Kraigg Brathwaite
Kraigg Brathwaite (Image Credit: Twitter)

England captain Joe Root showered high praise on West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite after the second Test match and said that “it was annoying how good he was.”

The second Test match of the three-match Test series between West Indies National Cricket Team and England National Cricket Team, which is a part of ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle, ended in a draw.

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The West Indies skipper batted exceptionally well in the match and scored 160 and 56* in the two innings. Overall, he faced 673 balls in the match, which is the most by any West Indies batter in a single Test match. Also, he batted for 15 hours and 45 minutes across his two innings.

Kraigg Brathwaite
Kraigg Brathwaite. Image-Sky Sports

Meanwhile, Joe Root, after the match, hailed both West Indies captain and West Indies team for a brilliant fight in the second Test match and was hoping for the series decider to be a brilliant match. He elaborated:

It was annoying how good he was, He played brilliantly in both innings and didn’t give us many opportunities. He ground us down. He’s an ideal player for a pitch like that. He takes it deep time and time again. He had a clear game-plan and stuck to it very well. It’s frustrating but there’s a lot of respect for the way he went about it.

“It did feel like a new-ball wicket, you needed to really make an impact while the ball was harder, but after three brilliant breakthroughs, we unfortunately couldn’t quite kick on. Credit to West Indies, they fought very hard in two brilliant Test matches, and it should be a brilliant final one of the series.”

I think he’s been wonderful – Joe Root on Dan Lawrence

Joe Root, ICC
Joe Root. (Photo: Twitter)

England captain Root was also impressed with the performance of “selfless” Dan Lawrence, who has been brilliant throughout the series. Joe Root said:

“I think he’s been wonderful. One of the most pleasing things is how selfless he’s been throughout this series. He’s always tried to put the team first – again this morning, really making sure we tried to get as many as we could as quickly as we could, to give ourselves the best chance taking 10 wickets this afternoon.”

He added that Lawrence, who got out on 91 in the first innings, will soon score a century if he continues to bat as he did in the second match. Root stated:

“I don’t think it will be long if he keeps playing like that, that’s for sure. He’s obviously a very talented player. He seems to be growing in confidence all the time, and the more and more he puts himself in those positions, I’m sure it won’t be long.

Joe Root was satisfied with England being able to score 507 in their innings. He asserted:

“It was just really pleasing to see us make a substantial first-innings total for the first time in a long time. So long may that continue. The guys have gained a lot of confidence from it and hopefully we can replicate it again, and again, and again.”

England, Joe Root
Joe Root. Image Credits: Twitter

The English skipper labelled the debutants Matt Fisher and Saqib Mahmood as brilliant and said that they did a good job in non-seam friendly conditions. He said:

I think they were brilliant. The two wickets that we’ve played on have not been the most receptive for seam bowlers, but the two lads have shown great commitment, great dedication, great skill levels – and a different kind of skill level to what they are used to in England, to hold a game and create pressure. It was great to see the delight on their faces when they both picked those first wickets up.”

England National Cricket Team red-ball captain Root further elaborated:

“We’ll have to see what kind of wicket we get and weigh what we think is the best way to take 20 wickets. But it’s really pleasing to see Jack play the way he has. You can see how much he’s enjoying himself out there, bowling with great control, looking very threatening all the time. And it’s great to see him really start to find his feet and look very comfortable at this level.

“It’s always a tricky one, isn’t it?. You’re always trying to weigh that up, but I think with how small this ground is, and how strong the wind was, you don’t want to make it too close.

“It’s easy to look back in hindsight and say, you know, could we have pulled out 10 overs earlier, but in the end, would it have made much difference?”

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Sonanchal Gautam is the Assistant Content Manager at Cricketaddictor. He is a professional Wrestling and Hip-hop enthusiast.