BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies head coach Phil Simmons believes the regional side has the makings of being a competitive Test unit but says commitment to hard work needs to remain key to the team’s focus.
The Caribbean side stunned England last Sunday, beating them by five wickets inside three days at Kensington Oval, to ensure a 1-1 draw in the three-Test series.
Simmons said it was evident from the performance that West Indies had what was required to do well in Test cricket.
“The key message was that there is the ability there to play Test cricket and do well at Test cricket and we have to start looking and making sure we know exactly what we are doing and what direction we are going and all the players are part of that,” he said.
“I think application is a really big thing and it was something that we had talked about. It is a big game, a game of patience, like a chess game and everybody had to understand what application meant, and I think everyone came to the party as far as that was concerned.”
Against the ropes in the first Test in Antigua, West Indies came out swinging on the final day to pull off a memorable draw with fast bowler Jason Holder scoring a maiden unbeaten hundred.
However, they returned to their wayward ways in the second Test in Grenada, slumping from 202 for two at the start of the final day to 307 all out, paving the way for England’s nine-wicket win.
West Indies then surprised many in the third and final Test when they overcame a first innings deficit to bowl out England for a 123 in their second innings, and then cruise to a victory target of 192.
Twenty-three year-old batsman Jermaine Blackwood, with only eight Tests to his name, struck 85 and 47 not out to be pivotal to the Windies win but Simmons said this type of talent needed to be allied with hard work, for there to be consistent results.
“The talent becomes unimportant if you are not working. But if you have the talent and you are hard-working then you are going somewhere,” the Trinidadian said.
“I think the talent is there with a lot of them, we just have to make sure that we work hard with that talent.”
West Indies will have a short break before hosting Australia in a two-Test series which bowls off next month in Dominica and Jamaica.
