West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales continued his ascension on the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings as he moved up to a career-best 13th position after finishing as the most successful bowler in the second Test against South Africa in Guyana.
Seales, who finished with nine wickets in a 40-run loss that helped South Africa win the ICC World Test Championship series 1-0, achieved the milestone move, which now makes him the top-ranked Test bowler from the West Indies.
The 22-year-old Trinidadian, who has enjoyed fairly good form since his return from injury, surpassed Barbadian seamer Kemar Roach, who slipped one place down to 18th, as his journey to fitness continues.
Spinners Jomel Warrican (52nd) and Gudakesh Motie (64th), both moved two spots up, while fast bowler Shamar Joseph also progressed 11 spots to 54th in other significant movements for the West Indies players in the bowling rankings.
South Africa’s Player of the Match Wiaan Mulder advanced 27 places to 65th position after finishing with six wickets, while off-spinner Dane Piedt is up nine places to 66th after claiming two West Indies wickets in the second innings of the match.
In the Test batting rankings, former West Indies captain Jason Holder is up seven places to 60th position following his unbeaten knock of 54 in the first innings. He is also up two places to fifth in the list of all-rounders.
South Africa opener Aiden Markram and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne have gained after notching half-centuries in the second innings. Markram inched up two places to 21st, while Verreynne has progressed from 62nd to 46th.
In the ICC World Test Championship, West Indies are last in the nine-team championship with 18.52 after nine matches, while South Africa are in fifth place with 38.89 percentage points after six matches.
India lead the table with 68.52 percentage points after nine matches, with Australia in second on 62.50 after 12 outings. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are the other teams ahead of South Africa.
Meanwhile, in the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings, Scott Edwards of the Netherlands has moved up six places to 26th position after scores of 72 and 65 against Canada and the United States, respectively, in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2.
Aaron Jones of the United States (up 11 places to 56th) and Vikramjit Singh of the Netherlands (up nine places to 79th) are others to move up the batting rankings, while Aryan Dutt of the Netherlands is up five places to 33rd.
Jason Holder remains confident that the West Indies can overcome South Africa's 239-run lead from the second day of the second Test in Guyana.
Holder, who hit an unbeaten 54 from 88 deliveries, watched on as the Proteas built a commanding advantage and were left 223-5 in their second innings.
Opener Aiden Markram (51) and Kyle Verreynne (50) starred for South Africa, with no repeat of the opening day carnage that saw 17 wickets fall for either side.
The Proteas were bowled out for 160 in their first innings, with Holder's half-century steadying the ship after the Windies had wobbled to just 97-7 in the 28th over.
With a 16-run advantage heading into the second innings, Markram and Tony de Zorzi put together a 79-run opening partnership before the latter was caught for 39.
The dismissal of Markram saw the visitors lose three wickets for 19 runs, but Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder (34 not out) were able to put together an 84-run sixth-wicket stand.
South Africa will resume with Verreynne and Mulder on day three, but Holder remains positive that his side can produce a comeback.
“I was just trying to eke out as many runs as we could,” said Holder at the end of the day. “First session tomorrow is obviously crucial for us.
"The most important thing is not to let the runs get too far away, let them sweat a little bit more for their runs, and I believe, with the amount of time left in the game, that we can chase anything they give us.”
The decisive second Test, which initially seemed set to end in three days, has now been returned to some semblance of normalcy as South Africa took charge of proceedings on day two to leave West Indies in a familiar position at Providence in Guyana on Friday.
After securing a 14-run lead when they restricted West Indies to 144, South Africa, through an opening stand of 79 between Aiden Markram (51) and Kyle Verreynne, and an unbeaten 84-run sixth-wicket partnership between Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder, all but placed one hand on the Sir Vivian Richards trophy.
They lead by 239 runs, with Verreynne, unbeaten on 50, and Mulder, on 34, set to resume batting at 9:00am on Saturday.
Still, with three more days to play and the surface getting much better to bat on with time, West Indies will cling to hope that they can turn their fortunes and register win number two to move up the ICC Test Championship standings.
