WI v ENG: Brathwaite accuses Joe Root of being ‘disrespectful’

Former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite has accused Joe Root of being “disrespectful” after the England skipper waited till the final 5 balls to concede the draw on day 5 of the opening Test.

Chasing an unbelievable 286 to win, West Indies had been decreased to 67 for 4 in the beginning of final session however the duo of Nkrumah Bonner (38 off 138) and Jason Holder (37 off 101) batted for a mixed 239 deliveries, including 80 off 35 overs to disclaim England a win.

The guests confirmed no need to name it early, regardless of the day’s remaining overs dwindling with the 2 holding fort.

“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 stated on BT Sport.

“Would England have accomplished that if it had been an Ashes Test? Would they’ve accomplished that in opposition to India, New Zealand, Pakistan? I feel the reply isn’t any, so why have they accomplished it in opposition to 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’.”

The second Test between the 2 sides begins at Bridgetown on March 16.