Roston Chase believes the West Indies are still very much in their Test match against England at Old Trafford despite playing catchup on the first two days of the team’s second encounter in the #raisethebat Series.
Under overcast skies West Indies captain Jason Holder had chosen to bowl first, only to see his much-vaunted pace-bowling attack repelled by dogged English batting that kept his side in the field for 162 overs and the better part of two days.
Architects of the English first-innings total of 469-9 declared were the side’s vice-captain, Ben Stokes, 176, and opener Dom Dibley, 120.
To help keep the run-scoring in check, Chase bowled a mammoth 44 overs to claim 5-143, while pacers Kemar Roach, 2-58, Alzarri Joseph and Holder, 1-70, offered support with their wickets.
In reply, the West Indies have already lost the services of John Campbell, after Sam Curran trapped him leg before for 12. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite, 6, and Joseph, the night watchman, 14, are the batsmen at the crease, with the West Indies 32-1.
Despite the setback, Chase believes the West Indies have the tools to overhaul England’s total.
“I would never say that the 400 and odd is beyond us with the talent of the players that we have,” he said in a post-match conference on Friday.
Chase does recognize though, that batting on the third day may provide different challenges to the ones the English batsmen managed to navigate on the first two days.
“I would say that the wicket is slower than in that first innings when the ball was skidding on, so you have to give yourself time to adjust,” said Chase.
Even with that fact, however, Chase is still optimistic about his side’s chances, even though the odds of an England win stand at 70%.
“But I am backing our players to get the total or even close to it and then put them in a place where they have to decide what they are going to do,” said Chase.
Odds for the game ending in a draw now stand at 28% with a West Indies victory at this stage at a mere 2%.
The West Indies lead the three-Test series 1-0 and only need a draw to secure their hold on the Wisden Trophy.