West Indies captain Jason Holder showered praises for Shannon Gabriel following the visitor’s four-wicket victory over England in the first Test against England at Southampton on Sunday. Gabriel was named man-of-the-match as he took nine wickets in the match and gave away just 137 runs as international cricket returned post lockdown.

The 32-year-old Trinidad quick was originally only named as a traveling reserve as he recovered from ankle surgery. But he proved his fitness in two intra-squad warm-up games and then showed his class as West Indies took a 1-0 lead in this three-match series.

Talking about Shannon Gabriel while talking to the reporters, Holder said, “What Shannon has done in this game is nothing surprising. Shannon is just one of those guys who keep doing it. He has a massive, massive heart and he’s been through a lot. He wants success so badly. His body hasn’t held up the way he would like but to see him back out there fit and well and bowling fast for the West Indies is always a pleasing sight.”

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He further elaborated, “He deserves every bit of success he’s had in this game. I’m really, really happy for Shannon, I know what he’s been through. We kept in contact while he was doing rehab. At some stages, he was very frustrated by how things were going but he stuck it through. We all know when Shannon is fit and healthy, he is a handful and he proved it in this game.”

For all Gabriel’s heroics, the West Indies had to chase down a decent target of 200 to win on Sunday. Blackwood might not have played like fellow batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer decided to drop out of the tour as the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about Blackwood, Holder said, “He had an outstanding first-class competition — his case to get back in the team was pretty strong. He’s not a slouch at this level either, he has done well for us and I hope he can kick on.”

England stand-in skipper Ben Stokes expressed that he still stands behind his decision of leaving out veteran pacer, Stuart Broad, or deciding to bat first in overcast, bowler-friendly, conditions on Wednesday. Broad has recently expressed his frustration and anger after being dropped from a home Test for the first time in eight years during a mid-match interview.

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Stokes had said, “We made a decision based around thinking pace was going to stand us a better place in the long game. Stuart is a fantastic bowler and he understands the reasons why. If I was to regret that, I don’t think that sends the right message to the other guys I picked. Looking at the interview he gave I thought it was absolutely brilliant, to see the desire and passion that he showed.”