Truth be told, last Saturday night, only a handful of the endling West Indies Test cricket fans bothered to change the channel on their television sets at 9.30 pm to view the fifth day of the First Test match versus Bangladesh.
The pessimism of those who opted for a movie instead, was well founded. The West Indies were once again in their customary position of recent times; dire straits and seemingly listing towards another resounding defeat, hoping for nature’s intervention in the form of rain. Having been outplayed for the first four days, the West Indies commenced the final day on 110 for three wickets, chasing 395 for victory, a target never achieved on the Indian subcontinent.
The bare wicket was perfect for the battery of Bangladeshi spinners who were surely relishing the prospect of shattering the lineup of meek lambs awaiting the inevitable slaughter. The team was bereft of six first-choice players who had foregone the tour because of pandemic concerns. The overnight, middle-order batsmen, Nkrumah Bonner and Kyle Mayers, were Test debutants, (the latter two of the first trio of debutants to occupy the 3-4-5 positions since 1946) and only the feisty, experienced Jermaine Blackwood, due next, loomed as a potential threat. The rest of the line up? With the possible exception of wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva, playing in only his second Test, Bangladesh must have felt they would probably succumb just quickly as they did in the first innings, when the West Indies folded and lost their last five wickets for a paltry six runs. Prior to the team’s departure for Bangladesh, former West Indies Captain Sir Clive Lloyd penned an open letter to the team encouraging the players to the “seize the opportunity”. In it he noted that he had received his first cap when he replaced the injured Seymour Nurse just 45 minutes before the First Test in India in 1966, and became a fixture in the side for 35 straight matches. “You have been chosen on merit,” Lloyd stated. “This is your destiny. It is your opportunity to fulfil it. This is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate your talents and skills to the world and prove to all and sundry that you’re not second-class cricketers.
“… You should be proud to wear that West Indies blazer and cap. You are representing one of the best cricketing nations which possesses an enviable record of which we are very proud.”
Mayers and Bonner were up for the challenge and seized the opportunity with both hands. Devoid of any nightmare memories of the 2018/19 Bangladesh Tour, where the West Indies lost both Tests inside of three days, the pair rode their luck. The hosts muffed three chances to dislodge them during the first session and the West Indies lunched with 197 on the scoreboard. The pair held firm in the tight second session, as only 69 were added, during which Mayers became only the 14th West Indian to score a century on Test debut. Soon after the resumption, Bonner was dismissed for 86, but the partnership had yielded 216, only the second double century partnership by Test debutants. With Blackwood experiencing a rush of blood to the head and charging down the wicket, the West Indies, delicately poised at 292 for 5, with only the tail to come, appeared ready to wave the white flag. However, the Bangladeshi spinners had not counted on the ‘Kyle Mayers Show’. With Da Silva holding the fort at the other end, Mayers cut loose. In the second session, Mayers had played second fiddle to the more aggressive Bonner, eking out 25 runs. Now, well set, he plundered the spin attack as he led the West Indies charge to a miraculous victory. He dominated the even century, fourth-wicket partnership, as he swatted his way to an astounding double century, in just shy of seven hours, inclusive of 20 boundaries and seven mighty sixes. Mayers’ undefeated knock of 210, placed him in rare company in the record books. He joins an elite group of six batsmen, inclusive of fellow West Indians George Headley and Gordon Greenidge, with second innings double centuries; Greenidge and Mayers being the only two to achieve the feat in a winning cause. Mayers and Bonner, no doubt, drew rare smiles from the coaching staff, as they displayed the willingness to be patient and very selective at the wicket. Their appetite for runs and hunger to occupy the crease are characteristics which have been sadly lacking on a consistent basis in the West Indies middle order in recent series. Battling on a wicket very much in favour of the host’s attack neither fazed nor deterred the duo from the onerous task at hand, as they demonstrated a high level of mental toughness. Against all odds, the debutants might have reignited the flame of hope for West Indies cricket, after leading their side to an improbable three wicket win with 15 balls to spare. Former Captain Sir Viv Richards was “absolutely buzzing” with the winning feeling when he tweeted early on Sunday morning, “What a sensational win… We never stop fighting and that’s what we proved today…”
But let’s shelve the champagne and the victory celebrations of the fifth highest successful run chase in Test cricket history for the moment, as there is still one more Test match in the series. Where do the West Indies stand after this miraculous victory? Will this Test serve as the cornerstone for the players to finally believe that they are capable of performing as a team at the highest level of the game, under any challenging condition, both at home and abroad? Is it just another flash-in-the-pan replay of the 2017 Headingley Test match in England, where the West Indies cruised to victory by five wickets whilst chasing 322, only to meander back to their losing ways of yore, shortly thereafter? Or is this finally the changing of the guard that West Indies cricket fans have waited so patiently for over the last umpteen years?
With Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan scheduled to visit later in the year the West Indies selectors now have the good problem of having too many middle order batsmen to choose from. So, from hereon, it will be score consistently or sit, as no one will be guaranteed a place in the lineup. Those batsmen who chose to forego the Bangladesh Tour will have to deliver their ‘A’ game at the regional level, since two of the replacement selections have heeded the words of Sir Clive Lloyd and seized the opportunity.
The Second Test match commences tomorrow in Dhaka. The players need to remain focused on the task at hand and return to the Caribbean proud of their performance in the rather formidable conditions.
