West Indies v England Test Series: Athanaze, DaSilva half-centuries highlight final day of warm-up
A drawn result was on the cards for West Indies Test team on Friday, as they wrapped up in-game preparation for their upcoming three-match Test series against England.
There was an early interruption in play on Friday at the Kent County Cricket Ground, with rain in the morning session. After finally resuming the day’s play on 57-2, Mikyle Louis did little to trouble the scores further, as he departed after facing two more balls. At the other end, Alick Athanaze cemented his spot and went on to slam a half century, after West Indies lost the wickets of Tevin Imlach and Jason Holder for a duck and 18 off 22 balls respectively.
Athanaze hit 66 in 99 deliveries, encompassing 11 boundaries, while Joshua DaSilva was also in fine touch, notching 51 in 69 deliveries, inclusive of six fours.
West Indies eventually declared at 196-5, leaving their opponents of the First-Class Counties (FCC) Select XI needing 163 runs for victory.
Alick Athanaze executes a shot (George Halfhide photo)
In that chase, Harry Singh was removed for a duck by Jeremiah Louis while Johann Layne removed Jamal Richards for 6 runs from 12 balls.
Hamza Shaikh remained unbeaten on 17 from 28 while Bertie Foreman added just two runs in 15 balls before close of play was called. With FCC finishing on 30-2, the match resulted in a draw.
Following the game, Assistant Coach Jimmy Adams shared that the Windies have gotten what they needed out of their preparation.
“I think so. What we would’ve wanted to get from the time that we’ve spent, we’ve gotten. The weather has been kind to us, we know it can get a bit rough here, weather-wise, in England. So, all in all, we’re pretty happy with what the weather has allowed, the facilities that we’ve been given and what the guys have been able to do since they’ve come here,” Adams shared.
Joshua DaSilva brought up the second half-century on Day 3 (George Halfhide photo)
He went on to respond to enquiries about the areas in which he has been helping the team, especially the batters and their reception to such.
Adams expressed, “It’s just to give them a little bit of a heads-up on what conditions may be like; at the end of the day, they’re going to have to experience it for themselves. It’s a really good group, I think, in terms of their ability to, and their willingness to, learn. Some of them went to Australia a few months back and they showed this capacity to learn very quickly and I’m hoping that that continues.”
“As a coach, you can’t ask for more than that. They work hard, they learn quickly and what we can do is to give them a heads-up on what to expect, both in terms of conditions and opposition,” the former player added.
West Indies will begin their Test series against hosts England at the legendary Lord’s Ground on Wednesday, July 10.
