Teddy Bishop followed up his unbeaten 97 on Monday with a magnificent match-winning century which guided West Indies Rising Stars U19s to a sensational victory over England Young Lions in the third match on Wednesday.
Set a target of 240, Bishop showcased his tremendous skills with the bat as well as powers of concentration as well as his ability to cope with the pressure to make 133 as West Indies scored 241-8 off 47 overs to win by two wickets with three overs to spare.
He faced 117 balls and hit 20 fours to control the run chase. His century came off just 85 balls and included 15 fours, and he carried on until he was the seventh wicket to fall with the score at 227 – with the West Indies just 13 away from victory.
“It feels really great and most important a win for the team. This innings is really special for me … my first century for the West Indies. It’s important to get a win for the team. The bowlers did really well for us in the morning, so the batters had to make sure we backed it up,” the young batsman said afterwards.
“The plan was to keep ticking it along to hit the gaps and to keep my partners in the game and keep talking to them. We can take a lot away from this game with this win. We were two-nil down so now we got a great win today and we are back in the series.”
Bishop shared a crucial partnership of 73 with vice-captain Giovonte Depeiza for the fifth wicket which took the score from 118-4 to 191-5 before Depeiza was run out for a patient 21 off 51 balls.
This was Bishop’s second top-class knock in a row, as he followed up the equally brilliant 97 not out from 104 balls in a narrow one-wicket loss on Monday.
The result was set up by the West Indies bowlers who were disciplined after England won the toss and chose to bat. Left-arm seamer Nathan Edward came in for his first match and grabbed two early wickets, while left-arm spinner Anderson Mahase (2-42) and pacer McKenny Clarke (2-52) maintained the pressure.
George Bell top-scored with 44 for the Young Lions who also got contributions of 41 from Thomas Aspinwall and William Luxton who scored 27.
The series will now switch to the Polo Field in Canterbury for the next three matches. The first ball on Friday is 10:30 am (5:30 am Eastern Caribbean Time/4:30 am Jamaica Time).