Man-of-the-math Rahkeem Cornwall took four wickets today, spurring West Indies to a nail-biting 17-run against Bangladesh inside four days to sweep the closely fought Test series 2-0.

West Indies spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, has already made a massive contribution with the ball after claiming five wickets against Bangladesh on day three of the second Test but has already targeted having a say with the bat as well, should he get the opportunity.

Cornwall, who has previously shown himself to be a good striker of the ball, particularly in the cricket's shortest format, is yet to translate any of that skill in recent Test team call-ups.  In five innings so far, Cornwall has a high of 10 runs, which he scored against England in July.

In Bangladesh, Cornwall, batting far down the order, scored 2 in the first innings of the first Test and ended without scoring in the second.  He added 4 not out in the first innings of the second Test.  If he is called upon, for Saturday’s fourth day, the bowler could be looking to free his arms for a useful total.

“Once I get the opportunity I would always love to contribute with the bat,” Cornwall said following day three.

“I don’t think my batting ability is showing at the moment, but I think runs are around the corner for me.  I just have to keep putting in the work with the coaches and when my opportunity comes I make good use if it.”

Spinner Rahkeem Cornwall claimed a five-for to put the West Indies in a strong position but Bangladesh struck back immediately to leave the second Test delicately poised at the end of the third day.

By the final session of the day, the West Indies had dismissed the hosts for 296 to begin the second innings with a 113-run lead.  However, they ended the day at 41 for 3, having lost captain Kraigg Brathwaite (6), John Campbell (18), and Shayne Mosely (7) before long.

The West Indies captain was the first casualty, miscuing a shot off Nayeem Hasan, which caught the top of his gloves before being taken by wicketkeeper Liton Das.  Shayne Moseley then departed after edging to second slip, in the process becoming Mehidy Hasan’s 100^th Test wicket.  Brathwaite’s opening partner Campbell was then dismissed in bizarre fashion, with the ball spinning back off the ground to hit the stumps after he had attempted to play a defensive stroke.

Earlier, Das and Mehidy, who got together before lunch, played out a crucial session after the break – with the team still over fifty short of avoiding the follow-on and looking at one point like they would have headed in that direction.  Eventually, the two accounted for a valuable 126-run partnership and looked set to potentially cause even more severe damage.

Cornwall, however, ensured it would not be the case.  Having earlier removed both captain Mominul Haque (21) a confident-looking Mushfiqur Rahim (54) and Mohammad Mithun (15), earlier, he put an end to the partnership after removing Das.  The batsman took the dreaded walk after getting an edge off an attempted paddle, for 71.  Cornwall added No. 9 Nayeem Hasan to complete his tally.  It was pace bowler Shannon Gabriel who accounted for Mehidy after an attempted drive.

Cornwall ended the innings with figures of 5 for 74, while Gabriel ended with 3 for 70.  Nkrumah Bonner (8) and Jomel Warrican (2) will be the batsman resuming the day at the crease for the West Indies on the fourth day.

West Indies spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, is looking for a solid first hour from set batsmen Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner, and the team battles to save the match against Bangladesh on the final day.

At stumps, the West Indies needed another 285 to overhaul the home team for victory.  Although it is the West Indies that holds the record for the highest fourth innings, which was 418 against Australia in 2002, few would bet on the current inexperienced campaigners going anywhere close.

With the team scoring below 250 in seven of its last 12 innings, the team could be forgiven to ensure that it simply did not lose the first test.  In order to secure a result, however, Cornwall believes the first hour of the final day will be crucial and looks to the batsmen continuing to stymie the Bangladesh bowling attack.

“Two guys are crease, set.  They just have to come out again tomorrow and start over again,” Cornwall said at the end of the day’s play.

“The first hour is going to be crucial and we can just take it from there.”

For his part, Cornwall has had a tidy bowling effort, claiming 3 for 81 in the second innings and 2 for 114 in the first.  

West Indies stand-in captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, has backed off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall to make a telling impact in the upcoming Test against Bangladesh.

The spinner showed himself to be in good form after claiming five wickets against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI last week.  Outside of taking the wickets, Cornwall proved hard to get away and boasted an economic rate of 2.82.  Brathwaite backed the spinner to carry that form into the series, on a pitch that is suited for spinners.

