BRATHWAITE...It’s pretty simple what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to bat a lot better.
“The guys are ready to go.”
That is the declaration from West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, as his team targets a significantly improved batting performance in the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
After being hammered by an innings and 114 runs in the opening contest at Lord’s last week, West Indies require a win to not only level the three-match series but, more importantly, to lift their spirits and hopes of pulling off a series win in England for the first time since 1988. Whether they will produce an efficient enough performance to achieve the feat is left to be seen.
The Caribbean side only managed scores of 121 and 136 across both innings, while England only required one innings for their match-winning 371.
Despite that, Brathwaite backed his inexperienced batting line-up to bounce back, as the past few days have harboured much talk about their famous comeback against Australia in Gabba earlier this year.
"Obviously, it is a young team, and playing any Test match would always be a challenge for anyone that’s young. We’ve been here for a number of weeks now, and what is gone is gone. The first defeat is gone, the preparation period is gone, and I think the guys are in very good spirits, and mentally, it’s very important to believe in yourself,” Brathwaite said during a pre-game conference.
“The guys are ready to go. It’s pretty simple what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to bat a lot better. Obviously, we’ve got to find a way, which we’ve had some discussions around different things we can do better as a team. We’ve just got to put runs on the board. It’s simple,” he added.
Brathwaite takes a break after a training session. (Getty Images)
With only debutant Mikyle Louis (27), Kavem Hodge (24) and Alick Athanaze (23), Jason Holder, and Gudakesh Motie (31) offering very little resistance in the first Test, Brathwaite believes the disappointment should serve as motivation for his team heading into the second encounter.
“We have a motivation – we’ve got to be better than the first Test. The batsmen have to obviously put runs on the board and that’s our focus. I think once we remain disciplined, session by session, build partnerships that will put us in a good position in the overall result of the game. A few guys did get in but didn’t go on,” Brathwaite reasoned.
He continued: “It’s just important that you go on for longer because the longer you bat, the easier it becomes, and it’s important to stay in that plan for as long as possible. Obviously, you want to put away bad balls – that’s what every batsman wants to do – but it’s that hard work you do for 40 minutes, being able to take that to an hour and two hours.
“It’s a mixture of putting away the bad balls because when you put away the bad balls, it gives you confidence, so we just have to keep learning. I think a lot of learning would’ve taken place in the first Test, and we just have to believe in our ability and do it for longer periods.”
While he has been scrutinised for failing to lead from the front at the top of the order, Brathwaite argued that his lean spell has little to do with his captaincy.
The Barbadian, who is the most experienced player in the team with 90 Tests under his belt, has only tallied a paltry 44 runs in his last six innings.
“I enjoy captaining, I enjoy leading. I’ve been opening my whole life, so when I go out there to bat, it’s always to see off that new ball and be there as long as I can—that’s always my focus. I don’t see it as any added pressure. Yes, at times you don’t get runs, and it can be a little bit tough, but it is important to stay mentally tough and keep believing,” Brathwaite ended.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Anderton: England would have won Euro 2024 under Guardiola
Former England winger Darren Anderton believes the Three Lions would have won the Euros if Pep Guardiola had been in charge.
Following England's 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, the Football Association (FA) announced on Tuesday that Gareth Southgate had stepped down as manager.
Since then, a host of names have been linked with the vacant job, with Eddie Howe and Graham Potter among the reported frontrunners.
One of the others being linked with the position is Guardiola, who is going into the final year of his contract at Manchester City.
The Spaniard won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title with the Citizens last season, though conceded at the end of the campaign he was "closer to leaving than staying".
Guardiola expressed an interest in managing a national team in the past, and Anderton, who represented the Three Lions at Euro 1996, is confident he would bring England success.
"I think the best way to address it is that if Pep managed this squad for this tournament, I think we would have won it, and we would have probably won it pretty comfortably," Anderton told Stats Perform.
Guardiola's long-time rival Jurgen Klopp has also been mooted as an option following his departure from Liverpool after nearly nine years at the club.
Klopp was approached by the United States after they sacked head coach Gregg Berhalter in the wake of a disappointing Copa America campaign, but the German rebuffed that offer as he continues his sabbatical.
However, Anderton thinks Klopp would be a great fit for England.
"We know what he's all about, he knows what English football's all about," Anderton said. "Successful, plays an exciting brand of football.
"I think he gets the best out of players. Players seem to love him, want to play for him. I think he would play a brand of football that we'd be excited by.
"He's another one that I could totally understand if he were to be offered it. I don't think you can go wrong at all, apart from just the non-English aspect."
Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman is another name in the mix, though she has already labelled the links as "inappropriate".