Scores: South Africa 160 and 223 for 5 (Markram 51, Verreynne 50*, Seales 3-52, Motie 2-61) lead West Indies 144 (Holder 54*, Mulder 4-32, Burger 3-49, Maharaj 2-8) by 239 runs
Eight wickets fell on another action packed day, as West Indies, resuming on 97-7, got much closer than expected to South Africa’s first innings total, thanks to a 40-run 10th-wicket stand between Jason Holder, who was left unbeaten on 54, and Shamar Joseph (25).
David Bedingham was bowled by Jayden Seales (out of photo).
Mulder ended with 4-32 and Nandre Burger, 3-49, while Keshav Maharaj (2-8) wrapped things up with the dismissal of Joseph in the opening session.
With a slight lead in their favour, coupled with the lessons learnt from their first innings collapse, Markram and Toni de Zorzi (39), weathered some testy movements from West Indies seamers before lunch, and later capitalised on the significant change in conditions to lay the foundation for a massive total.
De Zorzi, who survived a scare on 36 when Joshua da Silva failed to hang on to a low catch off Jason Holder’s bowling, fell three runs later as the wicketkeeper made no mistakes on the second occasion when he knicked one behind from Jayden Seales.
Markram and Tristan Stubbs (24) continued the momentum with a 41-run second wicket stand, but they didn’t have things all their way as the Caribbean bowlers were plucky and created a few half chances—edges, leg before wicket shouts, and a chance put down by Alick Athanaze—that didn’t go their way.
Gudakesh Motie eventually trapped Markram in front shortly after he raised his half-century, and the Guyanese spinner later accounted for captain Temba Bavuma (four) soon after, which left South Africa at 134-3.
Stubbs followed shortly after to the Seales-Da Silva combination, before the Trinidad and Tobago seamer clean bowled David Bedingham for a duck as the visitors slipped to 139-5.
Snaring four wickets for a mere 19 runs in nine overs left West Indies on a high and they would have sensed another low target coming. However, Verreynne and Mulder shifted the momentum back South Africa’s way with the highest partnership of the series so far.
Shamar Joseph’s dream start to Test cricket continued but Wiaan Mulder and Nandre Burger led a spirited fightback for the touring South Africans on day one of the second Test at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday.
South Africa, after winning the toss and batting first, were bowled out for 160 in 54 overs while the West Indies were 97-7 after 28.2 overs in reply, trailing by 63 runs at stumps on day one.
South Africa were made to rue their decision to bat first very quickly as Tony de Zorzi (1), Aiden Markram (14), Temba Bavuma (0) and Tristan Stubbs (26) all fell before the 25th over to leave them reeling at 57-4.
That quickly became 97-9 when Kyle Verreynne, their last recognized batsman, became Shamar Joseph’s fifth victim of the innings with just 36.1 overs on the board.
With the West indies seemingly on the brink of restricting South Africa to less than 100, Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger showed grit, fighting off some quality West Indian bowling on the way to a final wicket partnership of 63 before Burger finally fell off the bowling of Gudakesh Motie for 23 in the 54th over.
David Bedingham was South Africa’s top scorer in the first innings with 28.
Joseph finished with figures of 5-33 off 14 overs and was supported well by Jayden Seales who took 3-45, also from 14 overs.
The West Indian reply got off to a disappointing start when Mikyle Louis was bowled by Burger for a duck in the second over.
The hosts then continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as Kraigg Brathwaite (3), Alick Athanaze (1), Kavem Hodge (4), Keacy Carty (26), and Joshua Da Silva (4) all fell within the first 20 overs.
Jason Holder has so far provided the only meaningful resistance to the South African bowling with 33* while Gudakesh Motie’s wicket for 11 in the 29th over signaled the end of the day’s play.
Wiaan Mulder has dominated the West Indian batting so far with a career best 4-18 off six overs while Burger has taken 2-32 from his seven overs.
Full Scores:
South Africa 160 off 54 overs (David Bedingham 28, Tristan Stubbs 26, Shamar Joseph 5-33, Jayden Seales 3-45)
West Indies 97-7 off 28.2 overs (Jason Holder 33*, Keacy Carty 26, Wiaan Mulder 4-18, Nandre Burger 2-32)
West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell has made it clear that, contrary to popular belief, financial incentives are by no means the main reason why some Caribbean players don’t play Test cricket. To put it bluntly, they are just not interested.
