Windies 61-0 at lunch against Bangladesh

GROS-ISLET: West Indies' new-look opening pair of Kraigg Brathwaite and Leon Johnson capitalised on wayward Bangladeshi bowling to reach the lunch interval at 61 without loss on the opening day of the second and final Test at the Beausejour Stadium on Saturday.

Brathwaite, fresh from a patient double-century in the first Test in St Vincent a week earlier, was on 20 with Johnson, making his debut as the West Indies' 300th Test cricketer in this historic 500th Test for the Caribbean side, will resume after the interval on 27.

Given first use of a pitch offering considerably more assistance to the faster bowlers than was evident at any stage of the first Test, Bangladesh's trio of fast-medium bowlers -- Al-Amin Hossain, Shafiul Islam and Robiul Islam -- wasted the opportunity to make early inroads in a relatively inexperienced batting line-up.

All three sprayed deliveries repeatedly down the leg-side and hardly beat the bat, therefore making life easy for Brathwaite and Johnson to settle down and eventually start picking off the runs after a very watchful start through the first hour.

Robiul was the chief culprit, the stocky seamer starting his spell with a no-ball and adding two more along with two wides in an effort that would have been extremely disappointing for his captain Mushfiqur Rahim, who put the West Indies in on winning the toss in anticipation of the opening bowlers making early strikes.

Robiul and Shafiul were two of the three changes in the tourists' line-up following the ten-wicket defeat in the first Test. Anamul Haque also came in to bolster the batting line-up as Imrul Kayes has been ruled out with a skin infection.

Johnson was the only change to the victorious West Indies team in St Vincent as veteran opening batsman Chris Gayle requested to be excluded from consideration for this match for what has been described officially as "personal reasons."

West Indies were 61 without loss after being put in to bat at lunch on the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh at the Beausejour Stadium on Saturday.

The West Indies, playing their 500th Test, won the first match by 10 wickets last week at St Vincent.