International Cricket

WI vs BD 1st Test Jamaica Day 3 — Shamarh Brooks's Comeback Test Hundred Decoded

Anika Nair 15 May 2026 Updated 15 May 2026 ~5 min read ~974 words

Shamarh Brooks Test hundred Sabina Park Jamaica comeback

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Shamarh Brooks had been out of the West Indies Test side for 23 months when he walked out at Sabina Park on Day 2 against Bangladesh, and on Day 3 he reached his fifth Test hundred with a punch off Mehidy Hasan through the covers. The 124 he eventually scored came with two dropped chances, one survived yorker off Shoriful Islam, and 17 boundaries that included six pulled in the same area between deep square leg and deep midwicket. The hundred put the match firmly in West Indies' control. It also reopened a Test selection conversation that the CWI had effectively closed two years ago.

The Pull Shot — the Foundation of the Innings

Brooks scored 38 of his 124 with the pull, and the area was consistent. Three of the six pulled boundaries landed within four metres of each other at deep square leg. The trigger was a slight back-and-across movement before the ball was released — a movement Brooks has worked on with the Barbados batting coach during his Test absence. The technique is repeatable, and the data on Brooks against short-pitched bowling in his last seven first-class innings shows a strike rate of 71 against the short ball, against a career mean of 58.

The seventh pull, in the 56th over off Taskin Ahmed, was the moment of the innings. Taskin had set the field for the pull with a deep square-leg, a deep midwicket, and a square-leg umpire-line catcher. Brooks pulled fine of the catcher for four — a precision shot in an area smaller than the bat's width.

The Shoriful Yorker

Brooks was on 87 when Shoriful Islam bowled a 142kph yorker that landed an inch outside the base of leg-stump. Brooks jammed it out and the bat made contact on the toe-end. Television replay showed the ball passing within two centimetres of the toe-cap. The umpire signalled four leg byes; Brooks knew otherwise. The next ball was a length-ball that Brooks left, the over ended, and Bangladesh did not get a yorker that close again.

The yorker was the shape of the over Bangladesh had planned. Shoriful is a left-arm seamer who has trained on yorker accuracy specifically against right-handed Test batters. He had bowled four yorkers in the innings up to this point and Brooks had played three of them safely. The fifth was the one that almost went through.

The Partnership With Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Brooks added 156 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul for the fourth wicket. Chanderpaul anchored at a strike rate of 38; Brooks ran at 61. The split worked because Chanderpaul rotated strike consistently — 41 singles in his 102-ball stay — and that kept Brooks at the bowler's end for the shorter side of the partnership. The match-state at the start of the partnership was 89 for 3 with the new ball still firm; by the end the West Indies were 245 for 4 with the second new ball five overs away.

The Selection Conversation

Brooks was dropped after the 2024 tour of India where he averaged 18 across two Tests. The CWI selection committee had moved Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Alick Athanaze, and Kavem Hodge ahead of him. Brooks took the Barbados captaincy, scored 1,200 first-class runs across the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, and the comeback Test was the fourth time he had been on the standby list before he made the XI.

The hundred at Sabina Park changes the depth conversation for the West Indies Test order. If Athanaze and Hodge both keep their spots for the next series, Brooks is a No. 3 candidate. If one of them drops, Brooks is a guaranteed pick.

Bangladesh's Plan and Where It Drifted

Bangladesh's plan against Brooks was orthodox — short-and-wide outside off, full-and-straight to the pads. The drift came in the middle session when Mehidy Hasan was kept on for an extra spell because Shakib Al Hasan had been removed from the bowling rotation. Brooks scored 22 of his 124 against Mehidy after the 35th over — a phase where Bangladesh had planned to bowl Shakib through.

The captaincy point is fair. Shakib had bowled 11 overs already and Najmul Hossain Shanto chose to rest him. The pitch was assisting spin enough that Mehidy could have been replaced by part-time off-spinner Mahmudullah for two overs.

What This Innings Did For the Test

West Indies finished Day 3 at 387 for 5. The first-innings lead, projected at lunch as 80, is now projected at 160. The match has moved from a fourth-day result to a fifth-day result in West Indies' favour, and the Brooks hundred is the single biggest swing factor.

What to Watch Next

The Bangladesh second innings response — Najmul Hossain Shanto's opening stand has gone past 50 only once in the last six Tests, and that record will be tested on a Day 4 pitch.