I gave it an 'English approach': Samuels

Marlon Samuels says he had to apply an “English approach” on a wet day one of the second Test against England.

Samuels scored an unbeaten 94 to avert a complete batting collapse on a rain-affected day one in Grenada.

The gloomy conditions helped England make early breakthroughs, starting with a huge inswinger from James Anderson in the third over of the day to remove Kraigg Brathwaite.

Quick single: Early strikes have England on top

Arriving at the crease with his side unsteady at 2-28, Samuels said he drew on his previous success on English wickets to combat the visitor’s attack.

“Early in the morning I was watching the ball swinging around, I saw it was like English conditions,” Samuels said.

“I score a lot of runs in England, so I thought I’d give it an English approach.

“Leave a lot of balls and let the ball come to me as late as possible on a slow track with the ball moving around.”

Image Id: ~/media/28BD8F71EB4A4CAAAF756D3D0672C444Marlon Samuels on his way to an unbeaten 94 // Getty Images

During the West Indies tour of England in 2012, Samuels scored 386 runs in five innings at an average of 96.5.

On Tuesday he rarely looked troubled, other than a scare when he was dropped at slip by Alastair Cook on 32.

“I definitely like a battle,” Samuels said.

“I like going out to bat knowing the conditions are difficult and the English players are talking a bit.

“It motivated me a little bit more to dig deep and try and bat the whole day and put West Indies in a very good position.”

Image Id: ~/media/2D99304A43D949D9A0024900A642BC54Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin // Getty Images

It was an innings that was watchful, but featured a series of extravagant strokes after he was joined by skipper Denesh Ramdin, with the pair adding 59 runs before stumps in a partnership dominated by Samuels to finish the day on 5-188.

“After a wicket has fallen, I mix a little bit of aggression with patience and it paid off for me,” Samuels said.

“(Ramdin) is there with me now, so hopefully we can put down a big partnership and set the team a big total.

“Getting to that hundred is a milestone but most importantly I want to put the team in a winning position.

“I’ll be looking to carry on as long as possible for the team.”

England seamer Jordan said his team had “mixed feelings” about day one as a result of Samuel’s innings.

Image Id: ~/media/5E574B6213A9468F85FF260388B9A122Chris Jordan celebrates // Getty Images

“We would probably have liked to pick up a couple more wickets but I think we had a reasonable day with the ball,” Jordan told ecb.co.uk.

“The ball swung for the majority of the day. It wasn't too abrasive so we could keep the ball in a good condition.

“And when we did get the ball in the right areas we posed a lot of problems for their batters.

“Hopefully we can do a little bit more of the same tomorrow and make some inroads into their tail.”