England Tour of West Indies Tests March 2022: West Indies Win the Inaugural Richards-Botham Trophy 1-0 (2 Draws) — Brathwaite 160 and 673 Balls Faced (Most by Any WI Batter in One Test), Da Silva 100* on Debut, Mayers 5/9 Cheapest Five-For, Bairstow 140 + Root 153 + Stokes 120

West Indies won the inaugural Richards-Botham Trophy against England in March 2022 by 1-0 with 2 draws — their first home Test series win against England since 2009. Player of the Series: Kraigg Brathwaite (341 series runs). Jayden Seales and Kemar Roach led West Indies' attack with 11 wickets each; Jack Leach took 11 for England. The series was designated as part of the 2021/22 ICC World Test Championship cycle. 1st Test Sir Vivian Richards Stadium North Sound Antigua (March 8-12, 2022): Draw — West Indies 375 (Nkrumah Bonner 123; Kraigg Brathwaite 55) & 147/4 (Bonner 38*, Jason Holder 37*); England 311 (Jonny Bairstow 140; Seales 4/79) & 349/6 declared (Joe Root 109; Zak Crawley century). Bonner was Player of the Match for his century and his unbeaten 38 that helped West Indies save the match after England's big 2nd innings. 2nd Test Kensington Oval Bridgetown Barbados (March 16-20, 2022): Draw — England 507/9 declared (Root 153, Ben Stokes 120); West Indies 411 (Brathwaite 160) & 136/5 (Brathwaite 56*). Brathwaite faced 673 balls across his 160 and 56* in this single Test — the most balls faced by any West Indian batter in a completed Test match. His total time at the crease across the two innings was 15 hours and 45 minutes. With Root's 153 and Stokes's 120 in England's 507/9d — both scored in an attacking partnership — England set the tone early, but Brathwaite's 160 and his 2nd-innings resistance denied them the win. Brathwaite was Player of the Match. 3rd Test National Cricket Stadium St. George's Grenada (March 24-27, 2022): West Indies won by 10 wickets — England 204 & 120; West Indies 297 (Joshua Da Silva 100* — his maiden Test century) & 28/0. Kyle Mayers took 5/9 in England's 2nd innings — one of the cheapest five-wicket hauls (by economy) in Test match history; his 5 wickets came off 6.2 overs at a rate of 1.43 runs per over. In England's 1st innings, Jack Leach (41*) and Saqib Mahmood (49) put on a 90-run last-wicket partnership lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours. Da Silva's 100* in West Indies' 1st innings was the platform for their 93-run lead. West Indies knocked off the 28-run target without losing a wicket. Da Silva was Player of the Match.

Brathwaite's 673 Balls: The Marathon Innings that Won the Series Award

Kraigg Brathwaite's 2nd Test performance at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown was one of the most technically disciplined innings of the 2022 Test calendar. His 160 in West Indies' 1st innings required extreme concentration against Root's 153 and Stokes's 120 having put England in a dominant position at 507/9d. When West Indies were forced to follow on the 2nd innings, Brathwaite came in again and batted out 56 not out — saving the match. Across the two innings, he faced 673 balls — the most by any West Indian batter in a single completed Test match. His combined batting time of 15 hours and 45 minutes across the Barbados Test was a feat of physical and mental endurance. Brathwaite finished the series as the leading run-scorer with 341 — nearly 60 more than Joe Root's 289 for England. His 3 unbeaten innings in the series (38*, 56*, and his contribution to the Grenada win) illustrated how his defensive technique was specifically designed for the West Indies' home conditions, where the pitches in Antigua, Barbados, and Grenada offer varied challenges.

Mayers 5/9 and Da Silva 100*: Grenada's Decisive Third Test

West Indies' 10-wicket win in Grenada was built around two individual performances from players who had not been the series' household names. Kyle Mayers's 5/9 in England's 2nd innings — 6.2 overs, 5 wickets, 9 runs — was one of the most economical five-wicket hauls in Test history. He dismissed Root (twice caught at slip across the match) and swept through England's middle order, collapsing them from 113/5 to 120 all out. His maiden Test five-for converted a match where England had led through Mahmood and Leach's defiant 90-run last-wicket stand in the 1st innings into a straightforward West Indies victory. Joshua Da Silva's 100 not out in West Indies' 1st innings — his maiden Test century — had given West Indies a platform (297 in the 1st innings; lead of 93). When West Indies needed 28 to win the series, they knocked them off without loss. It was West Indies' first home Test series win against England since 2009, and the first trophy won under the name Richards-Botham — honouring both Sir Vivian Richards and Sir Ian Botham.