Watch day three of the second Test live on Sky Sports Cricket from 1.30pm
Saturday 2 February 2019 09:30, UK
England must mirror Windies' disciplined batting display in their second innings to stay in with a shout of winning the second Test, says Mike Atherton.
Windies closed day two on 272-6 in their first innings, having dug deep to frustrate the tourists on a tricky pitch in Antigua and chisel out a precious 85-run lead.
SCORECARD | AS IT HAPPENED | HIGHLIGHTS
Openers Kraigg Brathwaite (49) and John Campbell (47) set the tone, picking up defiantly from where they left off on day one, and Shai Hope struck 44 before Darren Bravo showed great perseverance and determination to score an unbeaten 33 off 165 balls.
"The hour the openers got through on the first evening was absolutely vital from a psychological point of view - and it's always hardest when you come in in the morning," reflected former England captain Atherton. "The bowlers are at their freshest and the pitch was probably at its most problematic.
"I thought that partnership between Brathwaite and Campbell was absolutely key because they showed the rest of the dressing room the way; they showed that while the pitch is hard it's not impossible to bat if you've got the application, obduracy and commitment.
"I watched Darren Bravo bat in practice and he looked totally out of sorts, totally out of nick; he had a terrible game in Barbados and this is only his third first-class game in the best part of two years.
"For a player who is generally a free-flowing, attractive player to watch he showed a totally different side of his character. He took a nasty blow to the ribs off Stokes and he put all that style to the side and brought his grit to the surface. So that was a terrific effort from him.
"I've been really impressed by the West Indies in the seven days of Test cricket we've seen this winter; their commitment and discipline every day has been outstanding."
Windies began the series as underdogs, sitting a lowly eighth in the world Test rankings, but under skipper Jason Holder produced a stunning display in the first Test to thrash England.
Atherton told Sky Sports that their current form illustrates a fresh determination amongst Windies players to move forward.
"A generation has moved on now," said Atherton. "They will still play Twenty20 cricket but this is a different dressing room. The only survivor from that previous era is Darren Bravo, who has come back into the dressing room.
"I think Holder has got a fierce grip on his team; he's a very disciplined young man himself and we all know Jimmy Adams well, who leads West Indies cricket here in a more general sense, and if there's one thing that Jimmy Adams is, he's a highly-disciplined character.
"It's fantastic to see West Indies playing with that amount of discipline in their cricket."
Holder (19no), fresh from an unbeaten double ton in the first Test, will resume his partnership with Bravo on day three when Windies will look to bat England out of the series.
"It's a very significant lead on this pitch," said Atherton. "You can say it eased a bit today but it looked a very difficult pitch to bat on to me, even at the end when England's bowlers were tiring the odd ball was kicking.
"Once that lead is beyond 100 and Windies' bowlers are fresh, it is going to be very, very difficult indeed and England have to take a bit of a lead out of West Indies book and try to show the same application, commitment and discipline that they did."
Watch day three of the second Test between Windies and England, in Antigua, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 1.30pm on Saturday.
You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
