Kraigg Brathwaite batted and batted and batted and then batted some more to thwart any chances of an England win. The home side had been under pressure with Joe Root and Ben Stokes scoring centuries in the first innings but Brathwaite had other ideas.
Following up on his gritty knock of 160 in the first innings, the Windies captain added an unbeaten 56 in the final innings to come in the way of an England win. Before he put his foot down and refused to budge, England were fancying their chances for a win. Brathwaite was well supported by Jermaine Blackwood and then by Joshua de Silva as they both added another 57 runs.
Quick wickets of John Campbell, Sharmarh Brooks and Nkrumah Bonner in the middle session might’ve given the visitors a sniff of victory, but all hopes were extinguished by Brathwaite, who batted for nearly 12 hours. He spent a total of 16 hours on the crease, scoring 216 runs after facing 673 balls. Nobody in the history of Caribbean Test cricket has spent more time batting in a single Test match.
England had taken the early charge of proceedings with Joe Root continuing from where he left off. He subsequently scored 153 runs after facing over 300 deliveries and was supported by well-paced knocks from Dan Lawrence, who missed his century by nine runs and Ben Stokes, who finished with 120 runs. Chris Woakes added another 41 runs lower down the order to take the visitors to 507/9 before declaring.
Windies fell 96 runs short of the mark after the second innings despite a marathon knock from Brathwaite as well as Blackwood’s century with Jack Leach taking three wickets, including the prized dismissal of the Caribbean captain.
Root probably took too long to declare in the third innings, and he even admitted it after the match. England had set WI a target of 281 with barely enough time left to play. However, the successive dismissals in the middle session of the final day had given them hope but Brathwaite was once again, quick enough to extinguish it.
Brief scores
England 507/9 d (Root 153; Permaul 3/126) and 185/6 d (Lawrence 41; Permaul 2/29)
West Indies 411 All Out (Brathwaite 160; 3/118 Leach) and 135/5 (Brathwaite 56*; 3/36 Leach)
Match drawn
