With the bat, Kraigg Brathwaite is not very expansive. Likewise with words. Despite losing to England in just two days and an hour at Lord’s, the West Indies skipper made it plain to his men in his witty remarks to never give up.
West Indies came to Lord’s with the intention of winning the opening Test of the three-match series, Brathwaite acknowledged. Before he was hurt, Kemar Roach and Shamar Joseph, two of his fast bowlers, intended to spoil James Anderson’s final bow. In the end, though, West Indies were only the supporting act at the Anderson extravaganza, which was seen by packed audiences, including one on Friday, when the supporters were reimbursed by the ECB due to the game’s shorter than 15 overs.
Brathwaite stated, “For me to the boys [the message] is generally: things will not always go as planned,” following the innings-and-114-run loss. We came to win the Test, too, but that didn’t happen. However, we still have six Tests left for the year in addition to the two Tests left in this series. Thus everything is building. We can’t think we’re out of it or anything because of this [England] victory. We must delve deeply, maintain our faith, and focus on it. It’s simple to quit. It’s simple to say, “Well, I can’t get it done,” but we must continue to have faith in and encourage one another.”
Brathwaite stated, “For me to the boys [the message] is generally: things will not always go as planned,” following the innings-and-114-run loss. We came to win the Test, too, but that didn’t happen. However, we still have six Tests left for the year in addition to the two Tests left in this series. Thus everything is building. We can’t think we’re out of it or anything because of this [England] victory. We must delve deeply, maintain our faith, and focus on it. It’s simple to quit. It’s simple to say, “Well, I can’t get it done,” but we must continue to have faith in and encourage one another.”
In the first and second innings (41.4 and 47 overs, respectively), West Indies failed to reach 50 overs at bat. The best score for the tailenders, Gudakesh Motie, who flung his bat about on day three, was an undefeated thirty-one, but no batter reached fifty. What was unfortunate for the West Indies was that their bowlers, particularly rookie Gus Atkinson, were so easily overcome and made simple mistakes at the slightest prod from England’s bowlers.
Jayden Seales, a fast bowler who claimed four wickets on the second day, had drawn attention to the West Indies’ batting collapse on the first day, when they were bowled for 121. Brathwaite agreed, having made 6 and 4 at Lord’s.
“If you are batting first, you should score runs, especially in the first inning. We are aware of our mistakes. We are aware of our shortcomings. I would advise the group to maintain mental toughness. Cricket in Test Matches. You experience both prosperous and difficult times; all you need to do is maintain your strength and confidence in yourself. You have to have faith that something will happen soon. Simply keep acting morally. And everything will come together.”
In response to the question of what the West Indies should learn from this loss, Brathwaite stated that they could start by bowling England out. “We secured 10 wickets. Although we bowled them out, it was by 50–60 runs too much. We had three men that batted for about an hour, if not an hour, and they scored about twenty runs. We also caught fairly well.”
The West Indies are capable of winning series as well as tests. They currently hold the Richards-Botham Trophy and have not lost a home Test series against England in twenty years. Brathwaite promised to keep the players motivated for the remainder of the series by reminding them of those realities, as he and his predecessor Jason Holder would do.
“Everyone has some recollections and has seen flashes of accomplishing amazing things at this level. I refer to that as experience. This is where experience becomes useful; Jason Holder has shared his with tremendous success, and I want to do the same (also). We only need to get further into, like I mentioned. Remain psychologically resilient.”
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