– Holder to be rested for Australia T20Is
By Brandon Corlette
West Indies Lead selector Roger Harper is disappointed after the West Indies lost the T20 International series against South Africa 3-2 in Grenada. The Guyanese Harper, who believes that the T20I team is capable of producing better results, said the West Indies team was placed to win all the matches.
Appearing on the Mason and Guest radio program, Harper said: “the batting was the area that let us down, particularly between over number seven and 14. That was the phase we created a lot of problems for ourselves. The bowling held its own, but (Evin) Lewis showed what he is capable of.”
Age, ability, and experience have influenced the Harper-led selection panel to select that 18-man provisional squad for the T20I home series. “A team with that much experience should not be losing games like this and perform in the manner in which we did, that was very disappointed.”
The Lead selector also hinted that with 10 T20I matches remaining before the T20 World Cup, all players in the 18-man provisional squad will get an opportunity. From a batting perspective, Harper is expecting more from the senior guys, including Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.
On the topic of Gayle batting at number three, Harper said the Universe Boss has had success at that position playing in the Indian Premier League. “We have to see how we go forward,” Harper said on Gayle’s batting position.
Former cricketers have noted that the West Indies batsmen are playing without a cricketing brain. Additionally, Head Coach Phil Simmons also said the West Indies players are lacking tactically. The lead selector said the West Indies may have been carried away with the method after the first game. “I think at times we can put a lot more thought into our approach to things,” Harper disclosed.
When asked if the CPL produces talent to represent West Indies, Harper added: “Players have been giving opportunities coming forward. We want to see young players pushing our senior players hard through performance,” Harper said.
Harper also confirmed that Jason Holder will not play in the five T20I matches against Australia, starting on Friday, July 9 from 19:30h Eastern Caribbean time. While considering Holder’s workload and the upcoming Test matches against Pakistan, Harper said Holder will return to play in the One-Day Internationals against Australia that is billed for Bridgetown Barbados. West Indies favored chasing totals against South Africa but still lost three matches.
Harper defended this ploy citing that West Indies have had previous success while chasing. Looking ahead to Australia, Harper is expecting the batsmen to come to the party. “I expect them to pull the socks up and perform. We expect a tough challenge from Australia but we are capable of holding our own,” Harper cited.
West Indies Provisional Squad for T20Is for Australia and Pakistan series: Kieron Pollard(c), Nicholas Pooran(w/vc), Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher(wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Dwayne Bravo, Fabian Allen, Fidel Edwards, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Kevin Sinclair, Hayden Walsh Jr., Akeal Hosein. (GTimes)