To the wall who gave us 212, 182, and 160. To the leader who extracted our first Test victory Down Under since Courtney Walsh in 1997. To the landmark statesman who twice visited Asia and returned with more than expected – a 2-0 series triumph against Bangladesh four years ago, and the region’s series-levelling notch over Pakistan just five months ago.
January is a special month for Kraigg Brathwaite. In 2021, the interim captain braved the COVID-19 pandemic and tamed the “Tigers” with an inexperienced side.
Several incumbents, including skipper Jason Holder, declined the tour, which heralded Brathwaite’s reign.
Two months later, the then 28-year-old was bestowed with the crown of West Indies cricket.
This time facing visitors from Sri Lanka, Brathwaite was solid in the second Test with 126 and 85 in the drawn two-match series.
January 2024 was a landmark occasion for the West Indies. Beaten 2-0 in Australia at the end of 2022, Kraigg and his men restored the region’s respect with a simply unbelievable and exhilarating achievement – the West Indies’ first success in Australia for 27 years to tie the two-match series.
Brathwaite joined Walsh, Sir Richie Richardson, Sir Viv Richards, Sir Clive Lloyd, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, John Goddard, and Jackie Grant as West Indies Test captains to defeat Australia on their home soil.
Post-2000, there had not been a new-age leader until Brathwaite to tour the Aussies and return to the Caribbean with a mark in the right column.
Jason Holder, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Jimmy Adams made the long trek without success.
Only Brian Lara can mention his defeat of Australia at home in Antigua, however, as the West Indies chased a record 418 in the fifth and final Test of the 2003 series, which they lost 1-4.
Exactly 12 months later, Brathwaite oversaw more West Indies history as victory in the second Test at Multan ended a 34-year drought in Pakistan, again levelling the two-match series.
Brathwaite was not the highlight of any of the series in Bangladesh, Australia, or Pakistan; however, his willingness to lead, represent, and fight for the region in adverse and unfamiliar conditions must be recognised.
In Bangladesh, Kyle Mayers’ 210 not out on debut in the first Test is unforgettable, as Rahkeem Cornwall and Nkrumah Bonner were awarded Player of the Second Test and Player of the Series, respectively.
In Australia, Player of the Series Shamar Joseph was the hero, with his seven for 68 in the second Test worthy of repeat.
Close friend, compatriot, and Combermere schoolmate Jomel Warrican rose to the occasion in Pakistan with 19 wickets across both matches.
Brathwaite has 12 Test centuries in 99 matches and has been the West Indies’ mainstay opener since partnering Lendl Simmons on debut at just 18 years old.
His debut came in May 2011 in the second Test against Pakistan at Basseterre, St Kitts, where he opened his account with 15 and 0.
Half-centuries then came against Bangladesh, India, and Australia before his maiden Test ton – 129 against New Zealand in Port of Spain, Trinidad in June 2014 – as Brathwaite and Darren Bravo both scored centuries in a 182-run fourth-wicket stand in the first innings of a West Indies win.
Three months later, all of Barbados and the West Indies celebrated Kraigg’s only double century – 212 to flatten Bangladesh in Kingstown, St Vincent.
His time had come; the then 21-year-old signalled his intention to become one of the leading Caribbean Test cricketers of the modern era.
Save for new Test-playing nations Ireland and Afghanistan, the 32-year-old has scored a century against every country except India.
Barbados cricket fans had the chance to witness Brathwaite’s gritty 160 – a marathon innings of 489 balls – in the second Test against England at Kensington Oval in 2022, immediately followed by an unbeaten 56 from 184 balls which saved the Windies from defeat, before leading the team to a 1-0 series victory in the final Test in Grenada.
This performance, along with a 110 in Perth against Australia later the same year, was influential in Brathwaite’s inclusion in the 2022 ICC Test Team of the Year for his 687 runs in 14 innings at an average of 62.45, including five fifties.
Not known for his bowling exploits, his occasional slow bowling did snare a six-wicket haul in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2015.
The Barbados 16-year-old first-class debutant has gone on to play 83 matches for his country. Along with 33 centuries – 16 for Barbados, two for West Indies A, and one each for Glamorgan, Sagicor High Performance Centre, and a West Indians XI – Kraigg has delivered two four-day championships for Barbados.
Named as regional champions in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly ended the competition, Barbados also won the following 2022 edition, in which Brathwaite’s 584 runs topped the table.
Now on the cusp of 100 Test matches and 6,000 Test runs, his invaluable contribution to West Indies cricket is worthy of adulation.
Given the current cricket climate, he will probably be the last West Indian to play 100 Tests, and it is also likely that the ongoing first Test against Australia is his eighth and final Test in front of his home crowd at Kensington Oval.
The second innings will be the final time local fans watch Kraigg open the batting for the West Indies at Kensington Oval.
Brathwaite is the West Indies’ 290th Test cricketer and 172nd One-Day International player.
The Erdiston Primary, Combermere School, Wanderers Cricket Club, Barbados, and West Indies legend is deserving of our praise.
Let us salute Kraigg Clairmonte Brathwaite and bid an international Kensington Oval ‘farewell’ to the national icon before he moves on to St George’s, Grenada, for his momentous 100th Test match.
