West Indies strike early as Bangladesh crawl to 69-2 in rain-hit Test

Bangladesh reached 69-2 against the West Indies on Saturday as the second Test at Sabina Park was curtailed by a wet outfield and poor light.

The damp conditions delayed play, wiping out the first two sessions and restricting action to 45 overs in the remaining three hours.

But only 30 overs were bowled before poor light ended the first day. Rain is forecast on every scheduled match day in Kingston.

The West Indies retained the same XI which won the first test in Antigua by 201 runs, and fast bowler Kemar Roach gave them a great start to the second test by inducing edges behind from Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mominul Haque in the first seven overs.

But three dropped catches allowed opener Shadman Islam and Shahadat Hossain to stage a recovery from 10-2.

Shadman was dropped on 15 in the slips and 35 at short cover. He was 50 off 100 balls at stumps.

Shahadat was on 8 when he was dropped in the slips. He was 12 off 63 balls at stumps.

“The pitch here is very good for batting, it hardens as the test goes on,” Roach said. “So the (bowling) key is consistency. An even day for us with two wickets in it.”

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite earned a note in history when he surpassed Garfield Sobers to become the first West Indian to play 86 consecutive test matches.

Sobers, another captain, played 85 consecutive tests from 1955-72 and retired in 1974 as one of the greats.

Brathwaite made his debut in 2011 but hasn't missed a test since 2014.

“It means a lot,” Brathwaite said before his 96th test. “I'm extremely thankful because in this generation there's a lot of T10 and T20 cricket, but test cricket is the real test. At the end, I will feel like I've done a really good job for the West Indies.”