West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has described his team’s performance in the first Test against England at Lord’s as “disappointing” but expects them to bounce back similarly to how they did against Australia in January.
England completed an innings and 114-run victory over the West Indies inside three days on Friday.
“It’s quite disappointing but it’s gone. We have two Test matches left in this series and we have to look ahead and stay mentally tough. That’s important for us,” Brathwaite said in Friday’s post-match press conference.
During their tour of Australia in January, the West Indies were similarly dominated by 10 wickets in the first Test in Adelaide before bouncing back with a historic eight-run win over their much stronger opponents in the second Test in Brisbane.
“Yeah for sure,” was Brathwaite’s response when asked if he believes this group can replicate that performance in response to a big loss.
“Every individual I believe in 100%. I know they can get the job done at this level so I believe in them for sure,” he added.
The 31-year-old also saw a few positives from the team’s performance in the first Test against England, mainly in the bowling department.
“Positives? We did bowl them out, albeit 50-60 runs too many. With the bat, we got three guys that got to 20-add and batted for an hour. We caught decently as well,” he said.
Brathwaite also said it’s too early to determine whether or not changes will be made to the XI for the second Test at Trent Bridge starting on July 18.
“It’s a little too early to decide. Obviously, it’s a different pitch we’ll be playing on so when we get there we’ll know,” he said.
Individually, since his 182 against Zimbabwe last February, Brathwaite’s form at the highest level has taken a massive downturn.
He has scored one fifty in his last 16 innings, 75 against India in Port-of-Spain last July.
Since that Zimbabwe series, Brathwaite has scored 227 runs in 16 innings at an average of 15.13.
Brathwaite believes something big is around the corner.
“I’m coping okay. Test cricket is always a challenge but, as I say to the boys as well it’s the same thing for myself, you’ve just got to stay mentally tough. You’ve got to believe that something’s coming around the corner. Just keep doing the right things and everything will work out,” he said.