NORTH SOUND, Antigua – West Indies dispensed with flair and charisma for the virtues of grind and attrition, as they wore down luckless England yesterday, to drive home their advantage on a compelling second day of the second Test.
Confronted with a two-paced and unpredictable surface at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, West Indies batsmen displayed rare discipline and graft in an admirable all-day batting effort to finish on 272 for for six, in reply to England’s disappointing 187 on Thursday’s opening day.
Importantly, they lead by 85 runs, already a precious advantage going into today’s Day 3, with left-hander Darren Bravo unbeaten on a hard-fought 33 and first Test hero and captain Jason Holder on 12.
Uncharacteristically, Bravo hardly played a shot in anger, facing 165 balls and hitting two fours, while Holder followed suit, his knock consuming 58 deliveries with a single boundary.
The pair have so far added 36 for the seventh wicket, a partnership which frustrated England who seemed poised to run through the lower order after removing plucky wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich for 31, 55 minutes after tea.
Both Bravo and Dowrich took their cue from the patience exhibited by the top order as Kraigg Brathwaite top-scored with 49, opening partner John Campbell got 47 and Shai Hope chipped in with 44.
No batsman really dominated on a pitch which made fluent stroke-play difficult, and veteran seamer Stuart Broad exploited the conditions brilliantly to finish with three for 42, while off-spinner Moeen Ali picked up two for 54 (CMC)
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