WI vs ENG, 1st Test: Holder, Bonner rescue hosts
Middle-order batter Nkrumah Bonner and all-rounder Jason Holder rescued West Indies after they lost quick wickets on Day 2 of the ongoing 1st Test against England at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. West Indies were reduced to 127/4 even though openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell added 83 runs. Earlier, England were bowled out for 311, with Jonny Bairstow scoring a ton.
England resumed from their overnight score of 268/6 on Day 2. They were bundled out for 311 in the first session. Pace spearhead Jayden Seales finished with four wickets. WI were off to a terrific start, with Brathwaite and Campbell sharing an 83-run stand. However, the England seamers struck in the second session. Bonner and Holder led WI's fightback in the final session (202/4).
Bairstow anchored the England innings with a spectacular ton on Day 1. He took the visitors from 57/4 to 268/6, having slammed his eighth Test century. Alzarri Joseph dismissed the former, who scored 140 off 259 deliveries (21 fours).
Young pacer Jayden Seales was the pick of WI's bowlers. He took four wickets for 79 runs in 22 overs (six maiden overs). The 20-year-old fell short of recording his second five-wicket haul in Tests. Meanwhile, the likes of Kemar Roach, Holder, and Joseph snapped up two wickets apiece. Veerasammy Permaul and Brathwaite chipped in with a total of 16 overs.
Brathwaite and Campbell scored some crucial runs in the first hour for West Indies. The former slammed his 24th half-century in Test cricket. However, the duo departed soon after WI crossed the 100-run mark. WI also lost Shamarh Brooks and Jermaine Blackwood in quick succession. Holder (43*) and Bonner (34*) returned unbeaten as the Caribbeans finished on 202/4 at stumps.
