'Annoying' Brathwaite's record defiance act denies England

Kraigg Brathwaite's almost 16-hour double act of defiance eclipsed a West Indian record held by Brian Lara as the captain ensured another draw on the final day of the second Test against England at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday.

England skipper Joe Root admitted "it was annoying how good" Brathwaite was in following his first-innings 160 with an unbeaten half-century in the hosts' second dig to set up a series decider in Grenada later this week.

The 955 minutes Brathwaite spent at the crease across both innings was the longest any West Indian has batted in a single Test and the third-most recorded ever after Hanif Mohammad (who batted for more than 970 minutes in a 1958 Test, also in Barbados) and Stephen Fleming (956 minutes versus Sri Lanka in 2003).

His 673 balls faced also saw him eclipse Lara's Windies record of 582 deliveries set in 2004 when he made his Test record 400 not out, also against England, in Antigua.

"My plan was just to play straight and as late as possible. I really enjoyed it," said Brathwaite, whose century had underpinned the Windies' first-innings tally of 411 in reply to England's 9-507 declared.

"It was good that, after England put up 500, we as a team could fight and put 400 back. That's the attitude we want, and the fans want to see. Once you continuously have the right attitude, our Test (results) will go up."

Root made 153 off 316 balls in England's first dig but his new-look bowling attack missing Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson was unable to bowl out the Windies on the final day for a second consecutive Test.

"He played brilliantly in both innings and didn't give us many opportunities," Root said of Brathwaite. "He ground us down. He's an ideal player for a pitch like that.

"He takes it deep time and time again. He had a clear game-plan and stuck to it very well. It's frustrating but there's a lot of respect for the way he went about it."

There has been considerable criticism of the pitches for the first two Tests in Antigua and Barbados and Brathwaite was hopeful there will be a more lively surface for the third and final Test.

"Obviously we would like to see something in it for the pacers," he stated. "All in all I am happy with the big effort we put in for both matches so far but let's see what sort of pitch we get when we get to Grenada."

Root faced up to the inevitable query over whether he took too long on the final morning to make the declaration.

"It's always a tricky one isn't it because you're always trying to weigh up the options," he acknowledged.

"We had to be mindful how small this ground is and how strong the wind was through the day to consider the prospects of someone really coming off could put us under pressure."

Needing to survive two sessions having been set the improbable target of 282, Brathwaite's unbeaten 56 made sure a stumble to 5-93 just after tea did not result in a complete collapse as he got the necessary support from Joshua da Silva (30 not out) with the skipper and wicketkeeper negotiating 21 overs without being separated.

Having opted to declare his team's second innings at 6-185 at the end of a rain-interrupted first session, Root took two catches with the home side sliding into early trouble at 3-39 at the start of the afternoon session.

Left-arm spinner Jack Leach struck in his very first over when opener John Campbell was caught off bat and pad by Alex Lees at silly point. However it was Saqib Mahmood, one of England's two debutants in their bowling attack, who claimed the other two wickets with assistance from his skipper.

Shamarh Brooks hung his bat outside the off-stump and Zak Crawley juggled with the chance at second slip before an alert Root completed the catch. There was no such drama though when Mahmood drew an edge from Nkrumah Bonner's bat four overs later for the captain to make no mistake at first slip.

Brathwaite and Brooks extended their fourth-wicket stand to exactly 50 when Leach drew a defensive prod for Jonny Bairstow to take the catch on his knees at gully. When new man Jason Holder wafted loosely at the specialist spinner and Dan Lawrence took a diving catch at short extra-cover, West Indies were very much in danger of capitulating.

But the captain found solidity and determination in the shape of Da Silva as the pair saw the West Indies to safety to leave the series open going into the final Test in Grenada on Thursday.