Patience is key, says Brathwaite

Speaking during a preparation camp here at the 3Ws Oval at the UWI Cave Hill Campus, Brathwaite said both batsmen and bowlers had to be prepared to stick to their disciplines for extended periods, in order to wear down the Indians. He pointed out that the Caribbean side had made small strides in their last Test series against Australia Down Under and now needed to continue that upward progression. 

“As a team and personally, we ended that tour on a fairly high note but transforming it now from Australia to the West Indies, the pitches are a bit slower and it’s a different attack,” Brathwaite said on Thursday. “India attack with spin while the Aussies attack with pace [and] it’s about us now being a little more patient. Spin has supposedly been our downfall for the last couple of years and I think we’ve gotten better. 

The coach (Phil Simmons) has done a very good job getting some of the batters in off-season and focussing on playing spin really well. “It’s just a matter of us having a few options to each delivery, being patient and ultimately, playing the waiting game. I think whoever plays the patient game better will come out on top in the series.” 

Brathwaite is part of an inexperienced seam attack that also comprises captain Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel and the uncapped Miguel Cummins. Among them, they boast just 31 Test matches. Jerome Taylor, who has led the attack in recent time, abruptly retired from Tests this week while Kemar Roach is searching for fitness after recovering from injury. 

Brathwaite, whose two Tests came Down Under on the Windies last tour, said the bowling department also needed to be focussed against India’s strong batting line-up. “Their batting line up] is undoubtedly one of the stronger batting line-ups in the world, home and away, and unfortunately or fortunately for us it a lot similar to India in the Caribbean. 

“We have our tasks, we have our plans for each and every batter and it is about us executing the plans and if the plans don’t come to fruitions within two sessions, you keep chugging away.“It’s about us being patient as a team, patient as a bowling unit and as individuals not getting frustrating but realising that [we’re] up against one of the better batting units and you have to do what you would in first class cricket over a long period of time. 

“Once we can continue to progress from the Australia series and from the first Test in Antigua straight through to the fourth Test, I think the fans would be happy and I think that us as a team could give ourselves a pat on the back.” West Indies have not won a Test match against India in 14 years and have lost eight of their last 15 encounters and drawn seven.