‘Keep getting the opportunities and taking them with both hands’ – Jason Holder bats for more Test matches for West Indies

Jason Holder feels that the West Indies Test side will improve when members of the team get more time to be together as a unit, and get more game time. West Indies at present are facing South Africa in the first of the two Tests, and the all-rounder’s unbeaten 81 has put them in a good position to defeat the opponents.

Because of the batting collapses in the recent past, the team has suffered to be on a top position in the World Test Championship points table. Jason Holder reckons that the team needs more game time and the players need to be backed.

“We have been a little bit slow, we’ve been a little bit inconsistent but I think we just need to support people. You see the talent that we have in the dressing room. We’ve got Test hundreds from No. 1 down to down to No. 8, with the exception of Raymon [Reifer], who has just come in,” Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“We’ve got to have that patience and build a strong core group of players. The more we chop and change in cricket, the worse results we will probably get because we need to give people opportunity. The urge for me and everybody else within the group is just to keep getting the opportunities and taking them with both hands,” he added.

Holder feels that the lack of fixtures for the West Indies in the Future Tours Programme stops the team from gelling as a unit. From July-August this year, West Indies will only play 26 Test matches until 2027, which is very few compared to the other teams.

He also believes that there is a lot of talent in the dressing room, which can help the team get positive results. He also believes that the current bunch can do well in the ongoing Test and hopes that the team will get the desired results if the individuals are given time, fair opportunity and support.

“I love playing cricket with this group and I think we’ve got the talent in the dressing room to produce [results]. We will have some slow days but we are only day two of this Test match and I have no doubt our players can come in and show their worth and class in the second innings,” he concluded.

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store