West Indies

Trailing by a mammoth 171 runs on first innings, the West Indies rallied to a remarkable three-wicket victory thanks to a double century from debutant Kyle Mayers and sterling contributions with the bat from fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva. Spinners Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall also played their part with the ball.

Understandably, the players are still euphoric over the improbable victory but Brathwaite said it was now important to remember that everything starts anew for the second Test.

"The biggest thing is not to get carried away. We are happy with the win, but we know we start from zero,” he warned.

“It is one of the things that the coach has stressed on in the practice sessions. Guys are working hard. For me, to them is to stay disciplined and stick to your plans both as a bowling and a batting unit.”

"We as a team don't want to get too far ahead. We have five days of Test cricket to play. We are very happy to have won the first Test. We want to buckle down. Victory has meant a lot for us. The guys are very proud of winning the first Test, but we look forward to the next five days."

The victorious captain said the focus must now be on playing even better cricket once play begins in Dhaka.

"We can improve on our first innings score to help us set the game up better. We did well in the second innings. We have to be a little sharper in the field in periods when there's probably been a partnership. We can be a little tighter," he said.

The West Indies had a promising start in the second Test, bowling South Africa out for 160 in their first innings, with Shamar Joseph leading the charge with a five-wicket haul. However, the West Indies' reply fell short as they were bowled out for 144, conceding a 16-run lead that proved crucial in the tightly contested match.

Reflecting on the loss, Brathwaite acknowledged that failing to capitalize on their strong bowling performance was a key factor in the defeat. "Yeah, if you look at it, obviously it was quite big," Brathwaite said about South Africa's last-wicket stand on the opening day. "But bowling them out for 160, I was happy. That partnership for them was, was good. You know, it's cricket where partnerships do happen. So, I won't really stress on that too much."

"But what I would say is our first innings total needed to be bigger. We needed to get a lead from it. I think that was very important. You can never complain about the bowlers' effort to bowl them out for 160 but yeah, the batting effort in the first innings just wasn't big enough. We had to fight back into the game. And, in the end, we fell short."

Jason Holder also contributed with a half-century in the first innings, and Brathwaite was particularly impressed with Alick Athanaze, who he believes has the potential to score many Test centuries in the future. "I think Alick, his innings was important to continue to keep learning as batters. Alick has a world of potential. I can see him scoring a lot of Test hundreds, but we just got to keep thinking about our game, finding ways to improve," he said.

Despite the series loss, Brathwaite highlighted several positives from the two Tests. Shamar Joseph, who did not play in the first Test, made an impactful return by dismantling South Africa's top order with 5 for 33 in the first innings. Jayden Seales was the team's highest wicket-taker with 12 wickets in the series, including a 6 for 61 haul in the second innings of the second Test as the West Indies restricted South Africa to 246 for a lead of 262.

"I think bowling-wise, you look at Shamar coming back in, not playing the first Test, and coming in bowling out South Africa on the first day. Jayden throughout the series, continued to keep coming despite the hot conditions. That was a positive," Brathwaite said. "You see the two spinners, one of the first time two spinners played together in the Caribbean, and they did well, in particular this game where both of them were under three runs an over. That's one thing we asked for, and that was great to see."

Looking ahead, Brathwaite is optimistic about the future, particularly with the fast bowling unit, which he believes will be a formidable force in upcoming Test matches. However, he also emphasized the importance of the batting unit stepping up to the challenge.

"As I said, the future is very bright for our fast bowling unit, and we've still got Kemar Roach, with loads of experience on it. You know, he still has a lot of Test matches left in him. So it's very exciting," Brathwaite remarked. "But I must say, I'm very excited about the batting unit. I really think the line-up we have, can do the job."

"So, I am excited for the fast bowlers, but I really believe that this top five can do a good job for West Indies. So, we just got to keep believing."

As the West Indies look to build on the positives from this series, Brathwaite's focus remains on consistency and mental toughness, key ingredients for success in the demanding arena of Test cricket.

