(Video) Braithwaite’s 97 is a catalogue of sweetly-timed pearls

Craig Braithwaite may have fallen short of the magical three figures in the series-opening Test against Pakistan, but his journey to the nineties was littered with resplendence. He scored heavily in the ‘V’ as Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas served half-volleys on a platter. When Faheem Ashraf drifted onto the pads, Braithwaite tucked runs around the corner as smooth as silk. Hasan Ali wasn’t spared penalty either as a rasping cut beat backward point to his left.

It was a shame that Braithwaite was run out withing sniffing distance of the milestone. A fun fact is that he became the first captain to open the innings and be dismissed run out in the nervous nineties in Test cricket.