MOHALI, India, CMC – West Indies fast bowler Jason Holder wants Caribbean fans to have patience with the regional side as it continues to struggle at the highest level.
Once considered the best side in the World during the 1980s and early 1990s, West Indies have plummeted over the last decade to sit at number eight in the ICC Test team rankings.
The 22-year-old Holder, widely viewed as key to any future revival, said while the team was currently struggling, the focus was on returning to the pinnacle of world cricket again.
“Back then we were very competitive, very dominant. In the recent past we haven’t been that good and we have been inconsistent,” said Holder, currently in India representing Barbados Tridents in the Champions League Twenty20.
“Obviously people who watched cricket back then expect the high standards and honestly we haven’t been giving that in the last few years in West Indies cricket. So there is disappointment in a sense.
“But I just hope that they could bear with us. We are in a rebuilding phase in a way and we will get there as soon as possible.”
Holder has played just one Test – against New Zealand in his native Barbados back in June, where he managed to score a half-century on debut.
And while he still considers himself a bowling all-rounder, he said he has been putting in plenty work with the bat in the nets.
“I guess I will be a bowling all-rounder. But I practice my batting a lot, I love it and it is something I would never neglect,” Holder said.
“I focus a lot on my batting. I try to keep things well balanced between my batting and my bowling. When I am on my own I tend to go into the nets and hit a lot of balls at home. And when I get a chance within teams, I try to top it with a little bit more.
“The more I bat and the better position I get in and feel well balanced, that’s better for me when I go into a game.”