Chanderpaul, the 26-year-old son of legendary Windies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was called into the team earlier this month and widely expected to get his first cap when the series gets under way in one week’s time.

The younger Chanderpaul is expected to become the 7^th batsman to join Brathwaite in an opening partnership for the West Indies in the last five years, joining the likes of Kieran Powell, Shai Hope, Devon Smith, Jermaine Blackwood and John Campbell.

Campbell, Brathwaite’s most recent partner at the crease received a four-year ban for a whereabouts doping violation earlier this year.  Despite the fact that the duo are yet to face a ball, Brathwaite believes there is potential for the partnership to do well.

"I think the partnership will work extremely well, to be honest," Brathwaite told members of the media on Monday.

"Tage is obviously a guy that could spend a lot of time. For me, my game, there's nothing that's going to change, just focusing on being in the right positions for each ball and… I look forward to the partnership. I've seen him play first-class for a little while, and he's always impressed with the time he has spent (batting). And I really look forward to seeing us do good things together."

Chanderpaul has scored 2669 runs in first class cricket so far and has 5 100s and 10 50s.

The opener’s tally came from 187 balls, with 10 fours and no sixes.  Other scores of note from the innings saw fellow opener John Campbell fall just short of a half-century on 44 and Kyle Myers add 40.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the regional team put 67 on the board before Campbell was dismissed by Shahadat Hossain in the 19^th over.  The regional team then tumbled from 110 for 1, to 131 for 5 as the middle-order of Shayne Moseley, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, and Kavem Hodge collapsed.  Mosely added 15 before being dismissed, and the team lost its next three wickets for just 11 runs.

It took contributions from Joshua da Silva, Kyle Mayers, and Alzarri Joseph, who made scores of 20, 40, and 25, to drag the visitors past the 250-run mark.

Leg spinner Rishad Hossain led the way for the Bangladesh XI with a five-wicket haul, while pacer Khaled Ahmed picked up three.  At the close of play, Saif and Shadman Islam guided the hosts to 24 without loss, having batted for eight overs.

The experienced opener followed his 126 in the West Indies first innings with a patient 85 in the second innings which, along with half-centuries from Kyle Mayers and Jason Holder, allowed him to declare the second innings at 280 for 4, setting the visitors a target of 376 on a good pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Holder was 71 not out, having shared a 53-run partnership with wicket-keeper Joshua Da Silva who was 20 not out.

West Indies then had 40 minutes to bowl at Sri Lanka before stumps and they reached 29-0 with captain Dimuth Karunaratne (11 not out) and Lahiru Thirimanne (17 not out) at the close. They will resume on Friday with another 347 needed for victory, while West Indies will be hunting 10 wickets in 98 overs on what is expected to be an enthralling last day.

Sri Lanka started the day at 250-8 in its first innings and the home side took just over three overs to wrap up the innings at 258 and take a first-innings lead of 96 runs. Pathum Nissanka, on 49 overnight, completed his half-century from the fifth ball of the day, but was out soon after for 51 – caught by substitute Hayden Walsh Jr. at deep backward square from the bowling of Kemar Roach after the trap was set for the hook shot.

When West Indies batted a second time Mayers went on to a half-century from 63 balls, with eight fours, before eventually falling lbw to seamer Saranga Lakmal for 55. Brathwaite reached his 21st half-century from 137 balls and looked set to reach centuries in both innings when he went on to 85, which came off 196 balls and included four boundaries. Holder played a number of outstanding shots and paced the innings well with his half-century requiring just 69 balls.

The hosts carried on from their overnight 95-2 to be bowled out for 265 after 112.5 overs.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite carried on from his 42 on day one to eventually be dismissed for a marathon 94 off 268 balls including nine fours.

Vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood also showed good form with a 139-ball 63, also including nine boundaries.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the way with the ball, with 4-59 off 22.5 overs, while pacers Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed ended with figures of 2-65 off 28 overs and 2-59 off 22 overs, respectively.

