Kraigg Brathwaite under the scanner for lean run with bat, with head coach Daren Sammy saying ‘He hasn’t looked good’.
Before the Jamaica Test, West Indies coach Daren Sammy says there will be a serious discussion about Kraigg Brathwaite’s position. However, he is still optimistic that his struggling batting group can find a way to support the fast bowlers’ performances after a series-contending loss to Australia in Grenada.
Shamar Joseph’s late-innings hitting, which was similar to that of the first Test in Barbados, somewhat eroded the margin of victory on the fourth day when the West Indies were bundled for 143 in the fourth innings, needing to chase 277 to win.
At lunchtime on the fourth day, the hosts’ top order had fallen to 33 for 4 after being hammered by Australia’s unrelenting fast-bowling cartel. The middle and lower-order were unable to save West Indies, whose top-order problems have been similar to those of Australia. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood tore up the game in a six-over burst in the middle session, leaving West Indies 99 for 7 and without a recognised batter remaining.
Brathwaite, the only hitter from the West Indies to not score in double figures in the series, was under pressure, Sammy admitted. After scoring 4 and 4 in Barbados, he had a disappointing 100th Test with scores of just 0 and 7.
“He hasn’t looked good this series, and in a team where you are searching for performances, you get very close to say ‘okay, do we give somebody else a chance?'” Sammy said after the loss in Grenada. “But we will really have a good discussion, myself, the selection group, and the captain himself, about that particular situation.”
Sammy acknowledged that handling Australia’s attack on the two pitches used in the series thus far was a difficult task for his batting lineup. He also pointed out that the majority of the new-look lineup was just beginning their transition into a more dependable Test batting lineup.
“But I do understand the journey that I took on, and Rome is not going to be built in a day. So a little bit of patience, a little bit of reality as to where we are at is something that we are aware of, and then continue to put in the work.
“The way the guys have bought into what we’re trying to do, yes, the results have not shown, but some of the attitudes that are changing and understanding what we’re trying to do, it gives me hope.”