Roach hails Williamson’s 251
Published:Saturday | December 5, 2020 | 8:35 AMLennox Aldred/Gleaner Writer
West Indies pacer Kemar Roach said the career-best innings of 251 from New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was one of the best he has seen.
Roach and the rest of the West Indies bowlers were on the receiving end of a batting masterclass from the Kiwi skipper who made the score off 412 deliveries on day two of the first Test, which helped to propel the home side to 519 for seven declared.
Williamson, right-handed, demonstrated the art of batting, hitting 34 fours and two maximums all over the Siddon Park Oval.
For Roach, it was a truly remarkable innings from a player whom he describes as a good guy and a consummate professional.
“Fantastic player he is,” Roach said. “Obviously, he is very disciplined in what he does. We all know he is a good guy and he played well and kudos to him. I didn’t think we bowled to him badly, I just thought he played a really top-quality Test innings, so congrats to him.”
Roach, who picked up three wickets after sending down 30 overs, in the process surpassed Sir Andy Roberts on the all-time list West Indies of wicket-takers.
The Barbadian now lies in the eighth position with 204 wickets and is now 31 wickets behind Sir Gary Sobers.
For Roach, it was reward for his hard work, and he is keen on continuing his climb up the list which features Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Lance Gibbs, Joel Garner, and Michael Holding.
“It’s always good to climb the ladder in whatever you do,” Roach said. “I am pretty proud of myself and it’s all about putting in some more performances and keep climbing the ladder as high as possible to pass some more names.”
WEST INDIES A 1st Innings 322
NEW ZEALAND A 1st Innings
(overnight 10 without loss)
G Phillips c and b Walsh 136
T Seifert lbw b Reifer 111
M Chapman c Shepherd b Pooran 45
J Carter not out 8
C McConchie not out 7
Extras (b1, lb8, w4, nb1) 14
TOTAL (3 wkts, 93 overs) 321
+D Cleaver, D Bracewell, N Smith, S Kuggeleijn, I Sodhi, *J Duffy to bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-226, 2-306, 3-308.
Bowling: Thomas 13-4-46-0 (nb1, w1); Reifer 12-2-34-1; Shepherd 14-4-44-0 (w3); Powell 3-0-37-0; Mayers 10-0-27-0; Allen 27-2-74-0; Walsh 13-0-47-1; Pooran 1-0-3-1.
Position: New Zealand A trail by one run with seven first innings wickets standing.
Umpires: J Dempsey, T Parlane.
Match referee: G Baxter.