West Indies battle to narrow lead after Motie magic
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (CMC) — Careless batting and their opponents doggedness eroded the authority of West Indies after a destructive spell from left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie enabled them to dismiss Zimbabwe cheaply in the first Test on Sunday.
Nothing epitomised the carelessness of the Windies batting more than the run out of Raymon Reifer for the top score so far of 53 before the visitors reached 133 for four when bad light stopped play six overs early on the first day at the Queen’s Sports Club for a first-innings lead of 18.
Motie improved upon his career-best from the previous Test with 7-37 from 15.4 overs on a slow, but turning pitch, and Jason Holder supported with 2-18 from seven overs, and West Indies demolished the Zimbabweans for 115 in their first innings about 40 minutes before tea to gain early control.
“I really enjoyed bowling on this pitch because it is similar conditions to where I live, so it is spin-friendly, and I just had to put the ball in the right areas to reap success,” Motie told reporters after play.
“[This performance] means a lot to me because I worked really hard coming through the ranks, so I am really happy with it.”
But the Windies needlessly surrendered a cluster of wickets, including Reifer’s, before stumps were drawn to keep the home team interested in the match after their own batting failures earlier in the day, following their decision to bat first.
Reifer, batting at three again, clipped pacer Victor Nyauchi through midwicket for a deuce to complete his half-century from 76 balls and was gathering runs freely, but a mix-up with Vice-Captain Jermaine Blackwood left him stranded mid-pitch.
The left-hander skipped down the pitch to drive leg-spinner Brandon Mavuta to mid-off and was confident about taking a single, but Blackwood was rooted at the non-striker’s end, and the fielder, Test newcomer Tanaka Chivanga, was quick to pick up the ball and throw to the ‘keeper.
“I am pretty happy to get another 50, but I would have liked to carry on and get an even bigger score,” Reifer said. “I was very disappointed with my dismissal, but such is life. I am really disappointed I am not coming back [on Monday] and looking to get a hundred.”
Exactly two overs later an unsettled Blackwood was caught at midwicket for 22, pulling a long hop from Mavuta, who was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers with 2-24 from 10 overs and created some elements of doubt in the minds of the Caribbean side’s batsmen as they look to bat their opponents out of the match on Monday.
Earlier, Motie became the leading bowler in the series with 13 wickets after he surpassed the career-best four he took in the Zimbabwe second innings in the first Test last week at the same venue that almost ushered West Indies to victory.
He extracted helpful turn from the surface, and except for opener Innocent Kaia with 38, Donald Tiripano 23 not out, and their Captain Craig Ervine 22, the Zimbabweans, playing without first Test batting saviour Gary Ballance, because of illness, were powerless to stop him.
The two-Test series is level 0-0 after the first Test that ended last Wednesday at the same venue was drawn.
SCOREBOARD
Zimbabwe 1st innings
T Makoni c Da Silva b Joseph 0
I Kaia c Mayers b Holder 38
C Chibhabha b Holder 10
C Ervine lbw b Motie 22
M Shumba b Motie 3
T Tsiga b Motie 0
D Tiripano not out 23
W Masakadza b Motie 1
B Mavuta b Motie 1
V Nyauchi b Motie 2
T Chivanga not out 6
Extras (b4, lb4, w1) 9
Total (40.5 overs) 115
Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Makoni), 2-48 (Chibhabha), 3-49 (Kaia), 4-64 (Shumba), 5-68 (Tsiga), 6-75 (Ervine), 7-81 (Masakadza), 8-87 (Mavuta), 9-89 (Nyauchi), 10-115 (Chivanga)
Bowling: Joseph 9-1-29-1, Gabriel
8-2-19-0, Holder 7-2-18-2, Motie
14.5-4-37-7, Chase 2-0-4-0
West Indies 1st innings
K Brathwaite lbw b Masakadza 7
T Chanderpaul b Mavuta 36
R Reifer run out (Chivanga/Tsiga) 53
J Blackwood b Mavuta 22
K Mayers not out 8
R Chase not out 5
Extras (nb2) 2
Total (4 wkts, 41 overs) 133
To bat: Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Shannon Gabriel
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Brathwaite), 2-86 (Chanderpaul), 3-117 (Reifer), 4-124 (Blackwood)
Bowling: V Nyauchi 7-0-26-0, W Masakadza 12-3-32-1, T Chivanga 6-0-28-0 (1nb), D. Tiripano 5-0-18-0 (1nb), B Mavuta 10-1-24-2, M Shumba 1-0-5-0
Toss: Zimbabwe
Series: Tied after first of two Tests drawn
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS),
Langton Rusere (ZIM)
TV umpire: Iknow Chabi (ZIM)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)