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BY BRYAN DAVIS

IN an exciting climax to the first Test match on Sunday, the fourth day, between WI and Pakistan at Sabina Park, Kingston, WI emerged victors by one wicket.
This was a pulsating game of Test cricket where fortunes fluctuated throughout so that anyone could have been the eventual winner.
I was very proud of the fighting spirit shown by WI, right down to number 11 batsman, 19-year-old Jayden Seales. He was rewarded as Player of the Match for his bowling effort of five wickets for 55 runs, which turned the game on its head in the Pakistanis’ second innings, and his composure at the end while batting with the experienced Kemar Roach.
However, credit must be given to the manner in which the captain, Kraigg Brathwaite (28), approached his innings of 97 in the first innings as a lesson to the young and budding Test cricketers on the team, plus others on the fringe.
Although lacking in flourish and elegance, nonetheless, they were compensated satisfactorily by determination, bred from dedication to the task at hand. Any batsman would be proud to possess those virtues that are so necessary to the art of batsmanship.
Unfortunately, Brathwaite could not repeat his excellence in the second innings.
It is not often that one can witness such doggedness to ensure a proper first-innings score. His end came in the only way that was possible on that particular day, through the run-out route. His own enthusiasm betrayed him, when, playing the ball past the leg slip, he took off with speed for a couple of runs.
He should have stopped when he turned for the second and saw the ball in the fielder’s hands; that piece of bad judgement cost him a Test century plus a better first-innings score for his team.
The 23-year-old Joshua Da Silva, the wicket-keeper, only playing in his 8th Test, has been applying himself well and the selectors are showing confidence in him, which is a good sign. He claimed eight catches behind the stumps in the game, which is a noteworthy performance.
His batting needs more first-class matches. Unfortunately for him and other batsmen, the first-class season and club cricket were cancelled for 2021 and halted in 2020 before its completion. For all batsmen, these are tough times for development. However, he’s a fighter. which is vital.
Then there’s Seales. What a bright prospect he is! At his tender age, Seales seems to be bursting with the positive energy that is necessary to encourage fast bowlers. He has a lithe approach to the bowling crease and an economical action with a high delivery. He’s a strong lad and if well looked after he ought to be doing lots of bowling for the WI in the future. He has what it takes. All the attributes of skill, plus he moves the ball off the pitch as well as bowling the outswinger, employing an off-cutter with the old ball. He has to be carefully used, in a similar manner to the way the great West Indian fast bowlers of 20-40 years ago were carefully used and never overextended.
Jason Holder is still only 29. His presence on the field always reflects a positive and confident outlook now that he only has to concentrate on his cricket. He is obviously a great influence on the other players, and his batting and bowling are at such a mature stage that he’ll always be a good example to those on the team and especially the inexperienced youth.
Removing the burden of captaincy from him certainly helped his and WI’s cricket. He and his captain in the first innings accumulated a partnership of 96 crucial runs, Holder’s contribution being 58. Jermaine Blackwood is an enigma that I’m still trying to work out. He always seems so busy, full of anxiety, reflected in his constant shuffling about at the crease, minus any calm or quiet confidence. When he’s looking good while batting, he would suddenly make some outlandish stroke and be dismissed. If he’s lucky he may get away with it, but at the international level, especially in Test matches, he should be more selective in his strokeplay.
He’s 29 years old and the vice-captain, so he should show more responsibility. Though he possesses natural ability, nevertheless he has to learn how to play an innings, meaning, to stitch it together.
WI need batsmen and because of the paucity of first-class games, they need longer hours than usual in the nets.
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