After scoring eight and 19 in his first two innings, Mark Stoneman finally came good with the bat, as he scored his maiden half-century to help the hosts stage a good fight back after conceding a big 169-run lead in the first innings of the ongoing second Test against West Indies at Headingley.
However, the first big knock from the newcomer was nothing less than ‘painful’, as he shrugged off the pain of a dislocated finger to go on and play a crucial knock.
Stoneman looked in pain, as he was seen removing his glove after being hit by the ball on his left hand before receiving treatment on the field. He iced the injury after being dismissed for 52, but fortunately, he was not required to go to the hospital for further treatment.
Speaking after the third day’s play, the left-handed batsman admitted he feared the worst after receiving the nasty blow before heaving a sigh of relief after the physio put the joint of his little finger back into place.
“At first I thought ‘ow, that hurts’. Then when I tried to bend my hand inside the glove it certainly didn’t feel right,” he said. “When I took my glove off and saw it I was fearing the worst but, thankfully, the physio got it back in and there didn’t seem to be too much damage. It was working fine apart from a bit of pain.”
Stoneman certainly needs a big knock to leave a mark at the highest stage of the game and press his claim for a regular place in England’s playing eleven, but the Durham star sounded happy after his maiden Test fifty.
“It was really good,” he said. “The way the game has panned out, the situation allowed us to forget about all the things on the periphery and just try to get into the contest before us. You’re obviously under a bit of pressure, they’re looking to take wickets with the new ball and do as much damage as they possibly can. To get through a new-ball spell and establish a partnership was nice.
“I’ve been really happy with my movements in practice and even in my couple of innings beforehand. I felt I was moving well and was happy with my selections, it was just a case of missing out really. I wasn’t trying to be too critical on myself,” he added.
On 171 for three, England are leading the visitors by two runs and Stoneman feels anything over a 200-run lead would put the hosts in the driver’s seat.
“Anything over 200 would feel really in the game, with the quality of bowling we have. We do have fantastic batting all the way down. It’s definitely a positive day for us and the momentum is probably now in our favour,” he said.