LONDON, England,  (CMC) – Head coach Ottis Gibson yesterday praised his side’s massive batting effort on the fourth day of the opening Test against England and says West Indies plan to fight to the very end for victory on the final day here today. West Indies produced a sterling all-round performance yesterday to put England under pressure, converting their overnight 120 for four into 345 all out before reducing England to 10 for two after the hosts were set a target of 191.
“The way we batted out most of the whole day gave us a lot of heart. The way we played this morning with (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and Marlon (Samuels) was outstanding and we kept going throughout the day,” Gibson told reporters.
“We made it really tough for their bowlers to get our wickets and then two wickets late in the evening gives us hope for tomorrow.
“We are coming back [on Monday] to fight, make England fight for the rest of the runs, and if we do well enough to win, it would be great, we would celebrate.
“But if not, whatever happens, we are going to get off the bus looking to fight hard and win. Winning is always tough, especially against the number one side in the World. We know it will be a battle, but we are up for that battle.”
Chanderpaul stroked 91 and Samuels struck 86 in a record fifth wicket partnership of 147 to see West Indies through the morning session without losing a wicket.
When both batsmen perished in the post-lunch session, Denesh Ramdin contributed 43 and captain Darren Sammy hammered a cavalier 37, to gather precious runs.
Fast bowler Kemar Roach then rocked England in the four overs available before the close, removing captain Andrew Strauss for one and night-watchman Jimmy Anderson for six, in a torrid spell.
Gibson said despite the success late Sunday, he was under no illusions about the size of the task ahead of his charges.
“They’ve got a very strong batting attack, a very strong batting line up so hopefully if we can make some early inroads, get some of the key men out, someone like (Jonathan) Trott, [we will have a chance]. (Kevin) Pietersen is dangerous because he can take the game away from you,” Gibson pointed out.
“We’ve always felt our bowling attack could cause a few problems and tomorrow will be a good opportunity to test our bowling attack against their batting line up. We will come and fight very hard and see how it goes.”