Homeboy Shillingford Shines Bright As Windies Win Big Against Zimbabwe

The victorious West Indies pose with the Clive Lloyd trophy after defeating Zimbabwe. Photos: WICB Media Photo/Randy Brooks

ROSEAU, Dominica – Shane Shillingford continued his amazing comeback to international cricket as he bowled West Indies to a comprehensive victory over Zimbabwe during the second Test match on Friday.

The tall off-spinner took five wickets for 34 runs off 15 outstanding overs, as West Indies won by the huge margin of an innings and 65 runs on the third day. The Windies bowled out the visitors for 141 in their second innings to take the series 2-0 and retain the Clive Lloyd Trophy. Shillingford’s brilliance was complemented by the accurate off-spin of Marlon Samuels who picked up three second innings wickets to end with 6-50 in the match.

Shane Shillingford was named man of the series against Zimbabwe.

The West Indies won the first Test at Kensington Oval by 9 wickets inside three days last week.

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy declared at the overnight score of 381-8 – a first innings lead of 206 runs – and immediately Shillingford went to work much to the delight of the colour crowd of close to 8,000 fans.

He followed up his 5-59 in the Zimbabwe first innings on Wednesday and ended with the impressive match figures of 10-93. Overall he claimed a record 19 wickets in the two-match series to surpass the previous West Indies record of 16 wickets by Courtney Walsh in New Zealand in 1995. It was Shillingford’s second ten-wicket haul at his home ground following his 10-219 against Australia a year ago.

“It was a really great team performance and we are all very proud of what we achieved. Without my team-mates I couldn’t do it and couldn’t have achieved what I did today. The spirit was really good and I’m just happy we came out with this victory to clinch the series,” Shillingford said after he accepted the Match-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series awards.

“Today, I concentrated and was willing to be patient to get my wickets. It was a matter of not being complacent and applying ourselves. One of our goals was not to be complacent. We knew once we had them down we had to keep them down and that is what we did. It turned out the way we wanted it to. As a bowler I just want to keep taking wickets,” he added.

Reflecting on the period last year when he was left out of the Test team after his heroics against Australia, he said: “When I was dropped I felt ‘a certain way’, but I never let it get to me too deep. I was looking forward to the first-class season to go there and take some wickets and work my way back into the Test team.

“It was hard work to get back, but now I’m back I plan to stay here. Here is one of the places where the wicket is spin-friendly, but I still knew I had to get the balls in the right areas and build the pressure and that is what I tried to do out there,” Shillingford stated.

The victory was the sixth consecutive win in a row for the West Indies. The winning streak dates back to August last year when they beat New Zealand in Antigua and Jamaica; and last November when they beat Bangladesh in Dhaka and Khulna.

The Test results meant the West Indies won all the matches during the series. They won the One-Dayers 3-0 at the Grenada National Stadium and won the T20s 2-0 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.

WICB Media Photo/Randy Brooks