The topic has been one floating around for some time, as it became clear that players, like Russell, are more drawn to Twenty20 cricket by the lucrative lure of popular leagues around the world and, as such, have shied away from the game’s longest format.
It again came to the fore late last year, when Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran, and Kyle Mayers turned down West Indies central contracts but made themselves available for T20 internationals.
In fact, earlier this year, both Holder and Mayers declined to take up spots in the West Indies team for the Test series against Australia, opting to pursue T20 opportunities instead. However, Holder has since made a return to the Test squad.
With speculations rife that T20s monetary payout has affected their commitment to Test cricket, Russell sought to clear the air on the matter.
“I don't think it's the money; I don't think money is the issue. Based on the number of T20 leagues around the world, I think a lot of players are just not interested in playing Tests,” Russell said in a recent interview with the Press Association.
His remarks come as West Indies currently sit at the bottom of the nine-team World Test Championship table after being swept 3-0 by England in a recent series. They have since secured a stalemate in the first Test of their ongoing series against South Africa.
Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Pooran, Rovman Powell, and Kieron Pollard were among the West Indians playing in The Hundred when the last Test against England was being played in late July. Among the highest-paid players in the league, they are still playing The Hundred as the series against South Africa heads into the second contest.
Though Pollard, Powell, and Pooran have never played Test cricket, Russell played one in 2010. Hetmyer has played 16 games, the last of which was in 2019.
“Red-ball cricket is not my cookie; I don't think my body will keep up with Test cricket,” Russell declared as he alluded to the rigorous schedule and the physical and mental toll Test cricket takes on a player.
“I'm always excited watching the other West Indian batters, especially when they're hitting boundary after boundary. As long as you can do well from contracts outside your nation, I think they are going to grab that opportunity, but everyone wants to play on the big stage. So, if the big stage comes in Test cricket, I know youngsters will be happy to play. I just don't think it's about money or anything like that,” he added.
Russell, known for his explosive performances in limited-overs formats and his significant contributions to the West Indies team, has long been a pivotal figure in international cricket.
Now 36, Russell has managed to stay at the top of his game in white-ball cricket, but it was not without hard work and sacrifice. He overcame a series of injuries over the years, the last of which was a knee injury that forced him out of the 2019 ODI World Cup after a few games.
“Red-ball cricket is not my cookie; I don't think my body will keep up with Test cricket,” Russell stressed.
“But those in the team at the moment are fit enough and taking on the challenge. They had a few moments in the Test series [against England] where they could have turned things around. Playing England at home is always going to be hard for the West Indies,” he noted.
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.
Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada starred on a rainy fourth day of the first Test between the West Indies and South Africa at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Saturday.
The West Indies, after starting the day 145-4, were eventually dismissed for 233 in 91.5 overs, trailing South Africa by 124, after the day’s first two sessions were rained out.
Jason Holder and Kavem Hodge, the not our batsmen overnight heading into the day, made 36 and 25, respectively while Jomel Warrican made a significant contribution with 35* batting at number 10.
Maharaj was causing consistent problems for the West Indies batsmen, eventually taking 4-76 off an impressive 40 overs while Rabada took 3-56 off 18 overs.
At stumps, South Africa reached 30-0 off five overs in their second innings, leading the West Indies by 154 runs. Tony de Zorzi was 14* and Aiden Markram 9*.
Full Scores:
South Africa 357 off 117.4 overs (Temba Bavuma 86, Tony de Zorzi 78, Wiaan Mulder 41*, Kyle Verreynne 39, Jomel Warrican 4-69, Jayden Seales 3-67, Kemar Roach 2-53) & 30-0 off 5 overs
West Indies 233 off 91.5 overs (Keacy Carty 42, Jason Holder 36, Kraigg Brathwaite 35, Mikyle Louis 35, Jomel Warrican 35*, Keshav Maharaj 4-76, Kagiso Rabada 3-56)
After starting positively on the opening day, which was lost to rain, West Indies bowlers were made to toil on Thursday’s second day as half-centuries from captain Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi propelled South Africa into a commanding position at 342-8 in the first Test at Queen’s Park Oval.
De Zorzi, the Proteas’ opening batter, was dismissed for 78 before lunch, while Bavuma was dismissed late in the day for 80, allowing West Indies to gradually claw their way back into the contest. Wiaan Mulder, not out on 37, and Kagiso Rabada, on 12, will resume batting for South Africa on Friday’s third day.
