Kraigg Brathwaite owns this unwanted record after 100 Test appearances
What's the story
West Indies cricket Darren Sammy has hinted that senior opener Kraigg Brathwaite's position in the Test squad is under serious consideration. This comes after a string of poor performances from Brathwaite in the second Test against Australia in Grenada, which marked his 100th Test appearance. The former captain is yet to touch double-digit in this series. Though Brathwaite now owns 100 Test caps, he also has an unwanted record to his name. Here we decode the same.
Performance
Regular failures vs Australia
Brathwaite was dismissed for an eight-ball duck in the first innings of the Grenada Test as Josh Hazlewood inflicted a caught-and-bowled dismissal. An out-swinging delivery from all-rounder Beau Webster castled the WI opener in the third innings as he edged it to wicket-keeper Alex Carey. Brathwaite managed seven off 26 balls in his latest outing. He made four runs apiece in both innings of the first Test.
DYK
Lowest average in this regard
As per ESPNcricinfo, Brathwaite has opened in 192 of his 193 Test innings, as the other outing came at number three. By the end of the Grenada game, his tally reads 5,950 Test runs. Brathwaite's average of 32.51 is comfortably the lowest among players to have played at least 100 Tests as top-order batters (top-three positions). England's Michel Atherton (37.70) and Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne (37.70) are the only other batters with sub-40 averages on this list.
100th Test
Brathwaite joins these names
Brathwaite became the 10th West Indian to complete 100 Test matches. He joined the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (164), Courtney Walsh (132), Brian Lara (130), Viv Richards (121), Desmond Haynes (116), Clive Lloyd (110), Gordon Greenidge (108), Chris Gayle (103), and Carl Hooper (102). Among WI players with 100-plus Tests as top-order batters, Haynes (42.45) and Gayle (43.49) are the only ones with sub-45 averages besides Brathwaite.
Stats
Least 100s from top-order batters
Brathwaite's current tally reads 12 hundreds and 31 fifties in Tests. No other top-order batter with at least 100 appearances owns fewer than 15 Test tons. His tally of 43 50-plus scores is also the least on this list. Besides, Brathwaite is the only one to have not touched the 6,000-run mark despite playing 100 Tests in the top-three positions. He is way behind the second-placed England's Andrew Strauss (6,994) on this list.
Record
Brathwaite clocked this record as well
Brathwaite has not played a single T20 match to date. No other player since the introduction of T20 cricket in 2003 has featured in 100 Test matches without playing the shortest format of the game. The 32-year-old, who made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2011, also led the team in 39 matches. He also owns the record for playing the most consecutive Tests for WI (90*). This streak, however, is now in danger following his recent failures.
Prospect
Will Brathwaite be dropped?
As mentioned, Sammy admitted that there will be a serious discussion about Brathwaite's position in the XI ahead of the third and final Test against Australia in Jamaica, starting on July 12. "He hasn't looked good this series, and in a team where you are searching for performances, you get very close to say 'okay, do we give somebody else a chance?'" Sammy said after the loss in Grenada.