West Indies hold out England for draw in 1st test
St John's, Mar 13: West Indies held on to draw the first test after England made a bold declaration on the final day at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
That England came within six wickets of winning on a sluggish pitch with an undermanned bowling attack seamer Mark Wood was injured was testament to its tenacity.
West Indies also deserved credit for holding out after being reduced to 67-4. Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder kept England at bay for the last 36 overs, but not without some drama.
After England captain Joe Root notched his 24th test century and was out for 109, England declared its second innings at 349-6 just before lunch and tempted West Indies with a winning target of 286 from 70 overs.
But West Indies lost too many wickets after lunch and went into survival mode, finishing on 147-4. Bonner was 38 not out after facing 138 balls and Holder 37 not out after 101.
Spinner Jack Leach was the main tormentor.
In the 49th over, he rapped Holder on his back pad on 13 but England didn't review.
England used its last review in the 53rd over when Leach thought he got Holder's edge, but no edge was found.
In the 58th, Bonner was given out lbw off Craig Overton, but Bonner reviewed. It showed an inside edge and the out was overturned.
That was England's last chance, as Bonner and Holder held out for an unbeaten stand of 80, after their key stand of 79 in the first innings.
West Indies made 375 and 147-4 in reply to England's 311 and 349-6 declared.
England finished its second innings in the morning, resuming on 217-1.
Zac Crawley added four runs to his overnight score before he was yorked by Holder on 121, and Root moved from 84 to 109 then was bowled by Alzarri Joseph.
Root daringly declared two overs later, and if the West Indies was teased to go for the win, it didn't last long.
Three of the four overs to lunch were maidens.
Opener John Campbell was let off in the eighth over when he was dropped in the slips by Crawley off Leach.
Campbell and captain Kraigg Brathwaite posted their second 50-run opening stand then departed in consecutive overs.
Brathwaite was lbw to Ben Stokes in the 26th over for 33 off 82 balls, then Campbell was dismissed by Leach, caught by Overton at mid off.
Leach got Shamarh Brooks right on tea for 5 at 65-3, and Jermaine Blackwood right after for 2 at 67-4.
Leach bowled 14 maidens in his 30.1 overs of work and took 3-57. But he couldn't prise out Bonner or Holder.
The second of three tests starts on Wednesday in Bridgetown, Barbados.
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'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
