New Delhi:
The Barbados Test on day 2 witnessed plenty of action as 18 wickets tumbled, with Kemar Roach taking 5/17 to bowl England out for 77. Earlier, James Anderson had taken his 27th five-wicket haul and after being bowled out cheaply, West Indies lost six wickets but stretched their lead to 339. However, day 3 witnessed a polar opposite and saw the batsmen dominate with a vengeance. Such was the domination that not a single wicket was lost. The third day in Barbados saw skipper Jason Holder create a new record and enhance his reputation as one of the best all-round skippers currently in the game.
Holder shared a record 295-run stand for the seventh wicket with Shane Dowrich, who hit 116. In the process, West Indies ended on 415/6 declared and set England a target of 628. In response, England reached 56/0 as the hosts dominated proceedings. In the process, Holder created several records. His 202 was the first double ton by a West Indies skipper against England ever since Brian Lara’s world record 400* in 2004 in Antigua. The partnership of 295 for the seventh wicket is the third-highest in the history of cricket, behind 347 set by West Indies duo of Clairmonte Depeiaza and Denis Atkinson against Australia in Bridgetown in 1955 and 308 by Imtiaz Ahmed and Waqar Hasan against New Zealand in Lahore in 1955.
Holder also blasted eight sixes, which is the most sixes by a West Indian captain in an innings. Ever since May 2018, Holder has averaged 45 with the bat, which is better than his counterpart Joe Root and his bowling average is a mere 12, which is far better than Anderson’s 20. In 2018, Holder entered the history books as he took 33 wickets in the year at an average of 12, taking four five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. This was the best bowling average for a bowler in 100 years.
Holder was fifth in the list of highest Test wicket-takers in 2018 behind South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, who took 46 wickets from nine Tests, England’s Jimmy Anderson who snared 42 wickets in 10 Tests followed by Stuart Broad (35 in 10 Tests) and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj (34 in eight Tests).
