Nottingham (England), May 26 (IANS/CMC) Batsman Marlon Samuels did not hesitate to poke fun at England seamer James Anderson, following his superb Test century that helped rescue the West Indies on the opening day of the second Test at Trent Bridge here.
Samuels was at the receiving end of Anderson's verbal salvos throughout his innings but the languid Jamaican answered with an unbeaten 107 which helped steer the West Indies from 136 for six to reach 304 without further loss at the close Friday.
'I can't find too many bowlers that can bowl and talk. I can bat and talk all day,' Samuels joked.
'He (Anderson) is the one that gets frustrated very easily, so he needs to be much stronger. He's a very good guy. In the last game at Lord's, he said something (to me) because he was a bit frustrated and I said 'you're still my favourite bowler' and today I told him the same thing no matter what he said.'
'It's just a game and (the competition) has to be a part of the game.'
Samuels said he was interested in knowing what Anderson would find to say after he completed his double century as planned Saturday.
'James Anderson should know I'm batting for the team so (there are) a lot of balls I could hit to the boundary but I left them alone, but when I get that double (century) tomorrow I would like James Anderson to say something to me,' the jovial Samuels continued.
Samuels posted a record unbroken 168 for the seventh wicket with captain Darren Sammy as the West Indies fought their way out of trouble again for the second straight game.
Sammy stroked a career-best 88 not out as he and Samuels dominated the final session of the game, after England had controlled most of day's play.
Samuels, who only returned to competitive cricket last year after serving a two-year ICC ban for inappropriate ties to a bookie, said the turbulence in his career had served as a motivation.
'There have been a lot of ups and downs in my career,' he noted.
'A lot of things have happened to me, so I am using all of them to motivate myself to be not just a better person, but a better player as well. I've come here to England and I want to impress as much as possible.'
He added: 'I missed the Digicel Test Series against Australia in the Caribbean because I wanted to come to England to play the number one Test side in the World - and doing well against them will do me the World of good too.
'It was not an easy decision, but Australia is not number one at this time. I didn't want to play against them. England are number one and I wanted to play the best.'
Scores:
West Indies: 304 for six (Marlon Samuels 107 not out, Darren Sammy 88 not out, Shiv Chanderpaul 46, Kieran Powell 33; James Anderson 2-58, Stuart Broad 2-59) vs England.
--IANS/CMC
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