Hinds... 57 not out at stumps.
LEICESTER, England, Cana
WAVELL HINDS warmed up for the third Test at Old Trafford on Thursday with his fifth tour half-century against Leicestershire at Grace Road yesterday.
But the rest of the West Indies frontline batsmen failed to cash in on an easy-paced pitch as the tourists reached 131 for three off 56 overs by the close of the second day.
Sherwin Campbell, Adrian Griffith and Chris Gayle all failed to reach 20 after Leicestershire captain Vince Wells had declared during the lunch interval with the county side on 333 for seven.
Only Hinds looked to have the confidence and touch the West Indies will be hoping to see when they go into the third Test against England with the series all square at 1-1.
The young left-hander has emerged as one of their best batsmen on the tour so far and reached his 50 in just over two hours off 104 balls, hitting seven fours.
But the dismissals of Campbell, Griffith and Gayle on such a benign pitch will have raised alarms in the tourists' camp.
Campbell, having made 17 out of an opening stand of 33 with Griffith, was caught at the crease and trapped lbw by the first ball from medium-pacer Dominic Williamson.
Then at 45 Griffith followed for 10, mistiming a drive and presenting an easy catch at cover to Ben Smith in the first over sent down by 24-year-old seamer Paul Griffiths on his first-class debut. Griffiths went on to complete an impressive opening spell of 10 overs which cost him just 19 runs.
Gayle, dropped for the previous Test, missed out on the opportunity of staking a claim for a recall by presenting off-spinner Carl Crowe with an easy return catch having made only 16.
That had the West Indies in some trouble at 80 for three in 34 overs. But Hinds, supported by his captain Jimmy Adams, made sure there were no further alarms as the fourth-wicket pair added a further 51 runs by the close.
Adams, unbeaten on 19, will almost certainly want his batsmen to spend more time in the middle on the final day, leaving Leicestershire with their work cut out to force the victory that would earn them £11,000. All the signs are that the game is destined to end in a draw.
The county side added 123 runs in the morning session for the loss of two wickets before the declaration came.
Vince Wells and Ben Smith took their sixth-wicket partnership to 152 before Wells was stumped off leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo for 84 and then Smith edged a rising delivery from Curtly Ambrose to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs for 76.
Nagamootoo finished with three for 68 off 23 overs to give the selectors food for thought as they consider their side for Old Trafford.
SCOREBOARD
Leicestershire first innings
(overnight 210-5)
D.Maddy c Hinds b Rose 48
I.Sutcliffe lbw b Rose 34
D.Stevens c Hinds b King 12
J.Dakin b Nagamootoo 11
B.Smith c Jacobs b Ambrose 76
A.Habib lbw b Nagamootoo 0
V.Wells st Jacobs b Nagamootoo 84
D.Williamson not out 21
C.Crowe not out 3
Extras (b-10 lb-4 nb-30) 44
Total (for seven wickets, declared) 333
Fall: 1-90 2-113 3-117 4-129 5-133 6-285 7-321
Did not bat: P.Griffiths, S.Adshead
Bowling: Ambrose 26-2-86-1, King 18-1-89-1, Rose 18-3-50-2, Nagamootoo 23-3-68-3, Adams 8-0-24-0, Gayle 1-0-2-0
West Indies first innings
S.Campbell lbw b Williamson 17
A.Griffith c Smith b Griffiths 10
W.Hinds not out 57
C.Gayle c & b Crowe 16
J.Adams not out 19
Extras (lb-6 nb-6) 12
Total (for three wickets) 131
Fall: 1-33 2-45 3-80
To bat: R.Jacobs, W.Hinds, F.Rose, M.Nagamootoo, R.Sarwan, C.Ambrose
Bowling (to date): Dakin 13-2-31-0, Wells 6-2-11-0, Williamson 8-2-24-1, Griffiths 10-1-19-1, Crowe 14-7-22-1, Maddy 4-1-18-0, Smith 1-1-0-0
