with victories in Dominica and Jamaica. Since then, Australia has toured every Test playing nation except the West Indies.
This upcoming tour will be the first time the teams have played a three-match series in the West Indies since 2012, when Australia secured a 2-0 victory.
The most recent clash between the sides, held in Australia earlier this year, ended in a 1-1 draw. The highlight of the series was West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph’s heroics at the Gabba, where he guided a rare Test win over Australia, breaking a 21-year drought.
After taking a five-wicket haul on debut at the Adelaide Oval, Joseph backed it up with a famous second innings haul of 7-68 in Brisbane to spearhead the tourists to an eight-run win.
While the exact venues are yet to be confirmed, according to ESPNCricinfo reports, Barbados, Grenada, and Jamaica are potential hosts.
The tour will also feature three ODIs and three T20Is. Meanwhile, Australia is eyeing a place in this year’s WTC final at Lord’s and will aim to carry momentum into the next cycle.
For the West Indies, the series is a significant opportunity to play against one of the world’s strongest Test teams on their home turf.
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