Jomel Warrican has been the pick of the Caribbean bowlers so far, with Kemar Roach (2-53) and Jayden Seales (2-57) also picking up key wickets.
Scores: South Africa 342 for 8 (Bavuma 86, de Zorzi 78, Warrican 3-66) vs West Indies
Resuming at 45-1 on a slow pitch that requires patience instead of flair, South Africa were initially kept quiet by West Indies' senior seamers Kemar Roach and Jason Holder, who started on good lengths but were punished as soon as they strayed.
While de Zorzi, who resumed on 32, got to his 50 off 78 balls, Tristan Stubbs (20) didn’t have the same luck as he edged a delivery from Roach to Holder in the slip cordon, adding only 18 to his overnight score of two.
Bavuma, in his first Test innings since March 2023, and de Zorzi kept West Indies at bay with a 51-run third wicket stand, which was eventually broken when the latter gloved to Kavem Hodge off Warrican shortly before the lunch interval.
After the break, Bavuma again dropped anchor and allowed his partner, David Bedingham, to take the fight to West Indies in a partnership worth 50 runs. Bedingham (29) later holed out to debutant Keacy Carty off Seales.
Ryan Rickelton (19) came and went shortly after watching Bavuma raise his 21st Test fifty. However, the captain was later trapped in front, and as the day draws to a close, Warrican struck twice, removing Kyle Vereynne (39) and Keshav Maharaj (zero) to keep West Indies in contention.
Rain put a damper on West Indies progress as only 15 overs were possible on the opening day of their first Test against South Africa at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday.
A fairly tidy display from the Caribbean bowlers restricted South Africa to 45-1 in the just over an hour’s play that was possible, as the visitors won the toss and opted to take first strike.
Jason Holder got that breakthrough when he bowled Aiden Markram (9) shortly before the showers came.
Tony de Zorzi, unbeaten on 32, and Tristan Stubbs, on two, will resume batting for South Africa on Thursday’s second day, weather permitting.
Play is scheduled to begin half-hour earlier at 9:30 am.
West Indies seamer Jayden Seales and batsman Kavem Hodge have been rewarded for their standout performances in the recently-concluded Test series against England, as both achieved career-best moves up the latest ICC Men’s Test bowling and batting rankings on Wednesday.
Though West Indies suffered a 3-0 whitewash in that ICC World Test Championship series, Seales emerged as a standout performer, as he earned the player of the series award for his 13 wickets snared across all three games.
That performance saw the 22-year-old Trinidadian move seven places up to a career-best 26th position, joining teammate Jason Holder, who held firm in that position.
Veteran seamer Kemar Roach remains the top-ranked West Indies bowler at 17th, with Alzarri following Seales and Holder as the next best-ranked player at 31st. Kyle Mayers (37th), Shannon Gabriel (43rd), Gudakesh Motie (52nd), Roston Chase (59th), Shamar Joseph (64th), Jomel Warrican (66th), and Rahkeem Cornwall (82nd) are the other Caribbean bowlers in the top 100.
On the batting chart, Hodge inched up three places to 72nd, following a credible display in the three-match series. The 31-year-old Dominican tallied 216 runs, including a maiden Test century.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite remains the highest-ranked West Indies batsman at 41st, with out-of-favor Jermaine Blackwood slipping to 52nd. Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua da Silva (62nd), Holder (70th), Mayer (76th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (86th), and Roston Chase (92nd) are also in the top 100.
Meanwhile, England batter Joe Root reclaimed the number one Test batting position after scoring 87 in the first innings of the third and final match against West Indies in Birmingham, which his side won by 10 wickets.
This is Root’s ninth stint as number one. His first tenure at the top of the rankings commenced in August 2015, and he was last at the top in June last year after a fine performance in the opening match of the Ashes series, also in Birmingham.
While Root overtook Kane Williamson to take the top spot, Babar Azam, Daryl Mitchell, Steve Smith, and Rohit Sharma have all gained a spot each as Harry Brook slipped to seventh position after attaining a career-best third position last week.
