WI vs Eng: Nkrumah Bonner expected to win but happy with draw
Mar 13, 2022
St John's [Antigua], March 13 : West Indies batter Nkrumah Bonner on Sunday said that he is happy with the draw against England in the first Test, even though he expected to win.
West Indies safely batted out the final day as the first Test against England ended in a draw at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
"I like to bat at this venue, it's a very good wicket. Obviously, we wanted to win, but happy with the draw. I always wanted to play Test cricket. I am very versatile, I play the situation. If I am playing Test cricket, the goal is to bat a lot of balls. We showed real character the way we bowled. We have a lot of positives to take out of this game," said Bonner after the play on final day ended.
A rapid start to the day saw England add 132 in the morning session, with Joe Root reaching his 24th Test century along the way.
And an aggressive declaration meant that West Indies had a little over two sessions to survive, with a target of 286 realistically out of reach.
Jack Leach took three wickets as England pushed hard on a flat pitch throughout the remainder of the day, but a strong fifth-wicket partnership between Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder removed the threat of a loss as the match ended in a draw.
In a tense final session, Bonner and Holder snitched an 80-run partnership that spanned 34.4 resolute overs.
With just five of the day's allocated deliveries remaining, Root opted to shake hands with West Indies marooned at 147/4, leaving the series all-square after the first Test.
Leach finished with figures of 3/57 from 30.1 overs, with Holder unbeaten on 37 from 101 deliveries and Bonner not out on 38 from 138 balls.