Bonner racks up 123 in marathon knock as hosts build 62-run buffer

Valkerie Baynes10-Mar-2022Nkrumah Bonner played an innings of patience, resilience and reward to mirror his international career with a hard-earned century guiding West Indies to a first-innings lead over England.Bonner fell for 123 shortly before stumps on the third day in Antigua, to the elation of England’s bowlers who had done it tough on a benign pitch against a stubborn West Indies line-up. Veerasammy Permaul offered keen resistance to remain unbeaten on 26 at stumps with Jayden Seales yet to score and the hosts 62 runs ahead.At the age of 33, Bonner raised the second century of his fledgling Test career, which is only 10 matches old and began in February last year – almost a decade after he made his international debut in a T20 against England at the Oval in 2011. Bonner played just one more T20I, in March 2012, before eventually earning a recall to the West Indies set-up, initially in January last year for three ODIs in Bangladesh before playing two Tests on that same tour.His first Test ton had come at the same ground as this one, a similarly attritional 113 not out in a Player-of-the-Match performance in the drawn first Test with Sri Lanka. On this occasion, he batted for nine hours to lead West Indies’ recovery from 127 for 4, build a small but potentially crucial lead and put merciless miles in the legs of an England attack without – no, not – an injured Mark Wood, who disappeared to the changing room shortly before lunch having bowled just five overs for the day and 17 for the match before succumbing to an elbow problem.Bonner resumed on 34 not out and with West Indies 109 runs in arrears, having helped haul the hosts back into the contest in partnership with Jason Holder after the tumble of wickets had all but ruined the solid foundation laid by an 83-run opening stand on day two.Holder fell to Ben Stokes – and his own indecision – early on the third day, adding just two runs to his overnight 43 before making a late move to leave one around off stump and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, ending his union with Bonner at 79.Stokes almost had Bonner, on 40 at the time, attempting to pull a bouncer which looped towards midwicket, where substitute fielder Ollie Pope dived forward but couldn’t manage to grasp it.Bonner brought up his fifty prodding a single through the covers and he faced another 15 balls for his next scoring shot, launching Wood over the fence at fine leg for six off a top edge.He had a life on 73, when Zak Crawley spilled an edge off Jack Leach at slip, but reached his century off 257 deliveries on the second ball of the evening session, sweeping a Leach half-volley on leg stump behind square for four. Bonner celebrated with a relieved sigh as he embraced Kemar Roach, with whom he ultimately shared a partnership to follow the theme of the day – patience – worth 44 off 173 balls for the eighth wicket.But when Bonner nudged Leach to backward point and the pair dashed off for a single, they were chancing the arm of Pope, who fired the ball to the striker’s end and Foakes removed the bails with Roach just shy of his crease. Roach had provided steadfast support to Bonner, facing 89 balls for his 15 runs.Twice England thought they had Bonner lbw to Leach but they failed to overturn Joel Wilson’s decisions, upheld on umpire’s call with ball-tracking suggesting it was clipping leg stump on both occasions. Bonner was also given out lbw to Stokes on 121 but successfully reviewed after getting an inside edge.They finally broke through when captain Joe Root, running out of ideas, brought Dan Lawrence into the attack to almost immediate effect as Bonner feathered his fifth delivery to Foakes down the leg side, although it took an England review to overturn umpire Gregory Brathwaite’s not-out decision with replays showing the faintest of edges.Stokes ended up bowling 28 overs – with 2 for 42 to show for it – his heaviest innings workload since 2015, having only just returned to bowling after breaking down with a side strain in the fourth Ashes Test.Much had been made of England’s 12-match stretch without breaking the 300-mark before Jonny Bairstow’s century led them to 311 in their first innings here, but West Indies had endured a virtually identical run dating back to the second Test against Sri Lanka in Antigua last March.Their ability to forge partnerships was key as they passed the milestone on Thursday, all but the first one held together by Bonner, on a day when 171 runs were scored from 90.1 overs.His most-substantial stand of the day came with Joshua Da Silva, who wisely reviewed his lbw dismissal to Craig Overton when on 16, but there was no such reprieve shortly after lunch when Leach, who at that point had bowled well for no reward, rapped him on the back pad with one that skidded onto the knee roll. Da Silva’s review failed this time, with replays showing the ball was hitting leg stump, but he had already helped add another 73 valuable runs.