Source: orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com
UNDETERRED BY the fact that Australia hasn’t been a happy destination for the West Indies team in Test cricket, captain and opening batter Kraigg Brathwaite is of the belief that this team is more than just optimistic ahead of their two-Test series, which starts on November 29, against the Pat Cummins-led Baggy Greens.
“The guys are really looking forward to the Test series and batting on these pitches. It’s bouncy but, it allows guys to play through the line so obviously, you need discipline mixed in with spending time, and aggressive shots in between. So I think guys are really looking forward to playing on these good pitches,” said Brathwaite.
The West Indies last won a Test match Down Under back in February of 1997 and according to captain Brathwaite, he feels the team is under no pressure to end that 25-year winless record, even with fresh memories of the white-ball team’s embarrassing exit from the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
“There’s no pressure, this is a completely different format, we’ve had a good year thus far playing Test cricket and we’re focusing our energy on playing good cricket and we just want to make people in the Caribbean proud, and we know what we have to do, in terms of preparation,” added Brathwaite. Following the four-year ban of the regular opener, John Campbell, the Desmond Haynes-led selection panel has called up Guyanese batter Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who’s expected to make his debut at the top of the order alongside Brathwaite. Owing to their similar batting style, questions have been raised about the pair. This, Brathwaite believes shouldn’t be an issue.
“I think the partnership will work extremely well to be honest. Obviously, Tage is a guy who could spend a lot of time and for me, nothing is going to change. It’s just me being focused on being in the right positions for each ball and I’m looking forward to the partnership.
“I’ve seen him (Tagenarine) play first-class cricket for a little while, and I’ve always been impressed with the time he spends (batting) and I’m really looking forward to it, because I see us doing good things together,” Brathwaite opined.
The Windies Test captain is also eager to continue what has been a good run at the top of the order. In his last 13 Tests, Brathwaite has scored eight half-centuries and two centuries.
The skipper credits his success to ‘balance’, believing that puts him in a position to navigate good Test bowling.
“For me, it’s just balanced, I’ve been working on my balance for a long time now. I think getting my balance in order really helped me to find the gaps better and get in good positions for good balls, and that’s really it.”