Watch the first Test between England and West Indies live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on July 8
Saturday 20 June 2020 10:28, UK
West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite hopes advice on the mental side of his game from legend Desmond Haynes will help turn around his form in the Test series against England.
Brathwaite, 27, blunted England in 2017 by scoring 134 off 249 balls and 95 off 180 as he and Shai Hope steered the tourists to a famous five-wicket win at Headingley but has passed 15 in just three of his last 21 Test knocks.
The right-hander was showing signs of a return to form before the coronavirus pandemic, striking 48 and 84no for his native Barbados against Guyana in March.
And he believes help from fellow Bajan Haynes, who scored 7,487 runs in 116 Tests will help him turn his form around.
"I had some words with Sir Desmond back in Barbados," confirmed Brathwaite, whose 3,496 runs have come at an average of 33.29.
"We've always had a relationship, he was team manager of the Barbados team when I first started, so I had some chats with him. He was an opener as well so it was very beneficial for me.
"A lot of it was about keeping it simple, not over-complicating it too much."
He added: "It was just simple advice - about what he did back in the day, when he was in the field for a long period. How he'd go about getting himself worked up to face three overs left in the day; that's always a tough period for an opener.
"It was just mental stuff that he helped me with. I wouldn't say it was technical. He and I worked on some shots before, probably a couple of years ago. But it's all mental in Test cricket. He was very strong mentally.
"What has worked for me so far is patience. I've obviously had to develop some shots over time.
"Spending time at the wicket is very crucial in Test cricket for any batsman. So that will work for me and in between, I just had to improve on different technical stuff."
Brathwaite is familiar with the challenges posed by the home side's opening attack of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, having played in three series against England in the last five years, and had further experience of playing in English conditions during a stint at Nottinghamshire in 2018 that spanned four County Championship games.
But he has yet to play a competitive match against England's Bridgetown-born paceman Jofra Archer and has welcomed some hostile bowling from his team-mates in the nets at Emirates Old Trafford to help him prepare for the experience.
"I think Jofra is quality," he said. "I've actually never played against Jofra, even back in Barbados. But I look forward to the challenge. We know it won't be easy but you've just got to work hard.
"I know that he gets to the crease quite easy. That's something different - he has a high release point as well.
"But our net sessions are competitive; our guys are quite aggressive, so it'll get you in shape but at the end of the day, going into the match it will always be different. You've just got to get your mind shape around the different things you want to do against each bowler and back it right through."
Watch the first Test between England and West Indies live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on July 8.
