Fans anguished but Holder confident of better show
ST JOHN’S (ANTIGUA): For a long time after West Indies had crashed to their biggest defeat to India at home, a spectator didn’t stop giving the team a piece of his mind from the stands. From Jason Holder to coach Phil Simmons, everybody in the West Indies camp seemed to keep quiet and just listen. To the common fan, this loss was another proof of how the West Indies Test team had gone from bad to worse.
Linden Richards, one of the local umpires and an avowed fan, was hoping West Indies would take the game to the fifth day at least. “It’s about pride. I was hoping the boys would show some of it but I was particularly disappointed with Marlon Samuels. He made a fifty but that was just for show. If he wanted to save the team, he should have come up with better defence than that,” he said.
Reactions have ranged from disappointment to anger after West Indies’ innings loss here. And Holder knows that they only made their case worse here by not putting up a fight either bowling or batting. But he is willing to cop the flak. “We have to focus on what we have to do. Every day you turn up to do a job. Everybody may not be pleased with what you do. Sometimes you do well and still they are not pleased. Sometimes you don’t do well and they are pleased. We play for the fans but everyday it can’t go our way,” Holder said after the loss.
Holder’s biggest problem has been a team without big names. While most of the stars are away playing the Caribbean Premier League, an effective pacer like Jerome Taylor retired from Tests just before this series. Further damage was inflicted when wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin was not included. Those two decisions left the team basically with three experienced batsmen to face the music — Kraigg Brathwaite, Samuels and Darren Bravo.
West Indies are losing out fast but Holder is insisting they are given the time to rebuild a team with a new philosophy. “It’s a young team and it’s important we enjoy our cricket as much as possible. We haven’t been able to bat long enough, every time we are batting we are trying to rebuild and then we give away our wickets. We need to knuckle down and occupy the crease,” he said.
The loss may have been more exacting on the younger players but Holder is sure pride will play a part in how they bounce back. “I think it boils down to personal pride. Roston (Chase), Shane (Dowrich), (Rajendra) Chandrika, myself, (Jermaine) Blackwood are quite young. We are all looking to make a mark in the international circuit. For us it’s just personal glory, personal pride. Just executing and performing well you know, having a good Test career,” said Holder.