John Campbell’s unbeaten 58 helped West Indies take 1-0 lead in Antigua after beating Bangladesh by 7 wickets in the opening Test of the two-match series.
John Campbell clubbed the winning six as West Indies needed only seven overs of the Day 04.
He hit nine fours and one six in his 58 not out, while Jermaine Blackwood, at the other end, was undefeated on 26 after the pair came to their team’s rescue with an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 79.
West Indies scored 265 in their first innings, while Bangladesh were bowled out for 103 and 245.
The captain Kraigg Brathwaite has been a significant factor in West Indies’ rise in the last 18 months. He made the highest score (94) across all four innings in the Antigua Test against Bangladesh.
West Indies’ head coach Phil Simmons said after their seven-wicket win over Bangladesh that he felt Kraigg Braithwaite was growing as a captain with his calm and composed personality.
“I think there is not much to say because everybody has seen his (Braithwaite) determination and his unique style,” Simmons said on Sunday (June 19).
“He doesn’t have a problem being in there for five days and doing his job which is unique because a lot of batsmen nowadays want to play shots and be done with it. But from his point of view, he wants to be there all the time for his team and that rolls into the captaincy.
“(He) is not loud, but the players know what he wants and in his unique way he makes them understand this is what I want from you and he seems to be growing in the role as we go along and more decisions that he is making, he has been great,” he added.
Simmons also said that opener John Campbell’s unbeaten 58 runs in the second innings against Bangladesh will give Campbell to loads of confidence going forward.
“I think it (unbeaten 58 against Bangladesh) is important for him. I think he had really good starts in most of the games and failing to get past that 30 to 40 mark… so 50 not out must give him some kind of confidence that he can go on and get that big score and hopefully in the next Test match,” he said.
The 2nd Test starts on Friday at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Saint Lucia.