Jomel Warrican (right) in action in the Pakistan vs West Indies 1st Test.© AFP
West Indies crashed to a 127-run loss against Pakistan in the first Test in Multan, but it wasn’t on a sour note for all players of the team. In fact, despite the crushing defeat, West Indies bowlers Gudakesh Motie, Jomel Warrican and Jayden Seales set a record – not with the ball, but with the bat. The trio set the record of the first instance in the 148 years of Test cricket history, since the first Test match in March, 1877, when the three last batters made the highest scores for the team in an innings.
In their first innings, West Indies were tottering at 66/8, but managed to post 137 in the end thanks to the efforts of their number 9, 10 and 11 batters. Motie, coming in at No. 9, scored 19 runs, No. 10 Warrican top-scored with 31 and No. 11 Seales hit 22.
No other batter in the top eight crossed more than 11, making this the first instance in Test cricket history that the three highest scores in an innings have come from the last three batters.
It was also only the third time in Test cricket history that the top two run-scorers in an innings were the last two batters.
Hilariously, all three batters got out for ducks in the second innings, as West Indies collapsed to 123 all out and lost the game by a massive margin.
Despite the defeat, it was a memorable Test match for Warrican. Having picked up three wickets in the first innings, Worrican picked up his best-innings figures of 7/32 in the second, ending with career-best Test match figures of 10/101.
The second Test between Pakistan and West Indies starts on January 25, also at Multan. West Indies need to win the match to avoid finishing last in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle table.
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