Bangladesh then struggled to 50-2 off 20 overs, trailing the Windies by 112 runs at the close, with Mahmudul Hasan Joy (18) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (8) at the crease. Alzarri Joseph took both wickets for the West Indies.

Facing a mammoth 598 for 4 declared, the West Indies ended day 2 at 74 without loss after facing 25 overs.  Chanderpaul, the 25-year-old son of legendary West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, made a solid 47 from 73 balls while Brathwaite himself made a more patient 18 from 79.

Chanderpaul was called into the squad last month as a replacement for previous opening batsman John Campbell, who is currently serving a doping violation suspension.  A match-up against top-ranked Australia certainly isn’t the easiest debut for the young batsman, his captain Brathwaite was, however, not worried.

“I wasn’t surprised.  I’ve known him for a while.  I’ve played against him and he has always had fight always takes his time to bat and bats for long periods,” Brathwaite said at the end of the days play.

“I know he is a fighter, so it isn’t surprising.  I just look forward to a lot from him playing for West Indies.  It was good to see but we need to continue,” he added.

Chanderpaul previously stood out for the team last week against the Prime Ministers XI where he recorded a century in the four-day affair.

 Brathwaite needed only two balls at the start of the day to reach triple figures – when he worked the second ball from Suranga Lakmal to fine leg for a single to reach the landmark off 241 balls with 11 fours.

Brathwaite ended on 126 off 311 balls with 13 fours in seven hours and shared a crucial 103-run eighth-wicket partnership with Rahkeem Cornwall, which helped West Indies to 354. Cornwall reached a new highest score of 73 off just 92 balls with 10 fours and a six, to follow up his 61 in the first match last week.

Sri Lanka replied with 136-3 at the close of the day.

Lahiru Thirimanne followed his scores of 70 and 76 in the first Test with 55, which provided solidity at the top of the Sri Lanka order. Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya De Silva then batted through 25 overs in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership which was worth 59 runs at stumps. Chandimal was 34 not out and De Silva 23.

The tourists played to a draw in their lone three-day warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI on Friday.

“We as a team are very pleased. The facilities here are outstanding and the boys made good use of it,” the skipper said in an interview after Friday’s final day.

The team had some excellent individual performances throughout the three days including Brathwaite himself getting 52 in the first innings.

He didn’t bat in the second, however, giving the opportunity to wicket-keeper Joshua Da Silva to get some time out in the middle at the top of the order. Da Silva grabbed it with both hands, producing a well-composed 105.

“Felt good. It was important for Joshua to get some batting in the second innings so it was a very good game for us,” Brathwaite said.

Brathwaite also singled out the performances of Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge in the game. Greaves had scores of 65 and 41* and took two wickets in the match while Hodge had scores of 52 and 99.

“He’s a quality cricketer. I’m not surprised by what he did and I look forward to his future in West Indies cricket,” he said of Greaves.

“Very pleased with the hunger he showed to come again in the second innings and do it. That’s what we want in this team,” Brathwaite said about Hodge.

The team has been in Australia since late December, something Brathwaite believes has helped them to better acclimatize to the conditions.

“I think it’s very good. We would have flown a number of hours to get here so I think initially getting here and getting accustomed to the time zone and getting over jet lag was quite important,” he said.

“Having the time, as well, to practice here in Adelaide and get accustomed to the pitches and stuff was great for us,” he added.

“Quite clear,” was Brathwaite’s response to questions about the XI for the first Test.

“Very happy with how all the guys went about this camp and this game and, obviously, it’s time next week to make the West Indies proud,” he said.

Brathwaite particularly lauded the impact of debutant Shamar Joseph, expressing confidence in the young cricketer's bright future in Test cricket.

As the West Indies resumed from their overnight score of 73-6, hopes for a resilient batting display were dashed. The team was eventually bowled out for 120, with Alzarri Joseph's 16 and Shamar Joseph's 15 offering some resistance. The standout performances of the Joseph duo forced Australia to bat again.

