Cornwall set to take weight off Holder’s mind
JASON HOLDER is weighing up whether to turn to the biggest member of the squad to tilt the balance of the series in theWest Indies’ favour at Old Trafford.
He admitted that fielding 22-stone, 6ft 6in Rahkeem Cornwall was a serious consideration.
And captain Holder said that if they do go with their not so secret weapon, he was confident he would be the best spinner on display.
“If he does come in, he is a wicket-taker and he has proven to be a matchwinner,” said Holder.
“Not only at regional level but in his two Tests when he got 13 wickets.
“I think he is a quality off-spinner and, no doubt to me, he would be the best spinner on show in this series.
“He is always a wickettaking option for us. Not only that, he brings a bit more with slip catching and batting as well.” Holder and coach Phil Simmons will take a look at the pitch this morning but if they go with Cornwall, 27, right, it would allow them to better manage a tired attack.
The tourists claim pacemen Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph are good to go again despite back-to-back Tests, but there was no disguising that Gabriel and Joseph looked jaded during the last match in Manchester.
“Having the Tests in a short turnaround has been tough,” said Holder. “No doubt both teams will be feeling it. But in terms of the workloads and the management of our players, everybody has pulled up really well.
“These guys have backed upTest matches before.Yes, the turnaround in this one has been a little shorter than normal, but these guys have done it before.”
Holder also had words of encouragement for Shai Hope, who has struggled with the bat so far this series.
“I’m 100 per cent behind Shai,” said Holder.
“We all know what Shai can produce. He’s done it before at this level in Test cricket, he is arguably one of the best one-day batsmen in the world.
“I have got full confidence in Shai to get some runs.
“He has got starts so far in this series. So he’s not far off from converting the starts into something really special for us. He has got my full support.”