Kraigg Brathwaite considers himself lucky to have a great friend as West Indies captain in Jason Holder, who continued backing his talent before this trip to England despite a barren run that saw the opener made only 241 runs at an average just above 12 in his last 21 innings.
Brathwaite finally repaid that trust in the first Test in Southampton with a gutsy half-century (65) that helped West Indies take a lead of 104 runs after dismissing England for 204 in the first innings where Holder's 6/42 stole the limelight.
"Me and Jase have been playing [together] from Under-11s," Brathwaite told reporters after Day 3, thanking his Barbados mate. "I know his game, he knows my game well. Just being around each other, we can obviously share ideas, opinions that we may see. Having him around is always good. And having his support? That's always a good feeling as well."
What also helped apart from Holder's support are the runs Brathwaite has previously also scored in difficult conditions in England, including the 134 and 95 which adorned the historic win in Headingley in 2017 and those he has made on his county stints to the country. Brathwaite himself stressed upon familiarity with the conditions as one major factor in overcoming the prolonged drought.
"Playing here in 2017 and playing some county games, [I've found] the ball tends to do something throughout the day," he said. "I think playing the ball as late as possible is always key for me, whether it's the new ball or the old ball."
"[England] is a place where you're never in, in a sense. I don't really like not to play the ball late, even outside England, that's something that I really work hard on, but especially here playing it late is key," Brathwaite added.
(Inputs from ESPNcrcinfo)
