Windies Must Adapt, Says Brathwaite After First Test Loss

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has called for greater adaptability and courage following his side’s 127-run defeat to Pakistan in a low-scoring first Test at the Multan Stadium on Sunday. 

With all 20 wickets in the match falling to spin, Brathwaite cited the batsmen’s inability to adapt to the turning wicket as a significant factor in the loss.

The Men in Maroon would have been pleased with their first-innings efforts, having bowled out the hosts for 230 in a day and a half. Were it not for a stubborn 141-run fifth-wicket partnership between Mohammad Rizwan (71) and Saud Shakeel (84), which held the Pakistani innings together, the Caribbean side might have been chasing a target under 150. 

In the fixture that saw mainstay wicketkeeper and vice-captain Joshua Da Silva being replaced by debutant Tevin Imlach, the pick of the bowlers for the Windies was Jayden Seales, who bagged three wickets for 27 runs. Jomel Warrican also claimed 3 wickets, followed by fellow spinners Kevin Sinclair and Gudakesh Motie, with two and one, respectively.

In their first-innings reply, however, the West Indies suffered a collapse. Their struggles against spin were glaringly evident on the subcontinental surface, as the Pakistani slow bowlers dominated the batting lineup, claiming all 10 wickets. Key to this destruction were Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, with the latter securing a five-wicket haul for just 35 runs, while his spin twin took 4 for 65. The Windies’ tailenders scored the bulk of the runs, with number 10 Warrican top-scoring with 32. Seales and Motie contributed 22 and 19 runs, respectively.

Returning to bat with a healthy lead, the Pakistanis would have hoped to bat long enough to put the game completely out of reach for the Caribbean side. However, a career-best 7 for 32 by Warrican in the second innings saw the hosts bowled out for 157, leaving a target of 251 for the Windies with plenty of time to spare. Despite the prospects of a win, the Windies failed in their pursuit of the total. Again, spin accounted for all 10 wickets, with Sajid, Noman, and Abrar Ahmed sharing all 20 wickets between them. A gutsy 55 from Alick Athanaze was the only real talking point in a match they would hope to quickly forget.

Following the defeat, Brathwaite acknowledged the need to adapt to the turning pitches and improve batting against spin. Despite the disappointment, he pointed to some positives, notably the performances of Athanaze and Warrican.

“The batters didn’t play as well as they should have,” he said. “We will take a look at how Warrican bowled. As spinners, we should take a look at that. He was bringing the batters forward. We saw how Alick played. He swept it on both sides. We just have to be brave.”

Looking ahead to the second Test, which starts on January 25, the Windies skipper stressed the importance of staying positive and trusting their defensive technique on such pitches.

“We’ve got one more Test and we have to believe in ourselves. It is important to be positive on these types of pitches. We should still trust our defence. We should show intent, but we should look at Alick. If we can bring it together, both batting and bowling-wise, we can come out on top.”

The current series serves as both teams’ final World Test Championship games for the 2023-2025 period.