Jason Holder cannot stop praising close friend off the cricket field Shane Dowrich. Both players scored their Test centuries against Zimbabwe as West Indies bounced back in the second Test. Dowrich scored his maiden Test on and Holder was there at the non-striker's end.
"Shane has obviously not had the best time in the recent past and was in need of a score, so it was good to be out there," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "That was my determination \u2013 to get him to a score. We were under pressure, the Zimbabweans bowled well yesterday. We really needed a partnership to get back in the game and it was down to me and Shane to put one up. For me it was just getting Shane in and then from there we were able to relax and flow."
West Indies were behind Zimbabwe when these two joined hands and then shared a record 212-run stand for the eighth wicket for West Indies. Both number eight and nine scored centuries - only the second instance in Test cricket. But, Holder believes there is still a lot to do.
"I wasnt really aware of them," he said. "We just wanted to bat some time and put a big partnership together. We got to 100, then 150 and up to 200, which is a remarkable achievement, especially on that pitch with the way the Zimbabweans had bowled. Having said that, we were disappointed to lose our wickets at that stage. We wanted to lead them by at least 150 runs, but Ill still take 120. At the end of the day I think it was a special effort given where we were."
Zimbabwe lost early wickets in the second innings before Sikandar Raza and PJ Moor joined hands and shared a 94-run stand and gave an 18-run lead at the close of play on day four. West Indies need six more wickets and Holder says that patience will be crucial.
"Tomorrow's first session will be really crucial," Holder said. "We need to break this partnership \u2013 Raza's playing really well and so is PJ Moor. If we break the partnership early then were in with a really good shout of winning the game. Having said that, it's not a pitch where you can go and blast out people and look for wickets. It's turning really slowly for the spinners, and for the seamers it isnt really carrying. Weve got to be patient, use the surface as much as possible."
