Wednesday 22 April 2015 08:27, UK
Nasser Hussain says that Marlon Samuels’ tussle with Ben Stokes stole day one of the second Test between England and the West Indies in Grenada.
Samuels finished on 94 not out, helping the hosts to 188-5 at the close after being precariously placed at 74-4 at one stage.
That was after Ben Stokes dismissed Shiv Chanderpaul for one and it was his duel with Samuels in the evening session that sparked a day, disrupted by rain, into life.
“I loved the contest between those two,” said Hussain. “The cool, calm Marlon Samuels, against the fiery red-head, Ben Stokes.
“In that last session – the way Samuels counter-attacked and the way Stokes came back at him was brilliant.
“You’ve got to love Stokes as a cricketer – we don’t just want to produce robots. He’s in your face and that was a great contest."
Stokes dished out a few verbals and got some back from the batsman too in a spell which saw him consistently top 90mph, while Samuels, after playing patiently through to 50 off 142 balls, scored his final 44 runs at a run-a-ball.
“The asset of the extra bowler in Stokes is you can rest him and then in that last session which is slightly longer, he can come in and give you a burst like that,” added Hussain. “But I think Samuels earned the right to have a go at England at the end of the day.
“The leave is a shot that seems to be going out of the game, but Samuels just played the leave time after time, then waited for the ball to get a bit older and when he felt England were just tiring a little bit, he went at them.
“That’s what Test match batting is all about and he has given his side a little bit of impetus going into tomorrow.”
England won the toss and decided to bowl first earlier in the day, with helpful overcast conditions after a lengthy 105 minute delay due to rain. But with only five wickets to show from the day, could they have done better?
“You can’t fault England’s effort,” said Hussain. “They were a little bit short early on with the ball and they dropped a couple of catches. But in terms of effort, they stuck at it pretty well.
“Early on the skills were ok. Jimmy Anderson with the new ball, swinging it in and out was excellent.
“Chris Jordan bowled well enough, Stokes bowled really well. I still think they’re lacking a bit of variety in the attack but at 188-5 they’ll take that.
“Everyone will tell you that getting 20 wickets in the West Indies in recent times is not easy. These pitches are turgid, slow, no pace and bounce.
“This wicket has done a little bit but it has still taken three-quarters of the day to take five wickets.
“England have come here realising that this is going to be hard work – they’re not going to be given anything by Phil Simmons’ side in this series. They are here to work hard and they did that today.”
Watch day two of the second Test between West Indies and England live on Sky Sports 2 from 2.30pm on Wednesday.
