MANCHESTER, England, CMC – West Indies head coach Phil Simmons has sought to give the assurance that there is nothing to worry about as far as the fitness of captain Jason Holder is concerned, and he will be ready for the Wisden Test series beginning next month.
Holder did not bowl when his team fielded in the second innings of the first intra-squad warm-up match here at Emirates Old Trafford, and was not required to bat on the final day of that three-day fixture on Thursday.
However, Simmons said there was no cause for alarm. He said the all-rounder would be ready for the three-Test series in which West Indies will be defending the Wisden trophy they won in the Caribbean last year.
“Jason has had a slight niggle on his ankle and that is what has held him back from bowling,” Simmons said.
“He will be back to bowling in the four-day game and should be bowling his full quota. As for the batting if you get one ball and you’re out, that’s all you can do.”
Simmons added that wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich, who left the field after hurting his side during the match between Holder’s XI and Kraigg Brathwaite’s XI, was also “fine”.
“I’ll need to see the doctor to see exactly what is wrong but he seems to be doing fine,” he said.
Meantime, addressing the fitness of experienced fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who is making a return from ankle surgery, Simmons said “he looks ready; that was evident here”.
“When you see how he bowled in the first innings, then again [Wednesday] and even more so [Thursday] morning, you could see he’s close to 100 per cent. Now we want to get him up to 100 just before the Test match,” he said of the Trinidadian fast bowler. West Indies will have a four-day warm-up fixture starting next Monday at Emirates Old Trafford, before they travel to Southampton for the first match at the Ageas Bowl, starting July 8.
