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When Ramnaresh Sarwan steered a ball from left-arm spinner Enamul Haque to short third man and sprinted through for the single that carried him to his first, long-delayed Test hundred at the Bangabandhu Stadium yesterday, several thoughts obviously raced through his mind.

He knew that, back home in Guyana, even if there was no radio and television coverage for them to follow, his family, friends and fans would have been willing him to his personal landmark.

But one special person was no longer there to relish the moment and Sarwan still remembered her.

"I dedicate this hundred to Lisa Kensinally," Sarwan, 22, said of his childhood sweetheart who died after a brief illness at the age of 18 in August 2000 while he was on his first overseas tour, to England.

"She was my girlfriend and supported me all through my early days in cricket," he added.

Sarwan flew back to Georgetown for Lisa's funeral before returning to England to play in the final Test of the series at the Oval, as she would have wanted.

Quite close

Sarwan had been close to three figures several times in his previous 27 Tests since making his debut in May 2000 with an unbeaten 86 against Pakistan at Kensington Oval. But he had not broken through the barrier in 48 innings.

"I knew I'd got out quite a few times in the 60s, 70s and 80s and once at 91 and was determined to play close attention to that and focus on that area," he said. "I just told myself I needed to concentrate harder."

When he reached 96, he watched from the opposite end as Marlon Samuels, his partner during a fourth-wicket stand of 176, was leg-before for 91. At 99, hearts in the West Indies players' area beat faster as he missed a nervous cut shot at fast bowler Talha Jubair.

A few minutes later, Sarwan was kissing the face of his bat and being embraced by his new partner, Daren Ganga, in a celebratory embrace for the second time in a week. Ganga was also his partner when he scored his first international hundred, in the second One-Day match against Bangladesh at the same venue the previous Monday.

Sarwan credited his experience on the preceding tour of India with helping him to the landmark.

"I learned a lot through India, in the One-Day series especially," he said. "It taught me how to be more patient, how to wait for the bad ball to put away. That's the real point I can take out of this.

"It really paid off today," he added. "We were in a situation that needed patience."

Sarwan came in when opener Chris Gayle was out after half-hour. Four balls later, he watched as Wavell Hinds followed. Another 18 runs on, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in many ways his mentor, fell for four. Four hours later, Sarwan was crossing his personal milestone – and thinking of Lisa.

© Barbados Nation