Darren Bravo said challenging himself to bat for as long as possible was the key factor behind his century against New Zealand A on Saturday.

The 31-year-old left-hand batter scored 135 for the West Indies who made 366 in response to New Zealand ‘A’s 308 for 3 declared. In all Bravo batted for four hours and 39 minutes, faced 214 balls and hit 13 fours and five sixes, excellent preparation for the upcoming two Tests against New Zealand in early December.

Bravo said the process was all about challenging himself to bat for as long as possible.

“Most importantly for me was spending time out in the middle,” he said while speaking virtually with media from Queenstown on Sunday.

“I know fully well that if I batted for, let’s say two and a half hours, I was definitely going to get a good score. It wasn’t about the runs. The runs are not going to do justice per se but I think spending time out in the middle and understanding the conditions and stuff like that will work in my favour as a batter, so that was basically my main goal.”

This, he says, has been his approach as he looks to get back playing Test cricket on a regular basis and it seems to be paying off.

“Even in the nets, I try my best not to get out, even if I just get to bat for 20 minutes in the fast-bowlers’ nets. It’s just a matter of spending as much time in the middle as possible and challenge myself as much as possible and if I get through that period, because sometimes you tend to get lazy as a batter, I challenge myself throughout.

“My coach asks for us to bat as long as possible and I tried my best to do that and it worked out in this particular innings.”