There were centuries for captain, Chris Gayle, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, but the West Indies battled hard before securing a first innings lead over England on an attritional day three of the first Digicel Test of the Digicel Series 2009 at Sabina Park on Friday.
The home team, in front of an enthusiastic crowd of close to 8,000, took stumps on 352 for seven in reply to England’s first innings total of 318.
Gayle completed his ninth test century, and first in front of his fellow Jamaicans, before falling for 104. The powerful 29-year-old blasted five fours and five sixes off 191 deliveries.
Gayle and Sarwan stretched their overnight partnership to 202 after the West Indies resumed on 160 for one.
Sarwan, in his 75th Test, posted his 12th hundred and also became the youngest West Indian, aged 28 years, 228 days, to cross 5,000 test runs. The Guyanese right-hander hit ten fours off 290 balls.
Brendan Nash, the Aussie-born left-hander, playing his first Test in the island of his parents, contributed an important and unbeaten 47.
Wicket-keeper, Denesh Ramdin, added an eye-pleasing 35 and shared a sixth wicket stand of 66 with Nash, just when the innings was at a crossroads at 254 for five.
England’s attack was led by Stuart Broad, with three for 61, and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, with two for 57. But all five bowlers produced disciplined performances that limited the home team to 192 runs off 90 overs for the day.
After Gayle and Sarwan had occupied most of the morning session in consolidating West Indies’ advantage, Broad made a vital double breakthrough in the penultimate over before lunch.
Gayle, who raced from 86 to 101 with two successive sixes off Monty Panesar followed by a sweep for three, was eventually bowled off the inside edge by one that kept low.
Two balls later, Xavier Marshall followed for a duck as he was plainly LBW.
The West Indies went to lunch at 224 for three and were stifled in a second session that produced 47 runs off 30 overs.
West Indies lost the vital wickets of Sarwan, who dragged a square cut onto his stumps off Flintoff, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, for 20.
Chanderpaul was LBW to Broad, even after challenging the decision via the TV review system.
England was sniffing a chance to run through the home team’s lower order but Nash, calmly assured, and Ramdin, who played some delightful strokes, quickly dulled the visitors’ edge.
Ramdin timed the ball as beautifully as any batsman in the match. His whipped pull off Broad for his fourth boundary, was the undisputed shot of the day.
But just after the pair took the Caribbean side into the lead, Ramdin provided Panesar with his first wicket as he edged a drive to slip.
Nash remained until the end, but England gained another breakthrough, deserving a reward for a probing performance when Steve Harmison trapped Jerome Taylor for a LBW for eight. Sulieman Benn compiled a busy, unbeaten 10 by the close.
