West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite remains hopeful that his team will improve from their recent series loss to England when they take on South Africa next month. England dominated the West Indies, winning the third Test by 10 wickets at Edgbaston, thereby achieving a 3-0 series sweep. The West Indies must quickly learn from their defeats, which included heavy losses at Lord's and Trent Bridge, as they prepare for a two-match Test series against South Africa starting August 7 in Trinidad. Issues that were evident throughout their English tour resurfaced at Edgbaston, where despite reducing England to 54-5 in the first innings, the hosts rallied to 376 all out. West Indies' Mikyle Louis and Kavem Hodge scored half-centuries in the second innings, but the team was dismissed for 175, with Mark Wood taking 5-40. England needed only 82 runs to win, with captain Ben Stokes dominating the West Indies' bowling attack.
Brathwaite acknowledged the series was challenging, highlighting a lack of discipline in bowling and insufficient batting performance in the second innings of the last two Tests. However, the 31-year-old opener believes the upcoming series against South Africa will be beneficial for the team's development.
England completed their whitewash in just 10 of the scheduled 15 playing days. The West Indies struggled with limited preparation, having played only one warm-up match against a County Select XI. The financial disparity between cricket's richest and poorest teams was evident, with key players like Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, and Rovman Powell participating in the English domestic Hundred competition instead of the Test series. Kavem Hodge's 120 at Trent Bridge was the only century for the West Indies in the series. Coach Andre Coley expressed hope for future improvements, noting potential if more half-centuries were converted into bigger scores, and praised the resilience shown by young opener Mikyle Louis against Mark Wood's aggressive bowling.
