West Indies do not take Bangladesh for granted, says Brathwaite

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – Despite having a dominant Test record against Bangladesh at home, West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite has given assurance that his side will not underestimate the visitors in their two-match series starting here on Friday.

Bangladesh last won a Test series in the Caribbean 15 years ago, with the Windies sweeping the last two Test series against them 2-0.

But speaking during a pre-match press conference on Thursday, Brathwaite said history would not dictate the outcome of the series.

“All that is gone is history. We are playing against a talented Bangladesh team. What’s gone is gone and of course we have to come tomorrow and start well with whatever we do.

“…We are playing a talented Bangladesh side and it won’t be easy. The performances before are gone so we have to be ready to go tomorrow morning,” Brathwaite insisted.

He admitted that while 2024 had not been smooth sailing for West Indies in Tests, he said the mood in the camp was still very good.

Brathwaite said there was still a lot left to play for, especially with crucial points going towards the Test World Cup.

The skipper also pointed out that he expected his batters to do well in this series, especially considering that several of them had performed well in the ongoing regional Super50 competition.

“We’ve had a tough year so far but we had some good performances with the bat and it’s just to get as much out of them as possible. We have four innings here and that’s just to support your plans 100 per cent,” said Brathwaite.

“Obviously we looked at the points as a team and we know we’ve got four games left in this cycle and we can still pretty much get high up the table but we just have to believe.

“I think those players are in a good place. A couple of the lads would have played in the Super50 and got some scores so it was good to see and it’s just about that belief,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said despite missing some key players for the series, he expected the team to give a good account of itself.

“We’re practicing a lot and we’ve been working hard the last few days… We’re thinking positive all the time and we’re focusing on our game.

“We are missing some senior players. It’s been tough, but we still believe we can get better. We have a good side right now, young players are coming up and they have the opportunity to perform in these conditions,” he said.

“We believe we can play well and we can come out strong.”