“I think as batters and as bowlers we’ve got to stay disciplined” – Kraigg Brathwaite

Bangladesh crash to 103 all out off fewer than 33 overs after being put in to bat against the West Indies on the opening day of the first Test on Thursday.

Kraigg Brathwaite being dropped before he had scored with the home captain unbeaten on 42 as they crawled to the close of play at 95 for two in reply.

Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph were the most successful West Indies bowlers with identical figures of three for 33.

However, it was double strikes by Kemar Roach and Kyle Mayers which took the early spotlight to have Bangladesh tottering at 45 for six in the morning.

“For me, the biggest thing is that we can’t underestimate them,” Brathwaite told reporters at the pre-match press conference of 1st test against Bangladesh .

“Just because they’re not in the top three in the world, doesn’t mean that we’re just going to roll over them, so I think as batters and as bowlers we’ve got to stay disciplined, we’ve got to go out there and work hard.

“I thought in the England series we did a good job. A batter got a hundred every game and I thought that was very good [but] we can’t think we’re just going to get a hundred because it’s Bangladesh.

“We’ve got to go out there and work hard. Obviously they’ve got some young fast bowlers and some good spinners so you may have some periods which will be tough but we’ve got to fight.

“But the main thing is we cannot underestimate this team that’s the main thing I’ll be preaching.”

Brathwaite said while preparations for the two-Test series had gone smoothly, the importance of execution could not be undervalued, especially on the opening day in order to set the tempo for the game.

“Preparations went superb. I thought we had four, five [good] days here and as batters I thought we got in some good work,” the opener said.

“The other guys came in from Pakistan and the guys are really looking forward to this series.

“I think as a team we’re just focusing on what we’ve got to do, and whatever we do first we’ve got to do it well.”

“And I think we’ve got to start [well]. The first hour is very crucial starting on that first day. We’ve got to be in the fight and we can’t take them for granted.

“They’ll be coming hard because obviously we beat them in Bangladesh 2-0 so they’ll be coming and looking to do well against us so we’ve got to fight.”

Since the end of the England series, West Indies players have featured in three rounds of first class cricket which Brathwaite said had been essential to keeping the side match fit.

“The more match practice you get before any series is always great so I thought that was superb,” he stressed.

“We got three games in Trinidad in some tough, hot conditions and it was good to see bowlers getting wickets. I think it was good and it will serve us well in this series.”

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