Australia swiftly achieved their target, scoring 26-0 and securing a resounding 10-wicket victory. Brathwaite acknowledged the success of his bowlers in restricting Australia within 300 runs but underscored the need for improvement in the batting department.

"Bowlers did well to bowl out Australia inside 300. Batters did not get going. As batsmen, it is good for guys to get a feel of playing cricket and what it is like to play the No. 1 team. It is about learning how to score and how to put away the bad ball," Brathwaite remarked, emphasizing the importance of a swift learning curve.

Praising debutant Shamar Joseph, who took 5-94 in Australia’s first innings and had scores of 36 and 15, Brathwaite commented on the youngster's infectious energy and humor, foreseeing a promising future for him in Test cricket. He noted, "[Shamar] is full of energy. Makes me laugh. Has a bright future and also scores runs."

During the Test, Shamar Joseph became the first player in Test history to

The match concluded with Australia's 10-wicket victory before lunch on the third day. Josh Hazelwood, with career-best match figures, played a pivotal role. However, the highlight came when Shamar Joseph, on his debut, drew blood from Usman Khawaja with a bouncer, forcing him to retire hurt.

Shamar Joseph's impact wasn't limited to bowling; he showcased his batting prowess at No. 11. His partnership with Kemar Roach added crucial runs, signaling a potential promotion in the batting order for Joseph in the future.

In a dramatic turn of events, Shamar Joseph, who had dismissed Steven Smith with his first ball in Test cricket, continued to leave an indelible mark on his debut. Despite not being given the new ball, he eventually entered the attack and produced a memorable bouncer that forced Khawaja to retire hurt.

The second Test is scheduled to begin in Brisbane on January 25, promising another exciting encounter, this time under the lights in a day-night format. West Indies will be eager to bounce back, with Shamar Joseph's impactful debut providing a glimmer of hope for the Caribbean side.

Australia’s Josh Hazelwood was the best of the bowlers following up his four-wicket haul in the West Indies’ first innings with remarkable figures of 5-35 in the second innings for overall match figures of 9-79.

For his score of 119 that helped the hosts establish a crucial 95-run lead on first innings, Travis Head was named Player of the Match.

Scores in the match: West Indies 188 and 120 v Australia 283 and 26-0.

With lots of talk heading into the Test focused around the ability of the West Indies top order, Brathwaite crafted an enterprising 65 from 125 balls.  Prior to that, the batsman averaged just 16 from his last six Tests, to see his overall average drop to 33.

Since the start of the series, however, Brathwaite has looked more in line with the player who had a solid performance for the West Indies in 2017, scoring 40 in the first Test, before adding scores of 134 and 95 in a surprise win for the team in the second.

“I’m very happy to have got a score.  It was tough, I was obviously thinking about getting runs, personally, it was tough.  What I tried to focus on was building that foundation for my team,” Brathwaite said of the innings.

“I know I could bat three hours in a game that’s what I was really focusing on.  It was a tough period, but I have accepted that you have to go through these periods to be good or great.  I just decided to keep my mind nice and strong and trust my ability,” he added.

Brathwaite's innings kickstarted the tourists reply to England's 204 all out, with the Caribbean side scoring 318 all-out to rack up a 114-run against England at the Ageas Bowl on Friday.

The West Indies had contributions all the way down their line-up with Shamarh Brooks, 39, John Campbell, 28, Shane Dowrich, 61, and Roston Chase, 47, all contributing to the total. There was even a nice cameo from Alzarri Joseph, 18.

England have responded to the West Indies lead with Rory Burns (10) and Dom Sibley (5), fighting off an onslaught of good bowling from Kemar Roach, Gabriel, and Holder.

West Indies’ 84 points see them move ahead of South Africa (80) and Sri Lanka (74) in the Test rankings. India leads the rankings with 121 while New Zealand is second on 120. England (109), Australia (108) and Pakistan (94) are third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Brathwaite was encouraged by the news.

“I’m very proud of the team to jump two places in the Test rankings. I think this is just the beginning of good things to come,” he said.

