(REUTERS) – West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels admitted it was a “wonderful feeling” to register his third Test century against England in the second Investec Test. After slipping to 136 for six, Samuels and captain Darren Sammy (88 n.o.) put on an unbeaten 168 to help the Windies recover to 304 for six at the end of the first day’s play. Samuels’ unbeaten 107 was particularly impressive as, prior to the tour, he had represented Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” Samuels told Sky Sports 1. “After the Twenty20, I came to England and it’s a different mindset. I came in and started batting a lot of balls and know that I had to spend a lot of quality time to get runs in England.”
Samuels, who was banned for two years from 2008 to 2010 when he was found guilty of “receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute”, received words of wisdom from West Indies legends Michael Holding and Sir Viv Richards prior to yesterday’s play.
“Maturity comes over the years. I’ve been through a lot and I just put everything behind me and I’m moving forward,” Samuels added.
“I always get encouragement from Mr Michael Holding and this morning Sir Viv said I could make a double (hundred) here.”
James Anderson admitted England’s bowlers were left frustrated by an unresponsive pitch as well as Samuels and Sammy.
The Lancashire seamer took two wickets as the Windies were left struggling but he and the rest of the attack found the going difficult.
“It was tough,” he said. “It was a pretty flat deck and we had to work really hard throughout the day to get any rewards.
“It probably wasn’t a 130 for six pitch or whatever we had them earlier on but I thought the two batters at the end battled really hard to see them through the day.”