Meet the man behind Windies batting resurgence
If the West Indies’ batting was reckless at Edgbaston, it was the polar opposite at Headingley as Stuart Law’s side caught England cold while romping to their first victory here in 17 years.
That they did was largely down to the application and grit of Kraigg Braithwaite and the youthful verve of Shai Hope, who became the first batsman in history to hit a century in both innings of a first-class match at the ground.
Watching on from the balcony at Leeds was Toby Radford, the West Indies batting coach, and a man for whom this week’s Test represents something of a homecoming. The Welshman spent two seasons as a player at Middlesex before returning to Lords, first as director of the county’s academy and then as first team coach.
Radford has been working with the West Indies notoriously errant batsmen since September 2016 and has been widely praised for his work in developing talents such as Braithwaite and Hope during a second spell with the men from the Caribbean.
And another batting display like the one witnessed in Yorkshire could send the West Indies into dreamland - and plunge England into a serious period of introspection with the Ashes looming menacingly close.
“We wanted to go as deep as we could into the final day (at Headingley), we knew that if we could get through that morning period with wickets intact then we had a chance,” he tells The Independent. “Suddenly we came out after lunch and
didn’t look that far away. I thought the composure showed by Kraigg Braithwaite and Shai Hope was pretty remarkable. England threw everything at us but we managed to stand firm, which was brilliant.”
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