NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – Captain Kraigg Brathwaite on Sunday tried to hastily turn the page on a yet another dismal West Indies batting performance, urging his side to stay “mentally tough”, as he switched his attention to next week’s final Test at Edgbaston.
Stressing that the heavy 241-run defeat at Trent Bridge was now behind them, the embattled Brathwaite said it was important to “look forward to the future”, with the hope his side could show some improvement in the last Test of the three-match series, and those against South Africa next month and Bangladesh in November.
Set 385 to win at tea on the penultimate day here Sunday, West Indies cruised to 61 without loss inside the first hour before losing 10 wickets for 82 runs and collapsing to 143 all out in a single session.
“We wouldn’t have expected it, to be honest, after a decent start but it’s gone, it’s history, we have to look forward to the future,” Brathwaite said.
“Test cricket is never an easy game so my word for the guys is stay mentally tough, stay mentally tough. We still have a number of Test matches this year remaining. It’s not the end of the world. You’ve got to stay tough and keep fighting.”
West Indies competed well over the first three days of the game, leading England by 41 runs on first innings after gathering an impressive 457, with Kavem Hodge scoring a hundred and Joshua Da Silva and Alick Athanaze striking fifties.
However, England responded strongly to pile up 425 in their second innings, former captain Joe Root (122) and Harry Brook (109) leading the way with hundreds.
With England also piling up 416 in their first innings and tending to score freely throughout the match, Brathwaite said discipline remained an area of concern for his bowlers.
“It’s just the discipline, we have to be much more disciplined, and England showed us how to bowl on the wicket – how not to get hit square of the wicket too many times in one over – so we have to get better at that,” Brathwaite pointed out.
“The guys will learn. For example, Kavem (Hodge) scored a hundred and then didn’t get much in the second innings – that’s Test cricket.
“You just have to stay mentally tough and I think once we learn from this, we’ll be better off for the future and future Test matches.”
He added: “The more you play and the more you’re in these type of situations – pressure situations playing international cricket – you learn and once you’re learning and thinking about how to get better, it can only be beneficial for us.
“My thing for the boys once again is: it’s history, it’s gone – the two defeats are gone. We still have five Test matches remaining for this year.
“So we keep learning and by the end of the year we will be better off, once we have that correct mindset.”
