Jason Holder is confident his side will be more competitive in the second Test
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West Indies captain Jason Holder has insisted that his side will come out firing on all cylinders in the second Test against England at Headingley.
Holder’s comments come after the West Indies were thrashed by an innings and 209 runs in the first Test at Edgbaston, which was the first day-night Test to be held in England.
The West Indies were heavily criticised for their performance in the first Test, especially as they lost 19 wickets on the third day.
With the men from the Caribbean having been beaten so comprehensively, legendary West Indies seamer Michael Holding questioned whether there was any point in the three-Test series going ahead.
“That has been in my mind since this Test series started – and I’ve been talking about it for years,” Holding was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “What is the point of having a team outclassing another team like this?
“I played Test cricket for 12 years. I never played a Test match against Sri Lanka because at that time Sri Lanka just weren’t good enough to play against the West Indies. What is the point of having a contest like this? It’s not good for cricket.”
Holding has not been the only person to slam the West Indies for their less than impressive showing at Edgbaston, but Holder called for patience as his side are still in a transition phase.
“We had a few days off, and spoke about a number of things,” the 25-year-old said. “We think it’s more of a patience thing, with our bowlers having a consistent plan and sticking to it, and for our batsman to get stuck in and fight it out.
“It’s not going to be easy. We’re coming up against a very good side and are relatively inexperienced, but having said that I think over the last few days we’ve got guys opening up their minds to change.
“We’re going to be tinkering with a few things going into the second Test. Edgbaston wasn’t the best showing, but it’s important we rally and stay together through hard times and this is a difficult time as a group.
“We tried to do a lot more team bonding stuff to bring the guys closer, and I must say it’s been a wonderful few days off. The guys have really come together as we liked and we’re looking forward to the match.”
The second Test between the West Indies and England will begin on Friday.