NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes returning to simplicity was the key to his return to form in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
The seasoned opener hit 126 in the first innings at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium to end a three-year run without a hundred before following up with 85 in the second innings to complete an outstanding Test.
“One of the main things for me was to keep it simple,” Brathwaite said following the drawn encounter on Good Friday here.
“In the first Test I batted a number of balls and I didn’t get the scores I would’ve like but I had some positives. So I made sure I had a solid plan [for the second Test] and backed it one hundred per cent.”
He continued: “It is very pleasing. Obviously as the leader of the team you want to lead from the front so I was happy to get two good scores.”
Brathwaite managed scores of three and 23 in the opening Test which also finished in a draw at the same venue here, but then turned the page with two excellent performances in the second Test which earned him Man-of-the-Match honours.
His first innings hundred – his ninth in Tests which took him past 4 000 runs – saw him bat the entire first day before being the last wicket to fall on the stroke of lunch on the second day.
All told, he spent 8-½ hours at the crease and faced 311 deliveries in a marathon innings which has been typical of his approach to batting throughout his 68-Test career.
West Indies lost wickets regularly during the first day after they were sent in and Brathwaite said it had been important for him to occupy the crease.
“I could change [my pace] at times but for me I play the situation of the game,” he explained. “I’m pretty confident I can score at whatever rate I choose to at any time.”
Brathwaite, who oversaw an historic 2-0 whitewash away to Bangladesh recently as stand-in captain which led to his full time appointment, said the Test side was continuing to develop.
“For me it’s all about discipline. We showed that in back-to-back series we could be consistent with bowling and with scoring runs, and it’s just to take that belief into the next series,” Brathwaite stressed.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction and once we keep that attitude, we’ll be a team to reckon with.”
