Kraigg Brathwaite stands firm as England forced to settle for second draw

England lost their battle of wills with Kraigg Brathwaite and drew the second Test against his West Indies side after a case of deja vu in Barbados.

After falling six wickets short on the last day of the series opener in Antigua, England were once again forced to settle for stalemate at the Kensington Oval. On both occasions lifeless pitches and stiff West Indian will have trumped English endeavour, leaving all to play for in next week’s decider in Grenada.

Joe Root declared 281 ahead at lunch, leaving 65 overs for his bowling attack to conquer benign conditions, but Brathwaite’s studious 56 not out saw his side close on 135 for five.

The Bajan blocker held the fort for a remarkable 11 hours and 39 minutes as he eked out 160 in the first innings and once again showed off his powers of concentration, carrying his bat for another four hours.

That added another 184 balls to his match tally of 673, the most ever faced by a Caribbean cricketer. The timing of Root’s declaration may invite some discussion given it was slightly less ambitious than the equation he set up unsuccessfully in the first Test, when he dangled 286 in 71 overs, but even an extra half-hour may not have been enough to break down the wall.

The West Indies had occupied 187.5 overs in the first innings and despite a couple of awkward moments, they retained their focus. Jack Leach had looked the likeliest match-winner, finishing with three for 36, and would have been forgiven for skipping the end-of-match handshakes after getting through a mammoth 94.5 overs over the five days.

Saqib Mahmood also left a strong first impression on debut with a hostile spell that accounted for Shamarh Brooks and Nkrumah Bonner for single-figure scores. In the end, an outside