Joshua Da Silva said Friday the banter with frustrated England players helped fuel his gutsy unbeaten fifty which put West Indies in front in the decisive third Test.
The 23-year-old struck 54 in nearly 3-½ hours off 152 balls with four fours, blunting England’s attack after West Indies were in danger of collapse at 95 for six after lunch on the second day of the contest at the National Stadium in Grenada.
During the final session of play, Da Silva was often seen having verbal exchanges with combative all-rounder Ben Stokes.
“I’m just batting balls. When I bat balls runs will come in the end so I’m not too fazed about how my strike rate looks,” the Trinidadian told reporters afterward.
“Stokesy and those guys got pretty upset with me but I’m just batting, I’m just having fun and at the end of the day. I’m putting runs on the board for the team which is most important.
“That fuels me. I love getting talk and all of that. It makes me want to go and make more runs, it makes me want to bat longer. I just love seeing them frustrated but I love the talk. It fuels me.”
Da Silva’s knock steered West Indies to the close on 232 for eight, a lead of 28 runs, heading into Saturday’s third day.
He put on 33 for the seventh wicket with Kyle Mayers (28), 49 for the eighth wicket with Alzarri Joseph (28) and 55 in an unbroken ninth wicket stand with Kemar Roach (25 not out).
“We need as much as we can get. If we get a hundred, 150 [runs lead], as long as we bat long I’m sure runs will come so we’re just trying our best to bat as long as we can,” Da Silva said.
“Roachie can bat, Alzarri can definitely bat. I have all faith in Jayden (Seales) as well so when it comes tomorrow, we’re just trying to get as many runs on the board as possible and get a good lead.”
The pitch once again produced variable bounce, with some balls staying low but others getting generous lift, and accounting for a few of the dismissals.
However, Da Silva said the pitch remained a good one for batting, with conditions becoming far easier once the ball got softer.
“It’s pretty flat. It’s very nice for batting with the odd one that is staying a bit low. The new ball does a little bit but other than that it seems a pretty good wicket,” he said.
“I expect it to [deteriorate] definitely. Not many are staying low, the odd one is. So it’s still a very good batting wicket so we’re going to try and get as many as we can.
“It seems like a wicket to bowl straight [on]. With the new ball we can look to get our slips involved but other than that it looks like we can use the pitch.”
The half-century was Da Silva’s fourth in Tests but his first on Caribbean soil, an achievement he said he was proud of.
“It is very special. My home form hasn’t been very good so it’s good to raise my bat in front of the home crowd and get something done for the team that was much needed.”