In the weekly update to the rankings that also takes into consideration performances in the Ireland versus Zimbabwe Test in Belfast, England captain Ben Stokes, who struck 54 in the first innings in Birmingham and a quickfire 57 not out off 28 balls in the second, has moved up four positions to 30th in the batting rankings.
Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams has re-entered the rankings in 33rd position after scores of 35 and 40, while England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith’s knock of 95 has lifted him 31 places to 64th position.
England fast bowler Mark Wood’s Player of the Match performance of two for 52 and five for 40 has lifted him into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time in his career.
Gus Atkinson of England (up four places to 46th), Blessing Muzarabani of Zimbabwe (re-entered in 50th position), and Mark Adair of Ireland (up three places to 63rd) are other notable gainers in the bowling rankings.
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Despite two crushing defeats to England so far in their ongoing ICC Test Championship three-match series, West Indies players remain on the up, at least where the ICC Men’s Test rankings are concerned.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.
The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.
On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.
Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.
Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.
Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.
Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.
In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.
Spirited efforts from Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze led an excellent West Indian batting performance on day two of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Replying to England’s 416 all out on day one, the West Indians reached 351-5 off 84 overs at stumps on day two, trailing their English counterparts by just 65 runs.
Openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis got proceedings off to a good start for the West Indies with a 53-run opening partnership despite a testing spell of bowling from Mark Wood which saw him record a delivery at 97.1 miles per hour.
That partnership ended in the 15th over when Louis went caught off the bowling of off-spinner Shoaib Bashir for 21.
The skipper and new batsman Kirk McKenzie put on a further 25 before Brathwaite was next to go in the 22nd over, caught at short leg by Ollie Pope off the bowling of first Test hero Gus Atkinson for a well-played 48, his highest score since a 75 in July 2023 against India in Port-of-Spain.
Then, on the stroke of lunch, McKenzie played an ill-advised shot off the bowling of Bashir to fall for 11 and leave the tourists 84-3 in the 25th over.
The post-lunch session then saw the Dominican pair of Hodge and Athanaze brilliantly navigating some probing bowling from the hosts.
Hodge did have one reprieve when he was dropped by Joe Root off the bowling of Wood in the 42nd over.
The pair carried on to put on 175 for the fourth wicket before Athanaze unfortunately fell 18 runs shy of a well-deserved maiden Test hundred off the bowling of England captain Ben Stokes in the 62nd over.
Hodge went on to bring up an excellent maiden Test ton of his own with a brilliant straight drive for four off Wood.
His hundred came off 143 balls and included 17 fours. He was eventually dismissed by Chris Woakes in the 75th over for 120 off 171 balls.
"It was important we put our heads down and took some info from the England first innings," Hodge told Sky Sports at the end of the day.
"We made use of a good batting track. It feels amazing [to make a century], it is always good to contribute to the team, especially coming off the first Test when we didn't do so well as a batting unit.
On the partnership with Athanaze, he added: "Facing [Mark] Wood, it is not every day you face a guy who bowls every single ball over 90 miles per hour. It was really important we got through that period as it would have been really difficult for a new batter to start against that."
The not out batsmen at the crease at stumps were Joshua Da Silva on 32* and Jason Holder on 23*. The pair have, so far, put on 46 for the sixth wicket.
Shoaib Bashir was England’s most successful bowler on the day with 2-100 from 23 overs.
Full Scores:
England 416 all out off 88.3 overs (Ollie Pope 121, Ben Duckett 71, Ben Stokes 69, Alzarri Joseph 3-98, Kavem Hodge 2-44, Kevin Sinclair 2-73, Jayden Seales 2-90)
West Indies 351-5 off 84 overs (Kavem Hodge 120, Alick Athanaze 82, Kraigg Brathwaite 48, Shoaib Bashir 2-100)
“The guys are ready to go.”
That is the declaration from West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, as his team targets a significantly improved batting performance in the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
After being hammered by an innings and 114 runs in the opening contest at Lord’s last week, West Indies require a win to not only level the three-match series but, more importantly, to lift their spirits and hopes of pulling off a series win in England for the first time since 1988. Whether they will produce an efficient enough performance to achieve the feat is left to be seen.
The Caribbean side only managed scores of 121 and 136 across both innings, while England only required one innings for their match-winning 371.
