I took Stokes apart... then it all went wrong
CARLOS Brathwaite has said he wants to start afresh after struggling to come to terms with the overnight fame that followed his demolition of Ben Stokes in last year’s World Twenty20 final.
Brathwaite will resume battle with Stokes in tomorrow’s first one-day international here, their first reunion since he clinched the trophy for West Indies with fourur successive sixes on a dramatic night in Kolkata.
But while Stokes has since established himself as the life and soul of English cricket and earned a £1.7millionn IPL deal, Brathwaite’s ’s career has stalled — so much so that he would probably swap places with the man whose heart he broke last April.
‘Directly after the game, I went over to him and said, “One of us had to win, one of us had to lose”,’ he told Sportsmail.
‘But I told him I appreciated how his career had gone so far. And given how his career has gone since then, I would probably trade places with him, to be honest. He’s a top cricketer and he seems to be a leader in the dressing-room as well.
‘I know the media will bill the series as Carlos Brathwaite v Ben Stokes, but it’s West Indies v England.’
Already, though, the two seem to be following each other around. They shared a friendly handshake at a function on Tuesday night and as Stokes performed his media duties on one side of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium yesterday, Brathwaite was on the other, peppering the stands with sixes.
There will be no getting away from the individual narrative. Did Brathwaite feel any sympathy for his opponent that evening?
‘It’s professional sport and I’ve seen those days on the field,’ he said. ‘For me the sympathy was more in how the media handled the situation, billing him as a villain.’
Then there was an unsavoury incident in New Zealand, where Stokes’ mum Deb was tricked by a radio station into thinking that her complaint about media treatment of her son was off-air, which it wasn’t.
‘I like to think of myself as a family man,’ said Brathwaite. ‘To see his mum put through that, it really hit me hard. I did a Facebook live video to give her support.’
For now, though, Brathwaite — 28 years old, 6ft 8in and built like a small mountain — is trying to relocate his mojo. In 39 innings since the World Twenty20 final, he has scored just 423 runs at an average of 12, with a solitary half-century.
West Indies’ new coach, the Australian Stuart Law, believes Brathwaite’s challenge is to prove he’s more than a six-hitter. But he still recalls the Kolkata innings with a chuckle.
‘ It was pretty awesome to watch,’ said Law. ‘What was evident was his effortless power — he just defended balls for six. The other day, he hit two on the roof here and he didn’t swing the bat in anger. He’s a talent and he’s more than just a basher — he’s got the technique to be a quality batsman and all-rounder. It’s not just about smashing the ball.’
Brathwaite agrees — and talks about the aftermath of the World T20 as if it was a different life.
‘Unfortunately, it went downhill quickly. Because of what happened that night, people expected things and I guess, for a brief period, I expected them as well. It became a negative.
‘Obviously, four sixes shot me to prominence, but people forget that my Test average is 45 and I have three Test fifties in three matches.
‘Last year’s IPL taught me a lot and I’m in a better space now than when I was at the end of last year. I’m just looking forward to ripping the page out and starting afresh. And I’d love to play county cricket if I get the opportunity.
‘I just want to get back the love I had for the game as a young boy, running around in the backyard. That’s my main goal. There are big things to come from Carlos Brathwaite.’
England have been warned.