West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said his side’s experience in Australia earlier this year meant they could yet recover against England despite a crushing innings and 114-run defeat in the first Test at Lord’s on Friday.
The tourists had just a solitary warm-up game to adjust to English conditions, with Lord’s debutant Mikyle Louis a member of a top-order where Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge had only nine caps between them prior to this first of a three-match series.
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Unsurprisingly, the West Indies collapsed in both innings, with debutant fast bowler Gus Atkinson doing the damage during a 12-wicket haul in what was veteran England paceman James Anderson’s 188th and last Test of a record-breaking career.
Tailender Gudakesh Motie, with a second-innings 31 not out after Anderson dropped him off his own bowling, was the only West Indies batsman to pass 30 in a match that was all over before lunch on the third day.
Brathwaite’s men have little time to lick their wounds, with the second Test in Nottingham starting on Thursday.
But the West Indies were in a similar position in Australia in January where, after a lone warm-up game, they lost the first Test in Adelaide by 10 wickets only to end a two-match series all square at 1-1 following a sensational eight-run win at the hosts’ Gabba stronghold in Brisbane.
“The batters, including myself, have got to come to the party,” explained 31-year-old opener Brathwaite, who made just 10 runs in what was his 90th Test.
“We disappointed ourselves with the bat. We didn’t come to the party at all in both innings. With the ball we could be better but a positive is we bowled them out (with England making 371).”
Brathwaite added: “We have a lot of ability and talent. This is the world stage. I believe in the guys. For them it is just to stay mentally strong. After defeat there is pressure, yes, but you have to be strong mentally.
“We lost the first Test (in Australia) and came back and showed some fight. We have got to stay mentally tough and fight hard.”
The 41-year-old Anderson bowed out having taken 704 Test wickets — the most by any fast bowler in the history of the format.
Brathwaite, Anderson’s 500th Test wicket at Lord’s in 2017, was also his 702nd when bowled for four on Thursday.
One consolation for the West Indies is they do not have to face Anderson again, with Brathwaite speaking for many an opposition batsman when he said: “He is a legend of the game. I won’t miss him at all!”
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