WI vs ENG: World Cup winner calls out Joe Root for ‘disrespectful’ act towards West Indies
Joe Root (Image Credit : Twitter)
The first Test between England and West Indies ended in a draw. On Day Five (March 12), the Joe Root-led side continued from 218/1 and put up a total of 349/6, setting a target of 286 runs for West Indies, with 71 overs left in the day. The Kraig Braithwaite-led side had a decent start with the openers, Braithwaite (33) and John Campbell (22) adding 59 runs. However, three quicks wickets before the tea break meant the hosts were tottering at 65/3.
After the break, the team lost another wicket in the form of Jermaine Blackwood (2) early in the session. The hosts were staring down a defeat but the unbeaten partnership of 80 runs for the fifth wicket between Nkrumah Bonner (38*) and Jason Holder (37*) ensured the team salvaged a draw.
Meanwhile, former West Indies cricketer and 2016 T20 World Cup hero, Carlos Braithwaite was critical of Joe Root’s tactics. Carlos accuses Root of showing disrespect to the opposition. Carlos was unimpressed by the fact that England kept on bowling till the final over, underestimating the West Indies.
“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,” Brathwaite said on BT Sport.
He added that West Indies need to come out with more intent in the next game and show England they are a better team than what England think of. “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.
