BRISBANE, Australia, CMC – West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said scathing criticism of his side by former Australia fast bowler Rodney Hogg had inspired them to win the pink-ball second Test at the Gabba on Sunday.
Following their 10-wicket defeat in the Adelaide first Test, Hogg labeled the Caribbean side “hopeless and pathetic” and predicted they would also lose the second Test heavily inside three days.
In a stunning twist, however, West Indies shocked the Aussies by eight runs just after lunch on Sunday’s penultimate day to clinch their first Test win on Australian soil in nearly three decades.
“I’m extremely proud. We had two words that inspired us in this Test match,” Brathwaite said in unusually robust comments.
“Mr Rodney Hogg said we were pathetic and hopeless, so that was our inspiration. We wanted to show the world we’re not pathetic, and I must ask him, ‘Are these muscles big enough for him?'” added the opening batsman while flexing his biceps.
West Indies, featuring three debutants in Adelaide, failed to put up an adequate fight, falling for 188 and 120 as the match finished before lunch on the third day.
Following the loss, the 72-year-old Hogg, who mustered only 22 wickets in 10 Tests against West Indies in the late 70s and mid-1980s, told 10 News: “Let’s not beat around the bush: They were hopeless. We should have two divisions now. We can’t have these weak sides coming out here.
“Mitchell Starc with a brand new pink ball, he’s going to run straight through them [at the Gabba]. So, the game wouldn’t go any further than three days. They’re pathetic.
“I look back at the West Indies of old, and we’re down stretching on the ground, and they’re running past in Speedos, and I’m going ‘gee look at their muscles.’ The West Indies’d be running past in overcoats these days.”
The charismatic Shamar Joseph spearheaded West Indies’ victory bid, the 24-year-old fast bowler battling a toe injury to snatch a sensational seven for 68 to bowl Australia out for 207.
Unsure he would be fit enough to take the field at the start, Joseph entered the attack with Australia cruising at 113 for two. He grabbed all six wickets to fall before lunch before fittingly taking the final wicket in the fourth over following the resumption.
“He’s a superstar, and I know he will do great things for West Indies in the future,” Brathwaite said.
“And just his belief, he told me today he’s not putting [the ball] down until [the game] is finished, and that’s an example for this team to follow.”
He continued: “[This win] means a lot for us. It’s been several years since we won a Test match here, but my message to the group is that this is the beginning. It is fantastic, and we’ll enjoy it, but this must continue.
“We must continue, play with heart, and keep fighting for West Indies.”
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