“As a group, it shows that we can climb up the ladder and it’s just important for us to work hard and keep the belief and attitude to doing things right – in the preparation and the execution on the field. Once we continue to do the small things right and have the right attitude … because Test cricket is never easy… the sky is the limit.”

The West Indies growth and progress is the result of the memorable 2-0 win away to Bangladesh and the hard-fought 0-0 draw in the Sandals Test Series at home against Sri Lanka. It signals an overall rise for the team – last month it was announced they moved up one spot in the ICC One-Day International (ODI) rankings – following the 3-0 clean sweep over Sri Lanka in the CG Insurance ODI Series.

Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket praised the players and the support staff on the accomplishment.

“I am pleased to see the improvement from eighth to sixth in our Test ranking. This comes on the back of good cricket played earlier in the year against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” Adams said.

“Firstly, we should recognize the efforts of the players and support staff on the ground who have delivered results under pressure and secondly to the large number of people working tirelessly in the background to support them in the face of multiple challenges. We continue to work hard towards our strategic goal of top 3 rankings across all formats.”

There was more good news as the ICC MRF Tyres player rankings also revealed that former captain Jason Holder remains the number-one Test all-rounder and is also the West Indies’ highest-ranked Test bowler at Number 8. Kemar Roach is the next highest at Number 12.

The West Indies will soon have an opportunity to pick up more valuable ranking points when they host South Africa in June before taking on fifth-ranked Pakistan in a Test Series due to played in August 2021 as part of the next cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.

Already trailing 1-0 in the series after going down  by 164 runs to the home side in the lop-sided first Test, at Perth the West Indies once again found themselves behind the eight-ball on Saturday night (Caribbean time).

Their bowlers proved ineffective as Australia declared their first innings at 511-7. Their bowlers then dismissed the West Indies for 214.

Batting a second time after deciding against imposing a follow-on, Australia raced to 199-6 before declaring and then reducing the West Indies to 38-4 to be in complete command heading into the fourth day of the Test.

The hosts quickly completed the victory as the tourists capitulated to 77 all out to lose the two-Test series 2-0.

Brathwaite, the only batter to score a century for the West Indies during the series, said the team failed to put up much resistance.

“It was very disappointing. The first game, we fought to day five which was a decent effort. Coming here we didn't show any fight at all," said Brathwaite who had scores of 19 and three in the match.

"Obviously Australia bowled well but we didn't fight. The pink ball is always different, under lights is always tough. Bad days happen and bad games. This was a bad game for sure, but it's not the end of the world, we have a lot of Test cricket to play next year so we have to look ahead."

The Barbadian batter reserved praise for debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who was one of the few bright spots in an overwhelmingly disastrous series. The 26-year-old son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul had scores of 50, 45, 47 and 17 during the series to be the leading run scorer along with Brathwaite.

"It showed that he's tough," Brathwaite said. "You've got Mitchell Starc coming in at 90mph and you see a guy fighting like that, says a lot about his character. I thought he had a good start to his career and can see him really blossoming to have a superb career for West Indies."

After falling to 67-4, West Indies duo Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder shut up shop, surviving for a combined 239 deliveries as Jack Leach (3-57) and Ben Stokes (1-24) searched for a miracle.

As the day's remaining overs dwindled, England showed no desire to call it early, drawing criticism from Brathwaite as he spoke about the lack of respect shown by the visitors.

"In my opinion [the match] did [go too long]," Brathwaite told BT Sport. 

"If I were Kraigg Brathwaite, or any of the senior players in our dressing room, I would have found it a bit disrespectful that in the last hour.

"With two set batsmen batting the way that they were, the pitch offering nothing, that England still felt as though they could get six wickets in 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four [overs]... up until five balls left."

Braithwaite went on to say that he feels England would not have handled the situation the same way against more high-profile Test outfits.

"If you want to become a top team, you have to think like a top team," he added. "West Indies may not be there yet, but the mentality has to be. 

"Would England have done that if it were an Ashes Test? Would they have done that against New Zealand, India, Pakistan? I think the answer is no. So why have they done it against us?

