Kraigg Brathwaite

A battling and stoic opening batter who has played for West Indies from the age of 18, Kraigg Braithwaite is a throwback to the sort of defensively sound and patient Test batter of years gone by. Now the West Indian Test captain, and one of their most reliable players in the format, Kraigg Braithwaite is tasked with overseeing their effort to return to the top table of world cricket.

U-19 World Cup

Kraigg Braithwaite’s talents were clear from a very young age in the Barbados domestic circuits, which earned him call-ups to the 2010 and 2012 U-19 World Cups. He had also been called up to the squad in 2009 for the tour to Bangladesh as a 16-year-old, although he didn’t get his cap until 2011.

The first of these was immensely successful for Braithwaite, as he finished as the second-highest scorer in the tournament at just the age of 17. He racked up 335 runs in 6 innings, and within the next year would receive his international debut.

International success

Kraigg Braithwaite’s Test debut came in a series against Pakistan at home. He would establish himself as a regular opener for the Test team in 2013 after an injury to Chris Gayle, and hammered home his opportunities with strong performances.

He became one of the youngest double centurions in Test cricket with a mammoth 212 against Bangladesh in 212, at just the age of 21.

In all, Braithwaite has 12 Test centuries in a difficult era for Test openers, and is one of the longest-serving Test openers as of 2024.

Braithwaite became the first opener to remain not-out in both innings of a Test match in the Sharjah Test against Pakistan in 2016, carrying his bat in the first innings and being only the 5th West Indian player to do so in an innings.

Kraigg Braithwaite has also established himself as a reliable part-time spin option. His first Test wickets came in a spell of 6-29 against Sri Lanka in 2015, the best figures by an opening batter in nearly 60 years at the time.

Test captaincy

Kraigg Braithwaite’s best performances have arguably come with the added responsibility of captaincy. Braithwaite’s first captaincy stint would arrive when he stepped in for Jason Holder in 2020, before being provided the permanent captaincy the following year.

He has gone on to become something of a marathon man for the Windies. This includes breaking the record for the most time spent batting in a Test match by a West Indian player twice, first with 813 minutes across two innings against Sri Lanka in 2021, followed by a mammoth 955-minute (nearly 16 hours) against England in 2022 to save a Test match in Bridgetown.

Kraigg Braithwaite has received some criticism for an overly defensive and passive approach to Test cricket, especially in an era which has seen an increase in aggressive red ball batting. Nevertheless, Braithwaite’s style is one which is an important backbone for a West Indian outfit looking to leave a mark in international cricket once again.