Cricket
Alan Gardner at Headingley 7y

Brathwaite, Hope put the fight back into West Indies

WI tour of England 2017, Cricket

Leeds is only 65 miles from Scarborough - aka "Scarbados" - so it was perhaps appropriate that a sun-kissed Headingley was the scene for a pair of Bajans to revive West Indies' hopes on this tour. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope put on 246, West Indies' second-highest partnership on the ground, to underpin a day of unexpected domination in their attempts to fight back into the series after being thrashed at Edgbaston.

Hope's unbeaten innings of 147 was his maiden Test century, coming two years after his debut against the same opposition in Bridgetown. Brathwaite, meanwhile, made his second hundred against England - the first was a valiant attempt to stave off defeat in Grenada during the 2015 series - and provided the bedrock for the tourists to go past England's 258 during the evening session; not since Old Trafford 2004 had West Indies secured a first-innings lead in England.

"The key word for us was 'fight'," Hope said on Sky TV. "We are not coming here to let people run over us."

Brathwaite, the team's vice-captain, echoed that sentiment. "It was very important for us," he said. "We know what we can do. We decided we would show fight, work hard and believe in ourselves and that's what we did. Looking in the mirror after [Edgbaston], we knew we could do better, as a team we said we won't give up and we'll come out and work twice as hard."

While Hope and Brathwaite both hunkered down and made the most of their luck during a tricky morning session, neither got stuck. Brathwaite went to both fifty and a hundred with sixes down the ground, while the pull that took Hope to 99 had more than a touch of Gordon Greenidge's flamboyance to it, one knee proudly pointing upwards. The next delivery was tucked for the single that took him to three figures, a moment he greeted with a full-throated roar of celebration.

"Relief. It was good to get the monkey off my back," Hope said. "I felt the pressure. As a professional you want to perform to your best. I wasn't thinking about the 100 as much as I would expect [in the 90s]. I just tried to bat as long as possible and stick it out."

Having won his first cap as a 21-year-old, Hope's introduction to Test cricket was a difficult one. It was not until his 17th innings that he finally passed fifty - although that helped West Indies to a series-levelling victory against Pakistan in Bridgetown earlier this year - but Brathwaite predicted that a player he has grown up alongside would now go on to establish himself.

"I think Shai's a top-quality player and I know he will do extremely well in international cricket," Brathwaite said. "He already has a lot of one-day runs. This is the start of a lot of big things for him.

"We played from Under-13 right up, so I've played a lot of cricket with him - we play first-class cricket together as well. I know him well and I'm very happy for him."

Although England fought back to remove Brathwaite, for 134, and Roston Chase with the second new ball, Hope remained at the crease until the close, in the company of the dangerous Jermaine Blackwood. From a perilous position of 35 for 3, and with last week's twin capitulations with the bat still fresh in the memory, it was a quite remarkable performance. After West Indies' impressive display with the ball on the first day, Kemar Roach had said he was expecting "big things" from the batsmen. Brathwaite and Hope ensured they did not disappoint.

Brathwaite was involved in four reviews in all - twice overturning decisions given against him, twice surviving England's attempts to winkle him out via DRS. The majority of his scoring inside the first hour was done behind the wicket, as several edges went to ground, but England were forced to reassess their tactics as the early cloud cover moved through and Headingley's Janus face decided to smile on the batsmen once more.

"I know my strengths and weaknesses," Brathwaite said of his watchful approach. "I know it won't be easy but once I'm out there, it's good for my team. I try my best to be out there as long as possible and make sure I put away all the bad balls and it worked quite well for me."

Of West Indies' turnaround in form from the previous Test, he added: "We stuck to our plans, as a bowling unit we were a lot more disciplined and, as batters, we just had to believe in what we're working towards. We work hard in the nets and we believed we could do it. It's not impossible and we showed our fight." England will certainly know they are in a fight now.

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