Our batting effort in the first innings was not big enough: Kraigg Brathwaite

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has highlighted the positives from the 0-1 defeat in the two-match Test series against South Africa. However, he also mentioned their batting in the first innings of the second Test as a reason behind their defeat. 

After a rain-affected first Test which helped West Indies secure a draw in Trinidad, the hosts lost the second fixture in Guyana by 40 runs. 

South Africa opted to bat and were bowled out for 160 in 54 overs. They were 97/9 at one stage when South Africa’s number 10 and 11, Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger forged a 63-run stand for the final wicket. West Indies squandered the chance to build a big lead, getting bowled out for 144 in response. 

Brathwaite agreed that the last-wicket stand was crucial to the match's outcome but mentioned that they should have done better with the bat in the first innings. 

"Yeah, if you look at it, obviously it was quite big," Brathwaite said on South Africa's last-wicket stand on the opening day of the Test. "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."

Batting has been an issue for West Indies for a number of years now. Since 2019, West Indies have the third lowest batting average (24.5) among the 12 Test-playing nations. 

Despite the defeat, Brathwaite didn’t forget to speak about some of the spirited performances from the hosts that put South Africa under pressure. In the second Test, Shamar Joseph returned to the XI (after missing the first Test) and completed his third five-wicket haul in six Tests. His 5/33 derailed South Africa after they opted to bat first. 

For the second series in a row, Jayden Seales emerged as their highest wicket-taker. Seales picked 13 wickets in three Tests in England and now snapped 12 wickets in two Tests against the Proteas, including 6/61 in the second innings of the Guyana Test. Meanwhile, Jason Holder who has been promoted to number six also scored a valiant fifty in the first innings, which reduced West Indies’ deficit to 16 runs. 

Brathwaite also praised Alick Athanaze who scored 92 on the last day of the first Test, saying the youngster has a lot of Test hundreds in him. 

"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.

"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. Pretty pleased with the bowling effort throughout the series, and batting-wise, we scored above 200 in three of the innings. So it is just for us to aim to do it more consistently, and that's always the task. We always hear about being consistent. And I think mentally it's to find ways to be better."

In spite of West Indies’ poor batting record of late, Brathwaite expressed his confidence in the batting unit to come good. 

"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 said. "But I must say, I'm very excited about the batting unit. I really think the line-up we have, can do the job. And obviously, I've been asking for more Test matches. We had five on the back. And yes, we didn't come out with guys averaging above 50. But I think once we learn from this, going forward will be easier, and obviously being mentally tough is most important in playing Test matches.

"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."

Meanwhile, the winning skipper Temba Bavuma said the team is happy to achieve their goal, however, there remains scope for improvement.

“Our goal was to come to the Caribbean and win the series, and we’re happy that we were able to do so. And I think along the way as well, we've played some good cricket,” Bavuma said.

“We were put under pressure, and we were able to have answers in those periods. I think we can obviously get better and improve, but I think for this young group of players, there's a lot of learnings and confidence that we can take from here."

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.