West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite surpassed a historic record of former cricketer Garfield Sobers by taking field against Bangladesh in the second Test match at Sabina Park in Kingston.
Brathwaite, having made his Test debut back in May 2011 with a match against Pakistan, earned his 96th cap on Saturday, November 30.
The match is yet to start because of delay in toss due to rain. Nonetheless, Brathwaite is a certain in the playing XI.
Kraigg Brathwaite scales historic West Indies landmark
Kraigg Brathwaite has now played most consecutive Test matches without a break in between for the West Indies cricket team. Out of his 96 Test appearances overall, Brathwaite has now played 86 of those matches in succession, thus going past the legendary 85-match tally of former cricketer Garfield Sobers.
Brathwaite achieved the feat by leading West Indies in their series-deciding second Test match against the visiting Bangladesh team in Kingston on November 30, i.e., a day before turning 32.
Brathwaite’s streak began on June 2014 with a match against New Zealand at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. At the time, the elegant right-handed batter unleashed a majestic 129 in the match to fuel West Indies’ 10-wicket victory.
By making his 86th successive appearance for the West Indies, Kraigg Brathwaite levelled up with New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tom Latham, and former Australian opener Matthew Hayden.
Alastair Cook Tops The Chart
Former English skipper Alastair Cook still tops the all-time charts by playing 159 consecutive Tests for England from May 2006 until September 2018.
Former Australian captain Allan Border, with 153 successive Tests, is the only other cricketer in history with more than 150 caps in succession to his name.
Former cricketers Mark Waugh (107 matches), Sunil Gavaskar (106 matches), Brandon McCullum (101 matches) and active Australian spinner Nathan Lyon (100 matches) are the only other players in history with 100 or more successive Test appearances for their respective nations.
Nonetheless, the match between hosts West Indies and the visiting Bangladesh team marks the second and final Test of the series, and constitutes a part of the ongoing 2023-25 ICC WTC cycle.
West Indies, under the leadership of Brathwaite, won the first Test by 201 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.