Darren Sammy happy with Test series end – Cricket News Update
West Indies skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 at Edgbaston, terming it a “good end” to the 3-match Test series.
“The play we got (at Edgbaston) we really dominated. That was a good end to a three-Test series,” Sammy said.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 earlier
this year, which saw both the ODI and T20 series end in draws (2-2, and 1-1, respectively), marked a significant improvement in team’s performances.
Despite maintaining an upper hand at some points in the Test series against Australia, the Windies eventually lost the series, 2-0 (3).
The extended-overs leg of the England tour spelled a similar fate for the visitors. The first Test at Lord’s saw them unable to keep up with the Poms, despite significant contributions from seniors http://www.senore.com/Cricket/S-Chanderpaul-c2390 (87*,
91) – the tourists eventually conceded a 5-wicket defeat.
The team displayed a stronger start in the second Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, posting a total of 370 in their first innings, courtesy centuries by Samuels (117) and Sammy (106). However, their bowlers were unable to restrict the English batsmen, who
went on to claim a 9-wicket victory.
The third Test, however, marked the Windies’ best recent performance in the longer format of the game. With the first two days washed out owing to rain, the teams had only an innings each to prove themselves.
The Windies top order, which had failed to make any significant contributions throughout the series, once again fell without much of a fight. However, a 76 by Samuels was followed up by a brilliant century by wicket-keeper batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/D-Ramdin-c1299 (107), and
a superb lower-order contribution by number 11 batsman Tino Best, who chipped in with a stellar 95, in addition to establishing a record 143-run last-wicket partnership with Ramdin.
The Windies had begun day 4 at 280 for 8, and finished their innings with a total of 426 on the board. The English batsmen put forth a lacklustre display, and ended at 221 on the fourth day. The Test appeared to be in the West Indies grasp, but rain on the
fifth day led to the match being declared a draw.
“The way Marlon (Samuels) batted, the way Shiv (Chanderpaul) batted and the lower-order contributions, it was good to see,” Sammy said, praising his team’s performances.
However, he went on to observe that certain improvements were also desired.
“There’s a lot of work to do,” he said. “When you look at the three Test matches, three times we scored over 300 runs. We did so with our top order not really coming to the party.”
Tags: