KINGSTON – West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite has blamed inconsistent batting and shoddy fielding as the main reasons behind the home side’s loss to Bangladesh in the just concluded second Test at Sabina Park on Tuesday.
The West Indies were skittled out for 146 and 185 in their two innings and dropped several catches throughout the match, which Bangladesh won by 101 runs to register their first Test victory in the Caribbean since 2009.
The result meant the two-match Test series ended 1-1 after the West Indies won the opening Test by 201 runs.
In a post-match interview on Tuesday following his side’s defeat, Brathwaite admitted that their batting and fielding had been below par.
“We weren’t at our best for sure. We didn’t bat well this game, obviously in both innings and that’s an area we have to continue working at.
“It will continue to be a challenge until we get guys averaging 40 or 50. We have to work harder, and we have to continue to work harder and find ways to execute better, especially when we’re going to play attacking shots, I think that’s one reason we’re falling down at times,” Brathwaite said.
“The batting really let us down, the bowlers put up a big effort. We dropped a few catches as well, so we didn’t have a good all-around game at all.”
Despite the result, the skipper said they were still some positives to take from the series.
“Obviously we’re disappointed losing this Test match for sure, but a lot of positives to look at; Justin Greaves getting his first hundred, unfortunately for Alick [Athanaze] and Mikyle [Louis], they didn’t get their hundreds, but they got some scores, so the guys
got a bit of runs, so that was one thing,” Brathwaite pointed out.
“Obviously, the bowlers were outstanding. I must commend Jayden [Seales] for that phenomenal feat here in this Test match, going at that economy rate, so a lot of positives.
“Maybe we can get better for sure with our catching. We dropped a few catches but still a lot to take away,” he added.
With an away Test series against Pakistan looming early in 2025, Brathwaite said the team would use the coming days to reflect and work on ways to improve their game.
He said it was especially important for the batters to work on their craft during this period.
“The next series is in January, so we have some time in December. A few guys may have some ODI cricket but that’s obviously the time where we have to prepare for that series.
“We have a few days off to prepare mentally. Obviously going to Pakistan, we have to get our plans about how we want to go about playing and look at some video and some footage of their last series and come stronger,” Brathwaite said. (CMC)
