West Indies beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in their two-Test series in North Sound, and Justin Greaves was their Player of the Tournament: the 180 in the first innings of the second Test was the standout batting performance of the series, which got him the match award, and the four wickets across the two games helped pocket the series award. And he put the starrer down to "always wanting to do more for the team".
"Once you get out there, the captain asks me to do a job, I try to do the job to the best of my ability, whether batting or bowling," Greaves said at the press meet after the second Test ended in a stalemate on Tuesday. "Always wanting to do better - I think that's the start of it. Always wanting to get really big scores. Always talk about staying hungry in the dressing room. It's just not for yourself, it's just more for the team at the end of the day. Because, you know, there's sometimes that you might get a hundred or you might get a 90 and it might be good for you, but it's not good enough for the team. And it's always team first for me. So thinking big, thinking big scores really, really help the team."
Greaves has now played 16 Tests. He has three centuries, scores of 115 not out, 202 not out, and now 180. Clearly a man for long innings and big scores - the latest knock lasted 510 minutes and took 325 balls.
"I think this will be top of the list - contributing to a team win and then contributing to a series win as well," he said. "For me, first team series win as well in the Test Championship for us was a very, very big achievement."
Speaking to Daren Ganga on the broadcast after the game, head coach Daren Sammy provided a bit of an insight into Greaves' methods.
"Justin, just a while ago, he spoke to Floyd [Reifer, the batting coach], talking about he having to zone back in. You know, he missed out in the first Test [3 in his only innings], and you could see he was so determined," Sammy said. "I remember a net session: he challenged Shamar [Joseph], Jayden [Seales] and Kemar Roach, and everybody was just watching the live net. He was just giving them talk, and it was… it's something that triggered the type of batting performance we were going to have in this Test series. The nets were so lively. The competition between bat and ball was fierce. And he wanted to apply that.
"I'm like, whatever he's done, and that's not even cricket. It's just from his social skills, the way he looks like he's enjoying the game. [He should] keep it up, because I've seen a change from the last year and it's working. So long may it continue."
Captain Roston Chase, who himself had a big say in the series with his innings of 194 and partnership of 401 with Amir Jangoo in the first-Test win, was happy with Greaves' contributions.
"When they asked me about the Man of the Series, he was my first pick, because he played a key role in this series," Chase said at his press interaction. "Not only in scoring that big hundred but in the first game he bowled a tremendous spell and he got three wickets. And then even in this game, he got the wicket of Kamindu Mendis with Shai Hope making a brilliant stumping. I thought that that changed the game somewhat because that was a partnership that was really threatening to be a very big one.
"He's a quality cricketer. He's a guy that I grew up with - he went to school with me. And from the first time I saw him I knew that he had great talent and this is something that I expected of him. So I'm just happy to see that it's come to life right now."