#365DaysOfWriting – Day 179
A Tale of Two Brathwaites
Today, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE, Kraigg Brathwaite steered the West Indies to a famous test win against Pakistan – in the process becoming the first opener in test history to remain unbeaten in both innings of a test match.
Rewind a few months back, to April 3rd, 2016: West Indies v England. The World T20 final. The Windies need 19 off the last over. Enter Carlos Brathwaite. He had already played a major role in the final, taking 3/23 in 4 overs to restrict England to 155. Here, he was batting on 10 (6). Then BOOM – 6, 6, 6, 6, GAME OVER. With a surreal display of brute force, he scored the most runs ever scored in a last over to win a World Cup final. He did a Yuvraj-to-Broad number on Ben Stokes in the most spectacular fashion.
Firstly, are they related?
No, they aren’t. Like how every Menon and every Sharma aren’t related, these Brathwaites aren’t related. But they did attend school together. They grew up together.
And yet, their worlds couldn’t be further apart.
Carlos Brathwaite’s feats earned him an IPL contract with the Delhi Daredevils. Kraigg has mostly stayed in the background and has worked his way up the ladder the unspectacular way. They’ve had contrasting fortunes since the WT20 as well.
Let’s have a look at Carlos’ stats first.
Carlos was given West Indies’ T20 captaincy, and apart from a narrow 1-run win over India (where they almost botched a defence of 245), they were trounced 3–0 by that other maverick T20 team, Pakistan. He hasn’t been able to repeat the magic of the final, obviously. But is that hindering his progress? Is he looking for the spectacular every time he goes out to play? Is that why he’s failing? These are questions only he can answer. But there is definite potential there to be a great.
Let’s see how Kraigg has been doing in the meantime.
There was no IPL contract waiting for Kraigg. But the most heartening thing to see here is that he has a string of consistent scores. And he’s a useful fill-the-gaps slow bowler too. All his effort has culminated in the peak we saw in this last test. To win a World Cup is great, yes, but to be the FIRST EVER test opener to remain unbeaten with a 100+ and a 50+ score in the same game, helping your team win – that achievement is on par, in my books. Especially given the state of West Indies test cricket as it is today, this is an important win.
Both players are equally important to West Indies’ future as a cricketing nation.
Carlos Brathwaite must learn that it’s not all about the power and the glamour – he has to dig in and show steely character on a more consistent basis. That one innings cannot (and should not) get to his head. Cricket isn’t all about boundaries – you have to run the ones and twos, even threes.
Kraigg Brathwaite must realise that he’s a dying breed of batsman – one that relies on the singles, twos and the OCCASIONAL boundary. He should continue what he’s doing. West Indies must nurture him too, ensure that he knows he’s wanted. And on the side, he should probably make a few technical tweaks to his game to be at least a consistent hitter of 4s (without compromising on his natural game).
