West Indies opening batsman, Kraigg Brathwaite, has admitted it was a bit of a relief to put runs on the board after heading into the ongoing series, against England, on the back of a lean spell.

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.