Ian Bishop urges West Indies to play with pride ahead of third Test against England

The West Indies team had a notable victory earlier this year when they defeated Pat Cummins' Australian side in Brisbane, leveling a two-match Test series. However, their current tour of England has been challenging, with losses in the first two Tests. As they prepare for the third Test in Birmingham starting Friday they aim to restore some pride.

Legendary commentator Ian Bishop shared a motivational message for Kraigg Brathwaite and his team. He encouraged them to play with passion in the final game and to learn as much as they can before their upcoming home series against South Africa.

"If the guys could hear me now, they have to pick themselves up. I know it's hard and I know maybe a lot of the mental energy was drained by their application with the bat in that first innings' (in second Test) magnificent score and they saw the capitulation in the second innings but Edgbaston is important to continue learning," Bishop said.

Bishop emphasized the significance of playing with pride, regardless of the match's outcome. 

"The Richards-Botham Trophy goes to England, but then there's a South African series on the back end. So you, one to one, know you represent the people of the West Indies. In every game, you play with pride. And that should be enough to energise you and if that's not enough, you're coming up against South Africa lin less than a week or about a week's time later on. And you want to go there with confidence. So there's still a lot to play for a team that's learning," he further added.

In the first Test in London, England defeated the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs. In the second Test, the West Indies showed resilience, scoring 457 in their first innings in response to England's 416, taking a 41-run lead. However, England's strong second innings of 425 set a challenging target of 385. Despite a promising 61-run opening partnership by Brathwaite and Louis, the West Indies collapsed, losing 10 wickets for just 82 runs, resulting in a 241-run defeat.