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| Darren Sammy chats with team manager Richie Richardson. |
DARREN Sammy’s ‘creep-before-you-walk’ philosophy seems to be working a treat.
During two topsy-turvy sessions in Mirpur on Saturday, the West Indies completed a sensational, come-from-behind victory over Bangladesh in the first of two Tests.
Buoyed by their World T20 triumph last month, it appears that the Caribbean side, after more than a decade in the doldrums, is finally on the comeback path to some form of prosperity, if not success.
“We have a team goal which we want to achieve, but it is a going to be a step-by-step process,” said captain Sammy, a painfully undistinguished cricketer, however, easily one of the best motivators of men in the modern game.
“It is important to win matches and it’s a challenge we put on ourselves, just like we forced ourselves to try and win the T20 World Cup. We achieved that and now we are looking forward to this series [against Bangladesh].”
Since their last trip to Bangladesh, exactly a year ago, where they won the Test series 1-0 and the ODIs 2-1, the West Indies have lost three Test series.
But still, the positive change in their approach to the gentleman’s game has been clear to see, especially during their dominant series win over New Zealand in August.
“We have to perform on the cricket field, that’s where it counts,” said Sammy. “We came here [to Bangladesh] with one mission: To win all three series.”
A brief look at the scorecard from the first Test: West Indies won the toss and chose to bat on what was initially a docile pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. Racking up 527-4 dec. over the first two days, it seemed like the right call at the time.
Veteran bat Shivnarine Chanderpaul was his typical self, patient and composed, as he returned to the pavilion unbeaten on 203, equalling his previous best against South Africa in Georgetown in 2005.
Denesh Ramdin, for much of his career desperately short on runs, recorded his second Test century of the year, an unbeaten 126, while rookie opener Kieran Powell, playing in only his 12th Test, scored 117.
With yet another century in the second innings, 22 year-old Powell would later be named Man of the Match.
In reply, Bangladesh played with typical determination, combining their efforts for a remarkable 556 all out, handing them an unlikely lead of 29 runs.
The West Indies, led once again by Powell at the top of the order with 110, was bowled out in their second innings for 273, leaving Bangladesh to chase just over 200 for victory from the final two sessions of the match.
But a fiery Tino Best had other ideas, and striking on either side of lunch, took a career-best five for 24 as the West Indies routed the hosts for 167, ensuring what in the end turned out to be a comfortable 77-run victory.
“We have said from the beginning, we have a lot of respect for Bangladesh and we are not going to take them lightly,” said Sammy in his final post-match analysis.
“Had we taken them for granted, the result of their first innings total would have caused panic in the dressing room.
“But to see that we battled our way throughout the Test and came out victorious will definitely be a boost to the confidence that we already had coming out of the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament.
“It will also help to improve the attitudes of players whenever we take to the field and face a difficult task.”
All told, the match yielded 1 523 runs, 34 wickets, a double centurion, five century innings, a six-for, a five-for and one hell of a finish.
It was the fifth triumph for the West Indies in nine Tests against Bangladesh. In stark contrast, it was the 64th defeat in 74 Tests for the hosts.
“It was a difficult pitch for the bowlers,” Sammy added. “We knew we needed to get ten wickets to win the match and we backed our bowlers to put the ball in the right areas. Once we were patient, we knew we could get the wickets.
“We always had a belief that we could get a victory, and no matter how hard they [Bangladesh] fought, we always felt we would come out on top.” (AH)
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