After a pleasant display of batting by the West Indies “A” team in India against India “A,” the West Indies bowlers took control and bowled splendidly in the first three un-official Test matches with each Test schedule for four days.
West Indies “A” team batted first and scored 429 runs. During the first day of the Test match West Indies “A” team scored 264 runs for 5 wickets with captain Kirk Edwards scoring 91 and opener Kraig Brathwaite 92. Brathwaite and Edwards scored a 112-run partnership for the second wicket. Guyanese batsman Assad Fudadin scored 86 not out.
India “A” Team Crumbles for 245 All Out
Veera Sammy Permaul, 5 for 85, and Nikita Miller, 4 for 61, took control of the proceedings and had the India “A” batsmen in all sorts of trouble. Both spinners are left-handed and they created havoc on the opposition by bowling out India’s “A” team for 245 runs.
West Indies batted a second time and declared at 130 for 4 with opener Kieran Powell scoring 68 from 88 balls with nine fours and one six. India “A” was given 315 runs to win and they were skittled out for 152 runs. Miller, 5 wickets for 40 runs, and Sammy Permaul, 3 for 56. Narsingh Deonarine picked up two wickets also as India “A” team was crushed by 162 runs.
Senior Windies Team Must emulate “A” Team
The victorious Windies “A” team celebrated a big victory after the first of three unofficial Test matches. Windies “A” team won the first Test but wide margin because some top performances from their top order batsmen and spinner what was significant was the manner in which both bowlers and batsmen carried through successfully. West Indies senior team ought to focus much more on batsmen going on for big scores and bowlers gathering wickets much frequently. Pressure must always be put on the batting side of the opposition via constantly falling of wickets. West Indies senior squad has grown to strength with a mixture of experience and a few young players that are super talented.
Most of the younger West Indies players have been exposed to international competition and the West Indies selectors should find it quite easy to select 14 or 15 players for a tour. Bowlers and batsmen should be in top form. The West Indies team has a fair opportunity of winning more ICC titles because of its strengths.
