Brathwaite and Windies had doubts over Durham conditions

The slippery conditions at Durham prompted Carlos Brathwaite to air his concerns with the umpires, before West Indies overcame England.

Published : Sep 17, 2017 10:07 IST

West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite thanked the umpires for their sensible approach to tricky conditions as the tourist overcame England at Durham on Saturday.

Brathwaite's side prevailed by 21 runs in the one-off Twenty20 contest at Chester-le-Street, dismissing its host for 155 after posting 176-9.

Early in England's reply on what was a bitterly cold evening in the north east of England, the visiting skipper aired his concerns over the underfoot conditions, which were decidedly damp following earlier rain.

Wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton fell awkwardly in changing direction sharply to collect one ball, and Brathwaite was keen to avoid the risk of any further injury to his team.

"We've definitely played in warmer conditions!" said Brathwaite, who revealed his plans to watch Manchester United take on Everton on Sunday before he returns home.

"It was soft underfoot, dangerous we thought.

"We were in agreement [with the umpires] that if it continues to be unsafe and if anything drastic happened we would call it quits. Fortunately that didn't happen.

"The first three or four overs [of the second innings], we had a couple of big slips, that was a worry. Obviously coming from the Caribbean, our bodies are not accustomed to the cold and then for that to happen...

"We wanted to be as safe as possible, we gave it an ultimatum to rope it then we'd try again. Nothing [bad] happened and then cricket was the winner.

"Most of the boys were thinking it was unsafe. They [the umpires] said it was that way for England as well so thanks to them for being rational about it.

"We always wanted to play but safety obviously is the major concern."

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