Heading into the final day’s play in the second Test between West Indies and England, Shamarh Brooks reckons passing the follow-on total and the time spent at the crease will be instrumental in deciding the outcome of the match.
England were 219 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand after West Indies were contained to 287 in their first innings. England reached 37 for two at the close of play.
Speaking to the media at the virtual press conference, the West Indies middle order batsman said that England are in a tough position owning to the fact that his side cleared the follow-on total, thus making it difficult for the hosts to push for the win.
“Definitely,” he responded when asked about the importance of clearing the follow-on while adding, “I mean yesterday (Saturday) being rained out is a crucial day lost in this Test match and we knew the situation having had to come today and try to bat as long as possible.”
He went on to note, “Yes it is a runs game and trying to save the follow on is important but the more time we bat, the harder it makes for England to come and get a result in this game.”
Brooks explained, “I guess they know they are behind the eight ball and they know they need to make some runs in this game and I guess those are the two guys to really take it to us so it wasn’t surprising at all to see them open the batting.”
When asked about the score England could possibly post in order to force a result, the Barbadian replied, “I personally think they are going to give us 360-370 to let us bat, it all depends on the time they spend to get those runs I think we just need to make it as difficult as possible and make them spend as much time out there batting so they don’t get the opportunity to bowl to us.”
If West Indies do bat a second time, the 31-year-old related that the start is going to be crucial as well as the team’s position on chasing the target or playing for the draw.
“I think the start is going to be most important, I think most innings start well. I guess we will have to come to a decision if we are going to chase the runs or look to make it a draw game so I guess as a team we will discuss that and choose the best way forward,” he said.
Brooks clarified that pushing for a win is not out of the question but dependent on the target set.
“[I am] Not saying chasing the runs is out of the question but it depends on how much they give us to chase, I still think the wicket is a decent wicket to bat on, as I said before the new ball just did a bit out of the ordinary this evening and it is something to look at so I believe after you see out that new ball then you can look at chasing the runs,” he stated.
Brooks reflected on what he saw during the Caribbean side’s innings and indicated that the new ball played an important role in putting the game in the position it currently is in.
“Well if you look at some of the dismissals after the new ball was taken like [Jermaine] Blackwood’s for instance, that ball kept really low, I mean I didn’t see that when I was batting earlier when they were bowling their older ball so I guess that new ball really did play a big part in terms of the loss of wickets we did had and I guess credit must go to Stuart Broad, I think he came back and bowled with the new ball along with [Chris] Woakes,” he reckoned.
He further added, “When I went out there the ball wasn’t as hard early on, I found that that ball was playing relatively ok, it was when the new ball came back then the ball started to misbehave a bit so I guess it would have been in the back of our minds that the new ball in our side of the innings but watching how it played this evening when they batted I think it was really good so you never know what could happen tomorrow [today].”