Despite that, Brathwaite backed his inexperienced batting line-up to bounce back, as the past few days have harboured much talk about their famous comeback against Australia in Gabba earlier this year.
"Obviously, it is a young team, and playing any Test match would always be a challenge for anyone that’s young. We’ve been here for a number of weeks now, and what is gone is gone. The first defeat is gone, the preparation period is gone, and I think the guys are in very good spirits, and mentally, it’s very important to believe in yourself,” Brathwaite said during a pre-game conference.
“The guys are ready to go. It’s pretty simple what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to bat a lot better. Obviously, we’ve got to find a way, which we’ve had some discussions around different things we can do better as a team. We’ve just got to put runs on the board. It’s simple,” he added.
Brathwaite takes a break after a training session. (Getty Images)
With only debutant Mikyle Louis (27), Kavem Hodge (24) and Alick Athanaze (23), Jason Holder, and Gudakesh Motie (31) offering very little resistance in the first Test, Brathwaite believes the disappointment should serve as motivation for his team heading into the second encounter.
“We have a motivation – we’ve got to be better than the first Test. The batsmen have to obviously put runs on the board and that’s our focus. I think once we remain disciplined, session by session, build partnerships that will put us in a good position in the overall result of the game. A few guys did get in but didn’t go on,” Brathwaite reasoned.
He continued: “It’s just important that you go on for longer because the longer you bat, the easier it becomes, and it’s important to stay in that plan for as long as possible. Obviously, you want to put away bad balls – that’s what every batsman wants to do – but it’s that hard work you do for 40 minutes, being able to take that to an hour and two hours.
“It’s a mixture of putting away the bad balls because when you put away the bad balls, it gives you confidence, so we just have to keep learning. I think a lot of learning would’ve taken place in the first Test, and we just have to believe in our ability and do it for longer periods.”
While he has been scrutinised for failing to lead from the front at the top of the order, Brathwaite argued that his lean spell has little to do with his captaincy.
The Barbadian, who is the most experienced player in the team with 90 Tests under his belt, has only tallied a paltry 44 runs in his last six innings.
“I enjoy captaining, I enjoy leading. I’ve been opening my whole life, so when I go out there to bat, it’s always to see off that new ball and be there as long as I can—that’s always my focus. I don’t see it as any added pressure. Yes, at times you don’t get runs, and it can be a little bit tough, but it is important to stay mentally tough and keep believing,” Brathwaite ended.
The West Indies are on the brink of a quick defeat at stumps on day two of the first of three Tests against England at Lord’s.
The tourists ended Thursday 79-6 off 34.5 overs, needing a further 171 runs to force England to bat again.
Similar to the first innings, the West Indian top order failed to impress as Kraigg Brathwaite (4), Kirk McKenzie (0), Mikyle Louis (14) and Kavem Hodge (4) all fell within the first 20 overs of the innings with the West Indies teetering at just 37.
Alick Athanaze was next to go after battling hard for 22 to leave the West Indies 55-5 in the 29th over before Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva looked set to see out the English bowling for the rest of the day.
This proved not to be the case as Holder became Gus Atkinson’s ninth wicket of his magical debut in the day’s last over for 20 to leave the West Indies 79-6 off 34.5 overs at stumps.
Joshua Da Silva was 8* at the close of play.
James Anderson, Atkinson and skipper Ben Stokes have taken two wickets, each, so far.
Earlier, the hosts progressed to 371 all out off 90 overs after beginning day two 189-3.
Both overnight batsmen, Joe Root and Harry Brook, went on to bring up their fifties.
Root eventually fell for a 114-ball 68 including seven fours while Brook made an even 50 off 64 balls including five fours and a six.
The top scorer on the day, however, was debutant Jamie Smith who hit eight fours and two sixes on his way to a 119-ball 70.
On his return to the Test arena, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 4-77 from 20 overs.
Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder provided good support for Seales with 2-41 off 16 overs and 2-58 off 18 overs, respectively.
Full Scores:
West Indies 121 all out off 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27, Gus Atkinson 7-45) & 79-6 off 34.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 22, James Anderson 2-11, Ben Stokes 2-25, Gus Atkinson 2-27)
England 371 all out off 90 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 50, Jayden Seales 4-77, Gudakesh Motie 2-41, Jason Holder 2-58)
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