Wiegman led England's women to Euros glory in 2022, while also guiding them to their first-ever World Cup final, which they lost to Spain.
Despite the 54-year-old's success, Anderton admits he would be shocked if the FA chose to appoint her.
"I understand a name being thrown in. I just feel that that wouldn't work," Anderton added.
"Obviously, the two games are totally different. She has been incredibly successful, but I just can't see that happening.
"For me, that would obviously be a huge, huge shock, but she's obviously done an incredible job and has been a winner. But I feel for me that's something that I'd be really, really shocked by if it happened."
Stokes excited by upcoming England bowlers
Ben Stokes says it is an "exciting time" to be a fast bowler for England as they prepare for their second Test against the West Indies this week.
England won the first Test by an innings and 114 runs at Lord's last week, with James Anderson, their all-time leading wicket-taker, playing for the final time.
Chris Woakes, now the senior seamer in the squad, will lead the attack at Trent Bridge in his 50th Test, along with Gus Atkinson, who impressed on his debut by taking 12 wickets.
With Anderson joining England's coaching staff, Mark Wood, who was unavailable for the first Test after playing in the T20 World Cup, has been called up to replace him.
Matthew Potts and uncapped Dillon Pennington make up the rest of the fast bowlers, with Stokes excited by the upcoming talent in the squad.
"It's a really exciting time to be a fast bowler in England," Stokes told BBC Sport.
"It is very exciting, the prospect of seeing Gus Atkinson bowl at one end and Mark Wood at the other.
"There will be opportunities for Dillon, no doubt, in the summer, but at this moment in time, Woody makes it into our strongest XI."
After their comprehensive win last week, England can take an unassailable 2-0 lead with another victory in Nottingham and would seal their first series win since the tour of Pakistan in 2022.
However, Thursday's Test will be the first time since 2012 that England will play at home without either Anderson or Stuart Broad, who retired last year.
"Without sounding too over the top, there was always going to be a time where that was going to hit English cricket," said Stokes.
"There are going to be opportunities for guys throughout the rest of the summer and over the next 18 months to two years."
'Legend' Southgate chose right time to call time on England, says former Three Lions team-mate
Gareth Southgate chose the right time to end his England tenure, though he will go down as a Three Lions "legend".
That is according to Southgate's former international team-mate Darren Anderton.
The Football Association (FA) confirmed on Tuesday that Southgate had decided to walk away from his role following the 2-1 Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
Southgate, who took charge in 2016, guided his national side to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018, as well as back-to-back Euros finals – becoming the first manager to lose two European Championship showpiece matches.
Anderton, a team-mate of Southgate with England at Euro 1996, believes the time was right.
"I think he's been getting a lot of stick. He's been involved since 2011 with the FA and now eight years as the manager," Anderton told Stats Perform.
"I feel like he's more negative within the job, the pressure of it, I think is what causes that. From where he took over, we're in an incredible place with fantastic players."
Southgate appeared to grow tired of the repeated negativity surrounding his side at Euro 2024.
Anderton understands some of the frustration, but thinks Southgate will go down as one of England's great managers.
"There's been a lot of negativity and I think rightly so, the standard and the style of football hasn't been what we would hope or what it was when Gareth first took over," Anderton added.
"I feel that he's done a great job and as he said, time for a change. People always say it's the hardest job in the world and he's had a right go at it and been very close to creating history, but he has great history.
"I mean, two finals and that's what he'll be remembered for. I mean at the moment I think everyone's very negative about it but I think you know as time goes on he'll be remembered as a legend."
England are also the first side to ever lose back-to-back Euros, though Anderton does not believe that unwanted feat will tarnish Southgate's legacy.
"I think it'll be a success," Anderton said when asked how Southgate will be remembered.
"At the moment we see it as a failure because I believe that we had the players and the capabilities to win the tournaments.
"The fact that we haven't done because you know possibly the manner of football that we've played is obviously really disappointing.
"When you watch that Spanish team play and win seven games on the bounce and play with that freedom, I think if we had played in the same way, I think that we would have seen better performances and probably had more chance of winning the tournament.
"That criticism is fair but also the expectation has obviously gone up because of what Gareth's teams have achieved. When that happens, you know, you go into the tournaments, you're favourites, that wasn't the case before he came.
"We were in a really awful position. Eight years ago, if we go into a tournament, and we think we're going to get to a final or a semi-final World Cup, no one cares how we play.
"I think now the expectation has changed based on what he has achieved, and people want more. And that's just the nature of the beast."
Southgate won 61 of his 102 matches in charge of the national team, with 14 of those victories coming at major tournaments.
Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino are said to be the early targets for the FA, though England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley could also be in the frame.
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