Don’t feel any pressure – Holder
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (CMC): EST INDIES captain Jason Holder has brushed aside suggestions that he is under “pressure” as a result of a series of losses by the regional side on its current tour of the United Arab Emirates.
Holder’s declaration was made after West Indies conceded the three-match Test series to Pakistan yesterday on the heels of losing T20 and ODI series as well.
Pakistan beat the Caribbean side by 133 runs with one match remaining, to hand them their eighth straight loss on their current tour.
“No, I don’t feel any pressure. It is a young and inexperienced squad and it’s going to take time to get the results we are looking for,” Holder told reporters at the post-match news conference.
“We have been in a position of inconsistency for the last number of years. So I don’t feel any pressure. I’m here to do a job. At the end of the day, I can only do the best that I possibly can.”
Chasing 456 for victory, West Indies, who resumed the final day on 171 for four, were bowled out for 322 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Their 322 was the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting team to United Arab Emirates and the West Indies’ highest fourth-innings score against Pakistan.
“We have not been on the better side of result in the recent past and it’s almost a decade we have been struggling,” said Holder.
“We have taken steps and try to mend some younger faces into the team. It would take time for them to come in and nourish and develop.”
Jermaine Blackwood batted brilliantly on the final day – scoring 95 off 127 balls with 11 boundaries.
He added 63 for the fifth wicket with Roston Chase (20) and another 57 for the seventh wicket with wicketkeeper Shai Hope (41).
“We have
Wshown signs of K Brathwaite lbw b Mohammad Nawaz 67 L Johnson b Yasir Shah 9 D Bravo c Mohammad Nawaz b Rahat Ali 13 M Samuels c & b Yasir Shah 23 J Blackwood b Yasir Shah 95 R Chase c wkp Sarfraz Ahmed b Yasir Shah 20 +S Hope c Younis Khan b Zulfiqar Babar 41 *J Holder lbw b Yasir Shah 16 D Bishoo c Misbah-ul-Haq b Zulfiqar Babar 26 M Cummins b Yasir Shah 0 S Gabriel not out 7 (b4, lb1) 5 (all out, 108 overs) 322
1-28, 2-63, 3-112, 4-124. 5-187, 6-244, 7-266, 8-311, 9-312, 10-322.
Sohail Khan 14-3-44-0, Rahat Ali 23-2-69-1, Yasir Shah 39-5-124-6, Zulfiqar Babar 22-5-51-2, Mohammad Nawaz 10-0-29-1. Pakistan won by 133 runs.
Pakistan lead three-match series 2-0. P Reiffel. Yasir Shah. Pakistan. M Gough, R Illingworth; TV – improvement. We stretched the last game in Dubai. We have put ourselves into a position to win it, so we are seeing signs of progression, it’s just a matter of consistency here,” he said.
“We have some young batsmen who have done well. We have Devendra Bishoo coming in the last game and taking eight wickets. Shannon Gabriel, in this game, five wickets. So we have seen signs of individual brilliance, it’s just a matter of putting together that strong collective effort and seizing the crucial moments of the game to push forward into a win.”
The third and final Test between West Indies and Pakistan will be played in Sharjah from Sunday.