'Jason Holder is a legend in my eyes' – Roston Chase
For a while on the Day 4, the England batsmen seemingly had come to grips with the conditions in Barbados. Having been bundled for just 77 in the first innings, they cruised to 134/1 in the second and it seemed like they would give the Windies a tough fight in an improbable chase of 628.
However, all that changed once the off-spin of Chase was introduced. His first wicket, at the stroke of lunch, was that of Rory Burns, who was batting fabulously on 84. From there on, it was a procession as Chase added seven more to his tally and conceded just 60 to ensure the match didn't spill over to the final day.
"To score a double hundred in front of your home crowd is a very pleasing feeling."@JaseHolder98 on his fantastic 202* in Bridgetown against England.
— ICC (@ICC) January 26, 2019
➡️ https://t.co/G05W9uSEvc pic.twitter.com/pr4B6q4xCX
As exceptional as Chase's contribution was, he was more thrilled about how his captain Holder had performed in the match. Not only did he claim the vital wickets of Keaton Jennings and Joe Root in England's first innings, he also scored a magnificent 202* to take his side 415/6.
"Jason is a legend in my eyes, a long-time friend, I believe in him and he believes in himself on the field," said Chase. "Could have been no greater feeling than to see him do that double-hundred yesterday. I thought he was going to give it away for a bit, but he really showed the true character that he is. I'm really happy for him and for my friend Shane Dowrich (116*), who came through for the team."
The victory meant a lot to the Windies, ranked No.8 on the MRF Tyres ICC Test team rankings against the side ranked No.2. "It gives us big confidence for the series, because England are a higher-ranked team than ourselves," Chase said. "For us to carry on from here, don't get too big headed, continue to do what we do well, the basics and focus on our processes ... we should be all right."
Windies complete a huge win over England!
— ICC (@ICC) January 26, 2019
Roston Chase finishes with remarkable figures of 8/60 as the Windies win by 381 runs. pic.twitter.com/OyscpELsyL
As for his own incredible bowling performance, Chase modestly said he came on to "give the pacers a rest".
"Looking at the wicket, I always thought I would come into play in the second innings," he said. "The quicks set it up for us in the first innings and Mushy told me I'm going to have to bowl 25 overs in the second innings, to get my mind ready for it.
"I was always prepared to do some work, to give the pacers a rest. I started to pick up some wickets and it went from there. I just tried to be consistent and land it (on) my areas, despite what the batsmen were doing, put some revs on the ball and vary my pace a bit."