“He did a very good job in the practice game, created a lot of pressure, bowling dot balls and such.  I think he’ll do well in the series.  He’s a quality off-spinner, we all know this,” Brathwaite told members of the media via an online press conference on Tuesday.

“We just need to stick to our plans, support him in the field, support all the bowlers not only Rahkeem but we look forward to him doing well this series, all the bowlers."

Cornwall’s best performance so far for the West Indies came in Asia when he claimed 7 for 75 in an innings against Afghanistan and claimed 10 wickets overall.  The West Indies will begin the first Test against Bangladesh at 10:30 pm on Tuesday (9:30 pm ECT).

Off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall grabbed a five-wicket haul as the West Indies dismissed Bangladesh Cricket Board XI for 160, before ending the day at 175 for 5, when they batted again, on day two of the three-day warm-up match.

In the morning session, Cornwall got the key wicket of Mohammad Naim, who was bowled five runs short of a half-century, before later accounting for Yasir Ali. His victims also included Akbar Ali, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Khaled Ahmed.

A left-arm spinner, Jomel Warrican, also had a splendid showing as he swept through the middle order.  Warrican took the wickets of Shahadat Hossain, captain Nurul Hasan, and Towhid Hridoy.

Batting a second time, the West Indies lost Shayne Moseley first ball, but his opening partner John Campbell and Nkrumah Bonner carried the team to 130 for 1 with a solid second-wicket partnership.  Campbell’s dismissal on 68, off the bowling of Saif Hassan, then prompted a collapse.  Jermaine Blackwood (4), Kyle Mayers (8), and Kavem Hodge (19) all departed without really settling in at the crease.  At the close of play, Bonner remained unbeaten on 80, with Joshua Da Silva yet to score at the other end. 

The West Indies will head into the third day and final with an overall lead of 276.

West Indies spinner, Rahkeem Cornwall, believes the unusually long preparation time before the start of the Bangladesh Test series has been beneficial for players needing to get used to ‘difficult’ conditions.

The regional team arrived in Bangladesh on January 10 and was required to quarantine for 7 days based on the country’s COVID-19 protocols.  Since clearing that hurdle, however, the Test team has been free to train and will not start the series until February 1.

The Asian team is known for being particularly difficult to beat on their home turf and easily dispatched the West Indies 2-0 on their last visit in 2018.  One of those advantages is said to be the team’s pitches.

“It has helped (extra time) you have to adapt to these conditions. These conditions are difficult to play in, so the more time we get to understand the conditions is the better it is for us,” Cornwall said.

“It spins a bit more here.  It is always going to be drier than the Caribbean.  So, we just have to adapt to it and play to the best of our ability,” he added.

The inexperienced West Indies team will be hoping for a better showing than in the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series where the team was summarily swept aside 3-0.  The ODI batting line-up found the top class Bangladesh spinners on the surfaces a difficult task to cope with.   

West Indies spinner Rahkeem Cornwall is eager to make use of what could be a solid opportunity on the upcoming tour of Bangladesh, which will provide conditions more suited to spin bowling.

Amidst a flurry of withdrawals, Cornwall was one of the current members of the squad to readily accept the invitation to tour the Asian country next month.

The 27-year-old has been part of the West Indies squad since being invited to the England tour with the team in July.  He then traveled to New Zealand with the team for the tour that took place in December.

Cornwall has, however, had a difficult time making an impact.  Called to the first-team squad for the third Test in England, the spinner bowled 46 overs but did get a wicket.  He was not added to the first team for the New Zealand tour.  On the slower, more spin-friendly matches in Bangladesh, however, the player hopes to have a much bigger impact.

“I think I’m in a good space and we know Bangladesh is known for being more conducive to spin, so I just have to set my mind for a next bubble and go out there and perform the way I should,” Cornwall told the Antigua Observer.

“I went on two tours in England and New Zealand and there was nothing there for spinners and after playing three Test matches, I finally got something that suits me and I hope I can go there and perform,” he added.

Cornwall will have good memories of performing in Asia, as he claimed his career-best figures of 7 for 75 against Bangladesh last year.