debut: 3/6/03
9,995 runs
Kraigg Brathwaite says that West Indies' stunning victory over Australia in Brisbane is "history" as his team turns its attention to Wednesday's first Test against England at Lord's. However, he hopes that the confidence gleaned from that performance in January will help lift an inexperienced line-up as they prepare for another tough test of their mettle.
Going into the second Test of that Australia tour in January, West Indies were given next to no hope of competing at a venue where the hosts had lost just once in 34 Tests dating back to 1988, especially after an emphatic ten-wicket defeat in the series opener at Adelaide.
However, with battling half-centuries from Kavem Hodge, Joshua da Silva and Kevin Sinclair, allied to key second-innings runs from the likes of Alick Athanaze and Kirk McKenzie, the match was captured in extraordinary circumstances, as Shamar Joseph's second-innings figures of 7 for 68 in 11.5 overs blew away Australia's middle and lower order for a famous eight-run win.
Six months later, the challenge is no less stiff, as West Indies head to another country where they haven't landed a series win since their region's heyday in 1988. In their entire squad, only three players - Brathwaite himself, plus Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph - have prior experience of playing at Lord's, but the captain believes from what he witnessed in Australia that his team can overcome the odds once again.
"It was a big positive for us to get a win, because it shows that we could we could get the job done," Brathwaite said. "Obviously the key for us as a group is to do it consistently.
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