West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite emphasized the need for more Test matches for his team as they prepare for the second Test against England at Trent Bridge. This follows a significant loss in the first Test at Lord’s, where the West Indies were completely outperformed, losing by an innings and 114 runs. The gap between the two teams goes beyond just their performance on the field.
England, India, and Australia are the three wealthiest countries in international cricket, known as the ‘Big Three.’ In contrast, the West Indies is one of the less wealthy teams among the top cricket-playing nations. This difference in money shows up in their schedules of games. Although most cricket matches are set up between two teams, the International Cricket Council (ICC) only requires that each series includes at least two games.
For example, on Thursday, the second Test match at Trent Bridge will be England’s seventh out of 17 planned Test matches for this year. However, it will be only the third out of nine for the West Indies in 2024. “It’s a tough situation. We really want to play more Test cricket,” Brathwaite said in a press conference before the match at Trent Bridge on Wednesday. “The more you play, the quicker you learn. If you only play a few Tests here and there over a long time, it takes longer to learn. We need more Test matches.”
The 31-year-old team leader said, “I’ll continue to push for more Test matches. I’m not sure how difficult it is to arrange a Test series for the West Indies, but I’ll keep asking. I hope the people who decide the schedule, with all the one-day and T20 games, can include five or six more Test matches for us each year.”
For now, the West Indies need to work on their batting to be strong in this series. At Lord’s, they were all out for only 121 and 136 runs, and Brathwaite himself only scored 10 runs in total during his 90th Test. “It’s clear what we need to do – we need to bat much better,” said Brathwaite, who scored a Test century in England at Headingley seven years ago. “We need to find a way to score more runs. I know what I need to do, and it’s important to lead the team and the batting. We just need to keep learning.”
