Sports

‘We all have to pull together’, says disappointed Holder

(CMC) – Fast bowlers Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph are returning home early from West Indies’ failed World Cup qualifying campaign, to prepare for the Test series against India beginning next week in Dominica. The duo were part of the Shai Hope-led side which won the first two qualifying matches in Zimbabwe but then lost the next three, to miss out on the grand showpiece in India later this year. Two matches – against Oman and Sri Lanka – still remain in the tournament but chief selector Desmond Haynes, said it was important to have the two players back especially since both are expected to feature in all three formats against India. “Jason and Alzarri are two of our leading bowlers in all formats,” said Haynes. “We have a full schedule for the upcoming series against India, where we begin the new ICC World Test Championship, then followed by the CG United ODIs and the five T20Is. “Therefore, we had dialogue, and it was felt the best move at this time is to have two of our leading bowlers return early from Zimbabwe.” Joseph has been the leading wicket-taker for West Indies in the tournament with eight wickets at 32 runs apiece while Holder picked up six at 35 apiece, while averaging 36 with the bat and hitting a single fifty. Both are expected to feature in the two-Test series against India which gets underway July 12 at Windsor Park, and continues at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain starting July 20. West Indies also face India in three One-Day Internationals from July 27 to August 1, before clashing in five Twenty20 Internationals from August 3-13. A West Indies training squad has been undergoing a preparation camp for the Test series since last Friday at Coolidge Cricket Ground here.
(CMC) – Fast bowlers Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph are returning home early from West Indies’ failed World Cup qualifying campaign, to prepare for the Test series against India beginning next week in Dominica. The duo were part of the Shai Hope-led side which won the first two qualifying matches in Zimbabwe but then lost the next three, to miss out on the grand showpiece in India later this year. Two matches – against Oman and Sri Lanka – still remain in the tournament but chief selector Desmond Haynes, said it was important to have the two players back especially since both are expected to feature in all three formats against India. “Jason and Alzarri are two of our leading bowlers in all formats,” said Haynes. “We have a full schedule for the upcoming series against India, where we begin the new ICC World Test Championship, then followed by the CG United ODIs and the five T20Is. “Therefore, we had dialogue, and it was felt the best move at this time is to have two of our leading bowlers return early from Zimbabwe.” Joseph has been the leading wicket-taker for West Indies in the tournament with eight wickets at 32 runs apiece while Holder picked up six at 35 apiece, while averaging 36 with the bat and hitting a single fifty. Both are expected to feature in the two-Test series against India which gets underway July 12 at Windsor Park, and continues at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain starting July 20. West Indies also face India in three One-Day Internationals from July 27 to August 1, before clashing in five Twenty20 Internationals from August 3-13. A West Indies training squad has been undergoing a preparation camp for the Test series since last Friday at Coolidge Cricket Ground here.
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HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC – Seasoned all-rounder Jason Holder says West Indies’ failure to qualify for this year’s 50-over World Cup in India was one the “lowest points” of his international career, and said a collaborative effort between players and administrators was now required to spark a turnaround in the Caribbean side’s fortunes.

Needing to win their opening Super Six game of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers, West Indies crashed to a shock seven-wicket defeat to Scotland, to miss out on a 50-over World Cup for the first time in their storied history.

“There’s obviously been a change in administration in terms of Kishore Shallow coming [as president] and now Miles (Bascombe) is coming in in a very important role of director of cricket. I’m sure that the guys will put their heads together and do what’s best for West Indies cricket,” Holder said following West Indies’ deflating loss at Harare Sports Club.

“I think that’s really important that everybody involved in West Indies cricket really pay special attention at this crucial stage as to what is required, and we all have to pull together to make it work.”

He added: “It’s disappointing, especially after last year’s effort in the T20 [World Cup] where we didn’t qualify. 

“I have had the luxury of playing in two 50-over World Cups before and I’ve had the luxury of being part of a couple T20 World Cups. They’re special occasions so this one will definitely hurt as the one last year did. 

“But again, there’s no point moping on and keeping our heads down. We’ve just got to find ways to get better. We’ve got to find a way to turn our cricket around and head in the direction we need to head in consistently. “There’ve been too many fluctuations between good performances and bad performances. It’s just a matter for us to understand where we’re at, know where we want to go and all of us putting our hands on deck to make it happen.”

West Indies were forced into the Qualifiers after finishing outside the top eight in the Super League but looked on course to progress after winning their opening two games of the tournament against United States and Nepal.

But they stumbled to a 35-run defeat to Zimbabwe and then slumped to a stunning Super-Over loss to the Netherlands, to leave themselves needing to win all three Super Six games to stand a chance of qualifying. Holder, a former Test and One-Day International captain, cautioned there was no “quick fix” to rebuilding West Indies cricket, but stressed the need for development support for the younger cadre of players in the squad and those coming through the system.

“There’s such a crucial part now in West Indies cricket where we have got a young crop of guys. We’ve just got to put some support around them,” Holder explained.

“It’s really important we try to utilise the time that we have outside of competition and try to put things in place where we can develop our talent. 

“We still have to look at the levels below as well and try to improve the levels below as well so that when guys get here they at least have a good foundation.

“But all in all, we’ve still got to put our hands up and be accounted for as individuals. We just didn’t play well enough and we haven’t been playing well enough probably over the last couple years and it’s obviously an area that we need to pay special attention to.”

He continued: “But it’s not a quick fix; it is something we need to spend time on. As I said, development is the main important thing where we put things in place where we can develop a talent and hopefully in the next couple years we can see the fruits of that crop.”

Entering the Scotland contest aware of the high stakes involved, West Indies never put up a fight, rolled over for 181 and then producing a lacklustre effort in defending the paltry total.

And Holder said the team had only themselves to blame for the performance.

“It was a fresh game. We knew what was at stake and we still had the chance to qualify,” the 31-year-old said.

“It would’ve been very silly of us to dwell on the games that have gone – we can’t bring them back, we can’t control them. We had a really good opportunity to play against Scotland and to beat Scotland we didn’t do that.”

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