Quote:And so now we come to the current Test in Trinidad and the outstanding performance of Shane Dowrich. The Barbadian defended, stroked and willed his way to an unbeaten 125 that allowed his side to declare at 414 for 8 - after being precariously placed at 147 for 5 - thus setting up an exciting 10-over burst by the West Indies pacers that left the visitors in disarray at 31 for 3. Shannon Gabriel especially, turned on the heat, clanging Angelo Matthews on his helmet and generally posing a physical threat to the batsmen.
But, it was Dowrich who should get the largest share of the plaudits, not only for the size of his innings, but also because he managed to shrug off all the tumult that framed his appearance in this game to register his most significant outing with the bat.
There was a strong argument that he should not have retained his place in view of some sub-standard catching and batting in recent Tests. He did indeed score a Test hundred in Bulawayo last October, but that was against lowly Zimbabwe on an exceedingly flat surface. Since then, he toured New Zealand and did very little to inspire confidence in his ability to become a world-class wicketkeeper-batsman.
And yet you always knew there was some quality there. He showed it with a very competent 70 against a good Australian bowling attack in Roseau in June 2015, and he showed it again in this game.
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