Windies skipper left to rue another bad batting display
LONDON: Craig Brathwaite was left to bemoan the West Indies’ batsmen after his side lost by a mammoth 240 runs to new Zealand in Hamilton.
The victory wrapped a 2-0 series win for the host as Mitchell Santner took wickets in successive balls to end the tourists’ second innings on 203 for nine as they tried in vain to chase the 444 runs needed to secure an unlikely drawn series after New Zealand dominated the first Test in Wellington.
The hosts did not need to take all 10 wickets after Sunil Ambris retired hurt when a short Neil Wagner delivery broke his arm, as the visitors resumed on 30 for two and were never really able to establish a solid partnership throughout the day.
For Brathwaite the reason behind the defeat was obvious — the side’s brittle batting.
“(New Zealand) did a great job. For us, we didn’t really bat well, especially in the first innings,” the stand-in West Indies skipper said.
“I thought the bowlers did a magnificent job, obviously it was tough on their bodies. This was a tough loss, we’ve got to be better with our shot selection.”
Trent Boult became the sixth New Zealander to claim 200 Test wickets when he had Brathwaite caught in the gully by skipper Kane Williamson for 20 to leave the visitors floundering at 43 for three and they failed to recover from the early blow.
“It was great to put two strong performances on the board. Credit to the way we stuck to our plans and executed them well in both games,” Williamson said.
“Both teams fought really hard but it was nice for us to stick to our plans for long periods and get the rewards.”