Dillon, Ramdin savour sweet Windies win

RED FORCE coach Mervyn Dillon and his captain Denesh Ramdin are joining in the jubilation reverberating across the Caribbean after the West Indies stunned England and the world by wrapping up the three-match home Test series on Saturday. The Windies humbled England with a ten-wicket spanking in the second Test match at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua. Jason Holder's men had earlier won the first Test in Barbados by a massive 381 runs.

Dillon, a former fast bowler, played 38 Test matches between 1997 and 2004 and took 131 wickets. Speaking after winning his debut match as Red Force coach against Guyana Jaguars at the Queen's Park Oval on Saturday, Dillon was salivating with delight with the unlikely triumph by Jason Holder's men.

The 44 year old Toco native said, "I remember my days before I played (for the West Indies), sitting down and watching the game and loving when Desmond Haynes and Curtly Ambrose and these guys did well and it is the same thing for me now (watching cricket again)."

The ex-pacer unsurprisingly singled out the bowlers for their exceptional performance. In the two Tests so far, England are yet to post a score of 250 and have crossed the 200-mark just once. With scores of 77, 246, 187 and 132 so far, Dillon showered the pace men with adulation.

He said, "I am really happy with Jason Holder and the way he has gone into the Test series; Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel have done really well. For me, it is a joy to sit down and watch the game just as I did before I played. I still enjoy it, I still enjoy a win, I still enjoy the win for TT, it still brings a joy to my heart as it does for most other West Indians."

TT wicketkeeper/batsman Ramdin, 33, has played 74 Test matches for West Indies scoring 2,898 runs at an average of 25.87. Behind the stumps he has taken 205 catches along with 12 stumpings.

Ramdin, who last played a Test match for West Indies in 2016, might consider himself unlucky not be on the Windies side after he finished last season as the second highest run scorer in the regional four-day competition. This season has not been his best but he he was also elated with the West Indies performance.

He said, "They played some great cricket so far – exceptional. With the ball, they bowled really well to bowl them out; so hopefully they could continue and clinch (sweep) this series. England is not going to lie down, I think they are still going to come out and fight in the next Test match. It is good that we could beat them when they come in our territory and our conditions. I am a West Indian, so once they are winning all of us are happy."