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The second Test between West Indies and England at Kensington Oval in Barbados ended with the hosts securing a draw, thanks to their skipper Kraigg Brathwaite’s lionhearted batting.
After England declared their first innings at 507/9, featuring respective centuries from Joe Root (153) and Ben Stokes (120), West Indies managed 411 runs in response, thanks to Brathwaite’s gritty knock of 160 from 489 deliveries. Middle-order batter Jermaine Blackwood also starred with the bat, scoring a vital 102 off 215 balls.
The visitors then declared their second innings at 185/6, setting up a target of 281 runs. It appeared that the victory was in England’s sight after the quick wickets they picked, reducing the hosts to 93/5.
However, Brathwaite again stood like a rock and saved his side from the defeat, scoring an unbeaten 56 to inspire West Indies to a dramatic draw. In total, Brathwaite faced 673 balls in the contest (112.1 overs) – the most by a West Indies batter in a Test match, surpassing Brian Lara’s 582 against the same opposition in 2004.
Brief Scores:
England 507/9 dec & 185/6 dec (Zak Crawley 40, Daniel Lawrence 41; Veerasammy Permaul 2/29, Jayden Seales 2/34) drew with West Indies 411 & 135/5 (Kraigg Brathwaite 56*, Joshua Da Silva 30*; Jack Leach 3/36, Saqib Mahmood 2/21).
“Amazing to hear that (about the record of facing most balls in a Test for West Indies), obviously put a lot of work through the years and really happy to do it in front of my home ground and my family, very thankful for that. When Jermaine came in, he had the right attitude to fight, and today again, Jermaine and Joshua Da Silva, we want that attitude and fight. England were good, and then for us to get to 400 and show that fight till the end, It is just a start, but for us, it’s important to learn as quick as possible on the job,” said Brathwaite after the match.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Five days of grit, determination and giving everything for each other.
We draw in Barbados, but we head to Grenada ready to repeat our efforts and attitude.
Scorecard: https://t.co/N282Bi8Apj
🏝 #WIvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/FtgxFc78Sj
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 20, 2022
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite faced 673 deliveries during the Bridgetown Test.
That’s more deliveries than any England cricketer faced during the entire Ashes series – Joe Root was the most with 667 balls over 5 Tests.#WIvENG pic.twitter.com/H2Snn6oPkh
— Nic Savage (@nic_savage1) March 21, 2022
Most minutes batted in a Test match:
1015 – Hanif Mohammad 🇵🇰 v WI, 1958 (approx)
956 – Stephen Fleming 🇳🇿 v SL, 2003
955 – Kraigg Brathwaite 🏝️v ENG, 2022For West Indies:
955 – Kraigg Brathwaite v ENG, 2022
813 – Kraigg Brathwaite v SL, 2021#WIvENG— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) March 21, 2022
A truly remarkable landmark as a Test batsman.👏🏿
@K_Brathwaite has now faced more balls in a Test match than both @BrianLara & Sir Garry Sobers.👏🏿#WIvENG #MenInMaroon pic.twitter.com/2VepDlpIzX— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) March 20, 2022
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite has steered West Indies to a hard-earned draw 👏
The series is heading to a decider in Grenada.#WTC23 | #WIvENG | https://t.co/bnf0fU7dtG pic.twitter.com/DZsE0K0jCU
— ICC (@ICC) March 20, 2022
Kraigg Brathwaite in this Test:
656 balls faced, false shot percentage 7%
No other batsman in this Test has matched Brathwaite's control percentage.#WIvENG
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) March 20, 2022
Perfect time to repeat my favourite Kraigg Brathwaite stat. He has now played 76 Test matches. Since the advent of T20 cricket in 2003, he is the only man who has played 50plus Tests without any sort of 20 overs cricket (not even at domestic level). Purist. #WIvEng
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) March 20, 2022
Everyone on their feet for Kraigg Braithwaite after a 799 minute innings for 160 👏#WIvENG
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) March 19, 2022
Another draw test for England and they continue to be at the bottom of the ICC Test Championship Points Table after claiming only 11.67% of the points contested.
Australia is #1 71.42% points while Pakistan is #2 with 61.11% points.#WIvENG #PAKvAUS
— Israr Ahmed Hashmi (@IamIsrarHashmi) March 20, 2022
A memorable gritty effort from the West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite – faced 673 balls in the Test match with 160 runs in first innings and 56* runs in second innings. Well played, captain. #WIvENG pic.twitter.com/Fx7atZyAn4
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 20, 2022
Congrats to Kraig Brathwaite on his monumental batting in this 2nd test. Extreme powers of concentration. Let's try for a result in the 3rd test fellas. 👏🏼 #WIvENG
— Jesse J 🇹🇹 (@JesseJoFuentes) March 20, 2022