West Indies skipper Kraigg Braithwaite and his team brought joy to fans over the weekend when they pulled off a brilliant 10-wicket victory over the visiting England in the decisive Third Test to lift the Richards-Botham Challenge trophy.
The joy etched on fans’ faces was palpable as the team inched its way to a well-deserved 1-0 victory at the National Stadium in Grenada and so too were the celebrations from the team after it secured the winning runs—off the bat of Braithwaite at that.
After all, two things were at stake in this series. The West Indies were under pressure from top to bottom, as coach Phil Simmons was under a bit of pressure having had a couple of poor performances going into the series, which understandably saw the team fall to the lower half of the World Test Championship series.
England under Joe Root meanwhile was smarting from a series loss to and were looking to bounce back against the Windies, who to the English pundits then were seen as easy pickings for the visitors to achieve their goal.
Unfortunately for the English, Braithwaite, who won Man of the Series for his batting performance, and some of the key Windies players had other ideas.
This series was marked by moments of share doggedness and determination on the part of individual Windies players when a game was on the line, until of course, they had their breakout moment in the third test. Many will argue that performances like these with consistency were what have been missing from previous Indies performance and is what is responsible for their current slump on the WTC table.
Batsmen Braithwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner and wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua De Silva all produced valuable centuries to keep the team in position after the first two drawn matches, with De Silva delivering his match-winning effort in the third. Pacers Jaydon Seales, Alzarri Joseph and veteran Kemar Roach meanwhile ensured the visitors did not get too far out of reach before Kyle Myers produced a brilliant spell in the decisive test that helped set up the series win.
That so many players were involved in the success is more of what the team needs. Whether they will be able to do so consistently will always be the main element of concern.
Traditionally, Indies teams have never been short on raw talent. The bugbear has always been the discipline and consistency to ensure they reach their fullest potential on the field of play. Indeed, fans are now all too familiar with the phrase “turning the corner” after each good series performance, only to see the team move in the opposite direction.
In Braithwaite, the team seems to have found a new leader who is leading from the front with his performances. Whether he can continue to maintain this and keep the team spirit high remains rot be seen.
Either way, the team’s effort in this latest series is deserving of all the kudos they get. And for their latest effort, this newspaper congratulates team Windies.