"If [West Indies] need any sort of steely determination added, I think that passage of play should have given them it. We are a better team than we're given credit for – this passage of play proves it, and now we have two Test matches to prove we are better than England think we are."

Few can argue that the format has certainly suited the opener.  On Saturday, against England, Brathwaite scored his 10^th international century, and the batsman has been far and away the team’s most consistent player over the last five years.  Overall, it is Brathwaite who has scored the most runs during the period with 1730.

Brathwaite has never played a T20 international for the West Indies and has not played a One Day International since 2017.  The formats could, however, pique his interest in the future.

“It’s just unfortunate that every time we have a Test series it’s during our 50 over tournament.  So, I don’t get an opportunity to perform in that format,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Saturday.

“I still love to play 50 over cricket, it’s an aspiration of mine but obviously Test cricket I have been fighting hard for the last few years and I really enjoy it, the grind, but at some point, I would love to get back into ODI cricket,” he added.

“T20 as well, obviously you get into 50 over and show progress there and then get into T20.  It will be tough but I’m still looking to get there.”

Having travelled with seven uncapped players in their 15-man squad, it was always expected that West Indies would field at least three debutants in the series, which forms part of the ICC Test Championships, and with Joseph, Hodge and Greaves all showing their worth in the drawn three-day warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI, it comes as no surprise that they secured spots in the starting team.

In fact, only five members of the current squad -Brathwaite, Joshua Da Silva, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Tagenarine Chanderpaul -were a part of the squad that toured Australia last summer, while Chanderpaul (eight), Gudakesh Motie (four), Alick Athanaze (two), and Kirk McKenzie (one) have a mere 15 Tests between them, which underscores the inexperience of the current West Indies outfit.

Still, Brathwaite, who is only 13 Tests away from the 100-mark milestone, is backing his side to prove competitive against the formidable Australians, provided they maintain their discipline for long periods.

The Domincan-born Hodge and Barbadian Greaves will bat at five and six behind Brathwaite and the left-handed trio of Chanderpaul, McKenzie, and Athanaze, while Shamar Joseph will join Roach and vice-captain Alzarri Joseph in a three-pronged pace attack.

"All I want to see from the team is fight. Obviously, we have a lot of guys that are relatively new to Test cricket, and they have got to show their worth to the world. It is understandable that we are the underdogs, but my thing for the guys is show the world what you can do and make West Indians proud," Brathwaite said. 

"We're obviously playing against the number one team, but I believe we do have the potential. It all revolves around discipline - how long we can be disciplined for as a bowling unit, because we don't want to go in fours and fives obviously. So, once we can be disciplined and obviously put partnerships on the board, anything is possible. But we've got to work extremely hard, and we have to believe in ourselves," he added.

Brathwaite is well aware that they are faced with a daunting task of trying to secure West Indies first win in Australia in over 27 years, but he is hopeful that the knowledge imparted by Brian Lara at training over the past few days, will serve as inspiration to spur the debutants, in particular, to great heights in Adelaide.

"It's always amazing to have Brian around. He has a good set of runs here at Adelaide, so if he could give some of the guys [an idea of how to score] that would be great. But obviously, his wisdom is always good, his advice. He's been through many situations, especially here in Australia and against Australia. My advice to the guys will always be to tap into him," Brathwaite said.

The opening Test will be live on SportsMax this evening from 7:30E Caribbean (6:30 JA).

West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

The tourists ended day one on 313-5 in their 90 overs, led by the skipper who retired his innings after reaching 116 from 170 balls.

Brathwaite, a member of the ICC Test Team of the Year for 2022, shared in a 137-run opening stand with Tagenarine Chanderpaul after the hosts won the toss and elected to field first.

Their stand ended when Chanderpaul was dismissed for 46 by pacer Tanaka Chivanga in the 43^rd over.

The next man to go was Raymon Reifer for 23 before Nkrumah Bonner (3) and Jermaine Blackwood (17) followed soon after.

