LAHORE-Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has lauded West Indies skipper Jason Holder for leading his side to a stunning win against England in the first Test of the three-match series.
West Indies on Sunday registered an inspiring four-wicket triumph against England on the final day of the first Test at the Ageas Bowl, which gave them 1-0 lead in the series. Crediting the victory to captain Holder, Ramiz said: “Jason Holder had written an excellent script for his bowlers and took them along confidently, which helped his side stun the hosts,” Ramiz said this on his YouTube channel.
He said that the West Indies maintained their dominance throughout the first Test and played very positive cricket. “It is a very big victory for them as in the past, they’ve not been able to win many matches in England. Probably, they got this historic win because they’d arrived one month prior to start of the series due to the COVID-19. They got plenty of time to get acclimatised with the conditions, which proved very fruitful for them.”
“Early arrival in England gave the West Indies players a chance to sit together and get familiar with each other, which helped them enhance harmony among them. Then, I am sure they will have also become spur on due to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ logo on their shirts. This factor also worked for them,” he added.
Ramiz said England had a strong bowling attack but the West Indies got an upper hand on them at that front. “England have a fancy bowling attack. Probably, they’ve got the world’s best fast bowling attack. They’ve highly talented pacer Archer, who is a great wicket-taking option. Similarly, they’ve Wood, who bowls at 95 to 96 miles per hour. Then, they’ve Anderson, who is a king of seam and swing bowling. But the West Indies did the wonders as they bowled better than them.”
He noted that the base of West Indies bowling was discipline. “They bowled in the same area and did not run after wickets. They exhibited patience and waited for the inexperienced England batting lineup to commit mistakes. “England batsmen committed mistakes both in the first and second innings. Credit also goes to Holder and Gabriel for their superb piece of bowling. The former picked up six wickets in the first innings, while the latter claimed five-for in the second innings,” he concluded.