Dhaka, Bangladesh — Kieran Powell and Kraigg Brathwaite provided West Indies with a superb opening partnership of 100 as the visitors ended the first day of the second Test match against Bangladesh on 253-5 at the Sher-e-Bangla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Powell, in his second Test and Brathwaite in his third, made their maiden Test match half-centuries but more importantly batted with maturity to give the visitors the ideal platform on a good batting surface.
Brathwaite, the 18-year-old university student, made a well-compiled 50, while Powell, a 21-year-old member of the Sagicor High Performance Centre, was patient before falling for 72. After the pair departed Kirk Edwards controlled the innings and will resume on Sunday on 71. It was the first time Powell and Brathwaite opened together in a Test match and Powell said they helped each other at every stage during the partnership.
Powell explained: "I have batted a few times with Kraigg in the ‘A’ Team and we had some very good partnerships at that level, so it was good to come here in our first partnership in Test cricket and do a good job as well. We helped each other a lot. We tried to build at the start and we batted in five-over stages, trying to set small targets and work towards that. We kept talking and encouraged each other all the way. It’s a good moment for me, as it is my first half century. I played with a straight bat and got a good start for the team. We wanted such a good position to try and control the game. The pitch was a bit slow, but some balls were coming on to bat so you could play your shots."
Powell made his Test debut against India in Dominica in July. He missed out on selection in the drawn first Test in Chittagong, but was called up for this match as a replacement for the injured Lendl Simmons. Overall Powell batted for just under four hours, faced 150 balls and hit 10 boundaries. The left-hander delayed entering university to pursue his cricket career and said the time spent at the Sagicor HPC has helped immensely with his development.
"I had a conversation with Kirk Edwards and Fidel Edwards before the match and they both gave me some excellent advice. They told me to just be calm and play it as I know it. That helped me to relax and I went to the pitch feeling at ease and full of confidence. I was a bit nervous when I played against India so I made up in my mind to take it one step at a time when I went out," said the well-built six-footer Powell, who hails from Nevis and made his national team debut at the age of 13.
"The time at the Sagicor HPC has totally changed my game. It has been a massive boost to my cricket. It has helped me with both the technical side and mental side of my game. It has helped to refine my game and overall I am now a calmer person. A lot of things I developed there I put into place today and I was able to assess the situation and go about the business of building an innings. Since I came into the West Indies team I have been doing a lot of good work with Desmond Haynes and that has also helped quite a lot. He has provided me with a lot of ideas on how to approach my batting and I have taken it all on board. We still have a lot more work to do so I hope to stay around for a while to benefit from his knowledge."
Powell fell 28 short of his maiden century when he was bowled by debutant left-arm spinner Suhrawardi Shuvo who removed him with a straighter ball which hit the top of off stump.
"I’m very disappointed that I missed hundred. I really wanted a hundred. I wanted to keep going and get a big score… but still I could contribute to my team to get a good start, that’s the thing I could be proud of," he said.