Kraigg Brathwaite achieved a unique feat and broke legendary Gary Sobers’ record when he took the field for the second Test against Bangladesh in Jamaica. The 32-year-old featured in his 86th consecutive Test match which is a record for West Indies.
Sobers held the previous record which is 85 Test matches on the trot. The current West Indies Test captain has now gone past that.
Braithwaite started his Test career back in 2011 and played nine Test matches in a row between 2011 and 2012. Following a poor start, he was dropped from the side. He became a regular feature only in 2014 when he got 129 against New Zealand in his comeback Test. Since then, he has been a permanent feature in the West Indies playing XI in Test cricket.
It is something that Braithwaite is extremely proud of, especially in the era of T20 and T10 cricket. Quite a few of the Caribbean cricketers have graduated towards the shorter formats and have not preferred playing Test cricket. Thus, the 32-year-old admitted that he has done a ‘very good job’ for West Indies cricket in playing Test cricket.
“It means a lot. I’m extremely thankful because in this generation, there’s a lot of T10 and T20 cricket, but Test cricket is the real test. At the end, I will feel like I’ve done a really good job for the West Indies,” Kraigg Brathwaite was quoted saying Windies Cricket website.
Only nine players have played 100 Test matches for West Indies. Braithwaite is currently playing his 96th game for West Indies. Thus, it was his dream and goal to earn 100 Test caps. He admitted that Test cricket means everything to him.
“My goal – I will never forget – was to play 100 Test matches. Not just to play them, but to earn 100 caps for the West Indies. That is what my life has been about. Test cricket is everything to me, and I can never be in this position without putting God first,” the West indies Test captain added.
Brathwaite and his solid run in Test cricket since 2014
His first 10 Tests saw him get 415 runs at an average of 21.84. He made just four fifties in this period. However, since returning to the side in 2014, he’s racked up 5354 runs at an average of 34.76 with 12 hundreds and 26 fifties. Only one other West Indies player has more than 3000 Test runs in this period other than Braithwaite which is Jason Holder (3073). In fact, Roston Chase is next on the hundreds list.
Such has been Braithwaite’s contribution to Test cricket for West Indies. He has been their premier batter and has got big runs regularly. Something that pleases him is how he bounced back to get back to the highest level and consistently get runs.
“It’s great to make a debut hundred, a maiden century – that’s lovely. But it’s how you respond when the failures come that defines you as a Test cricketer. People will talk, but it’s about how you fight back and remain at the top level. To now be tying Sir Garfield Sobers’ record—*that* is what hard work does,” Brathwaite explained.
Alastair Cook holds the overall record for most consecutive Test matches which is 159. However, only six players have played 100 or more successive Tests. West Indies do not play a lot of Test cricket but Braithwaite does have a few years left in him. Thus, it won’t be surprising to see him join the elite list.
