WI vs ENG 2022 | Carlos Brathwaite criticises 'disrespectful' Joe Root after drawn Antigua Test
Carlos Brathwaite has accused England captain Joe Root of disrespect to West Indies after he played on until five allocated balls remained on Day 5, when it was no longer mathematically possible to take six wickets. West Indies closed on 147/4 in their second innings to end the contest as a draw.
West Indies held on to draw the first Test of the three-match series against England at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua after Joe Root made a bold declaration on Day 5. They set West Indies 286 runs to win from 71 overs, but the latter did not have any interest to win the contest, and finished on 147/4 in 70.1 overs before the player shook hands to ensure no further play required.
For West Indies, Nkrumah Bonner remained unbeaten on 38 after facing 138 balls, with Jason Holder from the other end, who was on 37 off 101 balls.
While the contest resulted in a draw, England's decision to drag the Test to the last over did not go down well with West Indies’ all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite. In fact, he termed it "disrespectful" when two set batters in the middle did not lead to England agreeing to a draw earlier. Root opted to shake hands with just five allocated deliveries of the match remaining.
Speaking to BT Sport regarding Joe Root’s decision to continue the pla till last over, Brathwaite said, "If I were a senior player in the West Indies dressing room, I would have found it a bit disrespectful that in the last hour, with two set batsmen playing as they were and the pitch offering nothing, England still felt they could get six wickets, going all the way down to five balls left."
"Would England have done that if it were an Ashes Test? Would they have done that against India, New Zealand, Pakistan?”
"I think the answer is no, so why have they done it against us? If West Indies need any sort of steely determination added, I think that passage of play should have given them that. They should be thinking 'we have two Tests now to prove we are better than England think we are'," he added.
Bonner and Holder batted together throughout the final session and were rarely troubled on a lifeless pitch as they guided West Indies to safety. Bonner, who also hit a century in the first innings, batted almost three hours for his unbeaten 38, with Holder alongside him when stumps were finally drawn.
The second Test of the three-match series between the two sides will get under way in Barbados on Wednesday, March 16.