KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Fidel Edwards erased many of the questions that his international career may have come to an abrupt end, following a career-threatening back injury.
The 29-year-old fast bowler collected four wickets for 56 runs from 16 overs on his return to the West Indies team, leading the way as India were dismissed for 246 in their first innings on the opening day of the first Test at Sabina Park yesterday.
“It was a good feeling to get back onto the field and doing so well, after not playing for so long, so it was a good start for me,” said Edwards.
“It was hard seeing that Roach got left out, but I was glad that I was playing, and I took the opportunity.
“We have our final team meetings on the evening before every match, so I was told about it [on Sunday] evening. I was a bit nervous, but not a lot. Just a bit!”
“Right now, my body is feeling alright. It is good to make my comeback in Jamaica, after not playing for so long.”
Edwards removed Virat Kohli in the final over before lunch, but he returned in an impressive third spell from the newly-christened Courtney Walsh End on the northern side of the ground to flatten India’s lower order, after Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh had staged a recovery.
“I was ineffective in my opening spell because it was a lack of match practice,” he said.
“I have not played a lot of top-class matches leading up to this Test, and bowling first up, was a bit harsh for me, but I got into my groove after that.
“The pitch has some bounce, but it is not as fast as I would like it. It is a bit two-paced.
“The ball was swinging a bit early on, so we tried to bowl in good areas, and bowl one side of the wicket before trying to mix it up to each batsman.”
Edwards said everything had fallen into place for West Indies with India choosing to bat – meaning the home team would field first as they had planned – and being dismissed for a manageable total.
“Our plan was to bowl them out for 250 or something less,” he said. “After having them 85 for six, we thought we could bowl them out for less than 150, but Harbhajan played a good innings, and Raina as well.
“We would like to get at least 400 runs on this track, and try to bat once. The pitch is turning a lot, quite sharply.”
West Indies resume on 34 for one this morning.
