Brathwaite expecting competitive final warm-up

CANBERRA, Australia (CMC):

West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite is expecting tougher competition in his side’s four-day match against Australia’s PM XI, starting Wednesday (tonight Jamaica time), which he believes will be good preparation for their two-match series against the hosts next week.

The teams will go up against each other in a day-night match at Manuka Oval, Canberra, following last Saturday’s draw against Combined NSW/ACT XI at Philip Oval.

Brathwaite said he expected a “nice and competitive game”, which will be the last warm-up match before the first Test, given the quality of the opponents.

“We know what we’re up against and it’s just for us, mentally, to prepare. Our preparation has been going really good, and we’re really looking forward to this second game. Australia is a world-class team with a top bowling line-up, so we’ve gotta work hard if we want to score runs … . Mentally, we have to prepare for that, and once we do that we’ll be in good stead,” Brathwaite told reporters yesterday.

“I think we had a good first three-day game. This second game is obviously a different team, a much more competitive team, so we look forward to that challenge. Gearing towards the first Test, it’s a pink-ball game, so it would be good to get used to the pink ball and the [cold] conditions here in Australia.”

“It (the pink ball) will react differently off the surface, especially when the lights turn on, so I think that’s something we’ve got to be aware of, both as a bowling unit and a batting unit. It tends to do a lot more at night, so that’s just something we’ve gotta keep on our minds,” the captain added.

Although acknowledging the Australian team’s experience and skill, the right-handed batsman also contended that the West Indies Test squad had made “tremendous” strides recently, not conceding any matches this year and winning one or two series last year, as he urged his teammates to continue to fight.

Meantime, asked about his impressions of Tagenarine Chanderpaul – son of West Indies great and recent ICC Hall of Famer Shivnarine Chanderpaul – who got his Test call-up for the Australia series, Brathwaite said he expects him to succeed at this level.

“I think he has a bright future for West Indies. He is a guy who can spend a lot of time at the crease, and it’s just to urge him to do it. The same things he would have done in first-class cricket for Guyana he just has to do here,” he said.

As for the senior Chanderpaul with whom he played, Brathwaite said he deserved his recent honour.

“In the squad with Chanderpaul, I really learnt a lot. He is a legend of the game, someone I really looked up to. [Seeing] him spend a lot of time at the crease, it was remarkable … and I would have learnt a lot from just watching him, how he went about his work, and I think he really deserved that honour. And it’s just for us to aspire to be in those shoes and even aspire to do better ,but I think he did a remarkable job for West Indies,” he said.

West Indies’ first Test against Prime Minister’s XI will be played at Perth Stadium. The second Test, a day-night encounter at Adelaide Oval is set for December 8-12.