“The first thing we need to do is set a standard in the dressing room”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
West Indies Test captain Jason Holder believes that he has to lead by example in order to set the standard for the rest of his team-mates during their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
Holder, who replaced Denesh Ramdin as skipper earlier this month, made it clear that the West Indies cannot fall below eighth on the Test team rankings.
“The first thing we need to do is set a standard in the dressing room where we don’t fall below [our current ranking],” Holder said. “I have had a lot of discussion with the coach about [that]. It is important that we set the standards, so guys know where we are at the moment, what is the benchmark and know that we just can’t fall below that. Once you do that and we get players to buy into that theory then moving forward should be a lot easier.”
Even though the 23-year-old is one of the youngest Test captains in history, he is confident of handling the pressure that comes with the position, along with upholding his reputation as a strike bowler and formidable lower order batsman.
“It is about translating that into the Test arena now. I am not, in a sense, new to it,” he said. “It is something that I have handled in the past. I don’t expect to falter in this arena. I am really looking forward to it.”
Holder also conceded that he was extremely gutted that the West Indies had failed to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy, but added the team should use this as a means to bounce back and restore themselves as one of the powerhouses of the sport.
“Obviously we would like steady progression but we can’t jump ahead of teams who are higher ranked than us unless we play higher-ranked sides in terms of the points system,” Holder said. “If you look at your schedule, we have Sri Lanka, India in the new year (2016) and Australia end of year (2015). The thing is not to fall further down from where we are at this present point. You can jump hell of a lot further up the channel if you beat these teams which are ranked higher than you.”
In order to rise up the ranks and regain some pride that may have been washed away over the past couple of years, Holder is banking on head coach Phil Simmons’ help to instill consistency within the team and ensure that each player understands their role and what they bring to the team.
“We need to instill consistency in the dressing room and get the guys understanding what is required of them in terms of roles, in terms of different scenarios which they might face in certain games,” he said. “Myself and the coach have a pretty good idea of the direction we want to go in. I guess we will make a little tinker here and there as we go and make the progression. But I am sure once you do the right things, once you set things in terms of a good dressing room, then we can make that progression steadily upwards.”