Caribbean Times 34th Issue

Friday 11th November 2016 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 19
cont’d from pg 18
the face, only Saha will be
able to tell.
By the time that ball misbehaved,
Moeen had taken
the single he needed to reach
his fourth Test hundred, widely
acknowledged as his most
mature batting effort. Yadav,
unlucky as he was, also
opened the floodgates with
one on the pads from his third
ball of the morning. Moeen
was the first one to take the
attack to India, before he left
alone a straight delivery from
Mohammed Shami to be
bowled on 117.
That didn’t slow England
down. When you are
300-plus in credit, when you
have a dodgy fielding side
at your disposal, when you
want to drive home that advantage,
look no further than
Stokes. He ripped every bad
ball apart, attacked Ashwin
and Mishra, took 11 runs off
Ravindra Jadeja’s first over
of the day, which he bowled
belatedly, and sent India a session
closer to needing to dig in
for the best part of three days
to save this Test.
Questions will be asked of
India’s bowlers and Kohli’s
captaincy - Mishra, underbowled
on the first day, was
persisted for eight overs ahead
of Jadeja - but this was also
the time to enjoy the uncomplicated
aggression of Stokes
and Jonny Bairstow. The
England wicketkeeper, the
highest run-getter this year,
landed demoralising blows
on the psyche of Mishra: first,
he lofted him over mid-off,
and then, the moment Mishra
bowled the wrong’un, he sent
a message by not just picking
it but also biffing it over longon
for another six. That took
him to 24 off 32, and his side
to 393 for 5 at more than 3.5
an over.
Stokes had by now begun
to toy around with spin:
slogging Ashwin, punching
him the moment he would
Aces upsets Sandals in
Business Volleyball league
By Carlena Knight
Aces fought back from a set down to defeat Sandals, 2-1 in
the Antigua Barnuda Amateur Volleyball Association Business
Volleyball league on Wednesday night at the YMCA Sports
complex.
Sandals came out firing and took the first set 27-25 but faded
throughout the second set giving Aces the much needed momentum
to win the second set, 17-25 and push to a final set.
Both teams look determined but late in the set, Sandals began
to lose confidence as Aces dominated winning the set and
the game, 7-15.
In the first mAtch of the night, ABIIT Millblades trumped
Good Morning Jo Jo Media in straight sets. Although the match
was highly contested Media could not find the winning formula
thus resulting in them losing both sets, 28-26 and 25-18.
land short, welcoming Jadeja
with a loft over mid-off first
ball. Shami returned to get
Bairstow for 46 minutes before
lunch, and Jadeja got the
wickets of Chris Woakes and
Adil Rashid. Stokes continued
to enjoy good fortune: mishits
kept falling between fielders;
when he offered a catch that
long-on could have taken,
Kohli ruined it by charging
back from close-in and putting
the fielder off; when
Stokes was finally caught, the
fielder stepped on the boundary
rope.
Once Stokes reached his
century, though, it seemed
he and Zafar Ansari were instructed
during the mid-afternoon
drinks break to bat as
long as they could to let the
pitch wear and to let Indian
bodies grow wearier. Accordingly
they added 52 in 22.5
overs. Stokes fell minutes before
the scheduled tea, which
was delayed as Ansari and
Stuart Broad frustrated India
for another half hour.
Weary they might have
been, but M Vijay and Gambhir
displayed alert minds and
compact defence during a session
in which England could
give it their all. Five bowlers
were tried, with Stokes spending
some time off the field
with cramps, but bar a few
deliveries not much troubled
the opening pair. That they
were still 275 from saving
the follow-on was a sign of
the challenge for them. (ES-
PNcricinfo)