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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Carlos Brathwaite accuses England of being "disrespectful" in first Test vs West Indies

West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite has claimed England were "a bit disrespectful" by taking the game into the final over, despite still needing six wickets to win.

After declaring with a lead of 285, England needed to bowl the West Indies out on day five in order to win the first Test of the series.

Openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell initially shared a 59-run opening partnership for the hosts, but they then suffered a mini collapse with four wickets falling for just eight runs.

However, Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder safely saw out the rest of the day's play and earned their side a hard-fought draw.

The first Test between England and the West Indies ended in a draw (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

The pair both faced more than 100 deliveries and Brathwaite was baffled by England's refusal to accept that the game was going to end in a draw.

Joe Root's side ultimately shook hands after Jack Leach bowled the first ball of the final over, which meant it was impossible for them to take the remaining six wickets they needed to win.

"In my opinion it did [go on longer than it needed to]," Brathwaite said while on punditry duty for BT Sport.

"If I were Kraigg Brathwaite or any of the other senior players in that dressing room I would have found it a bit disrespectful that in the last hour, with two set batsmen batting the way that they were and the pitch offering nothing England felt as though they could get six wickets in the last 10 overs going up until five balls left.

"If you want to become a top team you have to think like a top team and the West Indies may not be there yet, but the mentality has to be 'would England not have done that if it was an Ashes Test or against India, New Zealand or Pakistan?'

"I think the answer is no, so why have they done it against us? The West Indies are a better team than we give them credit for, this passage of play proves it and now we have two Test matches to prove that we are better than England think we are."

Brathwaite also shared his views on England's refusal to accept a draw on social media earlier in the day, tweeting: "A bit disrespectful this".

Former England batter Mark Ramprakash, meanwhile, was a bit more circumspect in his assessment but did admit that he felt England "took it too far".

"I found that very strange from England," he said. "Maybe it's a mentality they've tried to set for the tour that they are going to be hard-nosed. They took it too far though for me."

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