With the team at 240-4 in the 71^st over, Kyle Mayers and Devon Thomas combined to add another 55 runs to the Windies’ total before Mayers was dismissed for 46.

The day ended with Thomas and Joshua Da Silva at the crease on 42 and nine, respectively.

Chivanga, Donald Tiripano, Wessly Madhevere, Priveledge Chesa and Milton Shumba all took a wicket apiece.

Scores after Day One: West Indies 313-5 from 90 overs (Kraigg Brathwaite 116, Kyle Mayers 46, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 46)

The opening batsman has led by example for far, as he dug in for a patient 49 of 81 balls to anchor the early chase of Bangladesh’s first innings score of 430.

In terms of building partnerships, however, the team has already had some early wobbles with John Campbell (3) and Shayne Moseley (2) being sent back to the pavilion early.  Both were dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman.

Brathwaite will no doubt be hoping that Nkrumah Bonner, who had a solid showing in the three-day warm-up match against the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI, will be part of the first significant partnership of the innings.  Bonner has so far stroked a watchful 17 from 58 balls.

“It’s key to get runs on the board.  We did well getting to 70-odd for two and we just have to look to build partnerships tomorrow,” Brathwaite said at the end of play.

“I’m looking for a big first innings, which will be crucial, a big first-innings total on the board,” he added.

The batsman believes the team should be aided by a pitch that is good for batting, which he expects to hold up.

“I thought it (pitch) played well today.  Not much spin, some balls did spin but the bounce is quite true, it’s not too low.  I think it will hold up for the next day, day and a half and possibly, day four, day five, it will start to wear a little bit,” he added.

The West Indies are looking to defend their hold on the Wisden Trophy in a three-Test series against England beginning July 8 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

During a press conference, earlier today, head coach Phil Simmons, had said he would be using the three-day warm-up to focus on two things in particular.

One; whether or not Gabriel was fit enough to last the tour, and two; what a batting line-up without Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer might look like.

As such, Brathwaite, the team’s long-time vice-captain, will have for company, his opening partner John Campbell, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, and wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich as batsmen, while Raymon Reifer holds down the all-rounder role in the team.

Brathwaite also has a formidable bowling attack with young Chemar Holder, Anderson Phillip, Keon Harding, Oshane Thomas and Marquino Mindley to choose four from.

Holder will lead a team that includes the returning Jermaine Blackwood and Sunil Ambris, as well as Nkrumah Bonner. He also has to guide some newcomers in Joshua DaSilva, and Kyle Mayers.

There is also the newby in Preston McSween, who might get a game, but the skipper may choose to go with the experience of Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel up front, backed up by the offspin of Rahkeem Cornwall and Alzarri Joseph.   

The last time the West Indies and England met, the latter, who were visiting the Caribbean, failed to hold on to the Wisden Trophy after suffering a 2-1 defeat.

Captain Joe Root has said his side would love to take revenge and take back the Wisden Trophy, but the visitors are confident they can give a good account of themselves, even without some of their stars and in English conditions.

The 28-year-old Brathwaite, who recently replaced Jason Holder as captain of the West Indies, is expected to depart for England following the conclusion of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.

The opening batsman could possibly make his debut against Surrey next week but is much more likely to be available for the team’s next fixture against Somerset.

Brathwaite is no stranger to English county cricket, having previously played for Yorkshire (2017), Nottinghamshire (2018), and Glamorgan (2019).  For his part, he revealed that he was eager to return to playing County cricket.

"I truly look forward to the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire,"  Brathwaite said.

"I have always enjoyed county cricket and cherished the times I've been able to play in England. I'm excited to come to Bristol and do my best for the team, the club, and of course the Gloucestershire supporters,” he added.

Having made his Test debut at just 18, Brathwaite has averaged 32.24 over 67 matches with a top score of 212 made against Bangladesh in 2014.

This year, under his captaincy, West Indies have won two Tests against Bangladesh and drawn the opening Test of their two-match series against Sri Lanka