Ahead of the first Test against England beginning tomorrow West Indies Phil Simmons said that he believes a rounded performance is what is required for a series victory.
In a virtual press conference yesterday, the head coach pointed out, “I think the key thing for us is that we play proper cricket in all three facets of the game.
“We keep talking about the batting, we keep talking about the bowling being strong but I think we must field well and catch well to give us that chance so I think our frame of mind is we have to play well in all three facets of the game in order to beat England.”
Simmons said the conditions since arriving at the Old Trafford was welcoming with the weather holding up a bit apart from “cold breeze” however, the final XI is yet to be decided and the selectors will be having another look at the wicket today. “It’s given us a little bit of indication but we will wait until tomorrow [Today] to see how the wicket is because you don’t know if they will take some more grass off or what they are going to do so tomorrow when we see the wicket we will know exactly what we want our 11 to look like,” he stated.
Simmons added that there were no concerns over the squad at the moment especially with the captain, Jason Holder who struggled for runs in the two warm-up matches.
“No! There is no concern,” he said. I think Jason has played enough Test cricket now to know what he is working on and he thinks that he is mentally where he wants to be, he might not score runs in Manchester but he has been hitting the ball well,” he said. Looking at the bowling, Simmons commended the fast bowling unit with the senior trio in Holder, Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach taking the forefront but suggested that Alzarri Joseph will be the surprise package.
“I think it is an exciting group of fast bowlers and I will add that even the reserve group has been an exciting four weeks for us coaches, I think Alzarri has a lot to do with the outcome of this Test series because we know Kemar [Roach], Shannon [Gabriel] and Jason [Holder] are our top bowlers but Alzarri has been bowling so well I think he will have a lot to do with the outcome of the series,” he said.
Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, and Shannon Gabriel
Reserve Players: Sunil Ambris, Joshua DaSilva, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican
