Holder brushes aside idea of making history to focus on second Test

West Indies captain Jason Holder has played down the opportunity the tourists have to make history over the next couple of weeks.

Having beaten the hosts by four wickets in the first Test at Southampton, the Windies have two chances at Old Trafford to seal a first series win in England for 32 years.

Not since 1992/93 – when the likes of Brian Lara, Courtney

Walsh and Curtly Ambrose were in their pomp – have the Windies prevailed in an overseas Test series consisting of more than two matches against major opposition.

But Holder, the top ranked Test all-rounder in the world and the No 2 bowler, said: “I haven’t mentioned anything about history to the guys. It’s hard for us to get caught up in the peripheral stuff.

“Winningthefirsttestmatch is just one piece of the puzzle. We’ve got two other games to play and we don’t get ahead of ourselves.

“We’ve got control of the cricket we play, that’s the only thing I’m going to spoon-feed the guys: how are we going to win a cricket game? Afterwards we can look back and feel pleased with whatever we achieve as a group.”

Holder said John Campbell is likely to be available, with the opening batsman having retired hurt after being hit on the boot by a Jofra Archer yorker. He did return to the crease as the Windies sealed victory in Southampton.

While Holder was pleased with how his side fared last week, he has called for greater consistency from his batsmen, adding: “We’re still to get a hundred with the bat, we’ve had a few starts and got a few half-centuries. It’s more for the batters to convert a few more starts which they got in that first Test and kick on and get a big score.”

One batsman whose place is under a little scrutiny is Shai

Hope, who made 16 and nine in the series opener and whose only two hundreds in 32 Tests famously came at Headingley on the Windies’ last visit to England in 2017.

Holder, though, has backed his No 3 to come good. He said: “Shai’s a quality player, we’ve seen that particularly the last time we came here to England.

“I’ve got all confidence Shai Hope will deliver. He just needs to get himself in, get himself going and he’s going to go big for us.”