JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, CMC – West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has questioned his side’s mentality after they crashed to a heavy 284-run defeat inside four days of the decisive second Test against South Africa.
The Caribbean side dismissed the hosts for 321 in their second innings on Saturday but then crumbled spectacularly for 106 after being set an improbable target of 391 at the Wanderers.
Wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva scored 34 but was the only player to pass 20 and one of only three in the top eight to reach double figures.
“It’s only mental,” said a solemn-faced Brathwaite moments after the batting capitulation.
“I think technically, yes, we can work on the flaws. So the thing is, you can work on your weaknesses and strengths, but your mind has to be in the right place.
“Test cricket is always a grind. You field a lot of overs, and then, as a batsman, you go out and face world-class bowling. It will never be easy, but I think that belief has to come within.”
He continued: “We can say it – I can say it, the coach can say it – but when we get out on the crease, we’ve got to do it.
“We’ve done it before. It’s not to say we haven’t done it. We’ve done well against England at home and in England.
“Against Australia, we didn’t get the runs that we would like and coming here again. [Against] Zimbabwe, we did well, but that’s different opposition. I think when we’re [up] against the top bowlers in the world, we’ve got to show that we’re top batsmen, and we haven’t done that.”
Only two batsmen managed over 100 runs in the series – vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood with 126 and all-rounder Jason Holder with 116. They were two of only three batsmen with half-centuries, the other being all-rounder Raymon Reifer.
Kyle Mayers (54), Roston Chase (50), and Brathwaite (46) all struggled throughout the series, leaving the backbone of West Indies’ batting missing.
Brathwaite said that while it was encouraging to see his bowlers take 20 wickets in each Test, the lack of run-scoring was the apparent issue.
“Looking back, the bowlers got 40 wickets in the series,” Brathwaite pointed out.
“That’s a good accomplishment coming back from Australia. [There were] two questionable first innings. We didn’t start as good as we should [have] – we gave them over a hundred runs in the first session both times.
“Batting-wise, we weren’t good enough. We didn’t score enough runs – as simple as that. It was a perfect attack, and once again, away from home, we haven’t scored the runs.”
He added: “I still think we’re making some reasonable steps. Looking at the first Test, we were in some good positions. Batting-wise, we were 150 for three [in the first innings]. Then we crumbled to just over 200.
“Bowling-wise, as I said, [there were] positives … but I still think we went too expensive at some crucial times.
“I would say it is an improvement from Australia – a big improvement – but batting-wise, we simply weren’t good enough, and we’ve got to be good enough. We’ve got to be good enough.”
West Indies lost the opening Test at Centurion by 87 runs inside three days.
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