"We Had Plenty Of Starts, Plenty Of Guys Got Half-Centuries But Didn't Kick On" : Jason Holder

Jason Holder has certainly earned plenty of respect for leading his team in England amid the COVID-19 pandemic and inspiring his side in the best way he could. However, when it comes to the result of the series, it was not as Jason Holder would have liked. The West Indies have lost their second consecutive series in the ICC World Test Championship.

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After a fighting victory in the first Test in Southampton, the tourists looked listless in the subsequent two matches. Jason Holder had a massive part to play in the triumph, picking up six wickets in the very first innings. The West Indian batsmen also did enough for their side to secure an emphatic four-wicket win to take the lead in the three-match series before the Englishmen bounced back tow in the next two.

However, neither could Holder nor the West Indian batsmen produce anything special in Manchester. The tourists passed 300 only in one inning and post that, their highest score was 287 across the next five with none of the batsmen scoring a century. On the other hand, the English batsmen played series-defining knocks and bowled match-winning spells, flagging a vast gap between the two sides.

“We didn’t get the runs we were looking for” : Jason Holder

The visiting captain rued the lack of runs and lamented wasting starts by the batsmen, who made 50 plus scores consistently without reaching the three-figure mark. Holder praised their bowlers for their tireless efforts and putting their best foot forward despite not working to full effect and that they won the first Test with the best team.

“We didn’t get the runs we were looking for. We had plenty of starts, plenty of guys got half-centuries but didn’t kick on. Our bowlers tried in some very tough conditions but credit to all of them, I must commend them for the effort that they made. [Run out of gas?] It’s hard to say. We won the first Test with our best team. Trying to clinch the series, you try to put up your best team. You’re trying to back the best team to do the job for you,” Holder stated.

In terms of moving forward, the 28-year old stated that they need to see what is next on the calendar and was thankful to get the sport started. Holder went on to address the mental stress the team has gone through by staying in the bio-secured bubble but admitted that they need to get accustomed to it and work on the same.

“We’ve got to wait and see what happens in terms of the calendar. It’s been a blessing to get over here and get some cricket. I can’t ask the bowlers to do much more. Well played to England. [The bubble] It’s been challenging. Mentally some of the guys are a bit worn out. Same place, same rooms… it could be this way for a little while. We’ve got to find ways to make it work,” the Barbados-born added further.

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