West Indies fielding leaves plenty to be desired on truncated day one

Kemar Roach struck some early blows but Shadman Islam struck a half-century for Bangladesh as West Indies were let down by some slack fielding.

Saturday’s play was delayed by five hours in Kingston due to a wet outfield.

Having won the toss and chose to bat, Bangladesh were reduced to 10-2 inside seven overs, with Roach (2-20) in sharp form.

He dismissed Mahmudul Hasan Joy on three and Mominul Haque on a duck.

Yet Shadman steadied the ship, and reached 50 not out by stumps, with Bangladesh on 69-2; Shahadat Hossain in place on 12 at the other end.

Matters could have been much different had the Windies held onto catches in the field. Shadman was dropped on 15 by Alick Athanaze and then again on 35 by Kraigg Brathwaite.

A comedy of errors saw West Indies miss a chance to dismiss Shahadat, too. He edged a Jayden Seales ball, but Athanaze and Kavem Hodge both squandered chances to hold it in the slips.

Data Debrief: Roach brings up Bangladesh 50

Roach has now taken 50 wickets against Bangladesh, and he was the standout Windies performer on a truncated day.

“Just keep challenging guys on the front foot – that’s my job,” he said.

“The pitch here is very good for batting – it hardens as the Test goes on. So the key is consistency. It was an even day for us with two wickets in it.”

The Windies are looking for back-to-back Test wins for the first time since June 2022, though they will have to be sharper in the field to get the job done. (Sportsmax)

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