…happy with squad that played England

WEST Indies captain Jason Holder is not certain the inclusion of batsmen Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, and all-rounder Keemo Paul would have made a difference to the team’s fortunes, following a series loss to England.

The trio was invited to the tour but declined to participate due to concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus.  Despite not being in rich veins of form, Hetmyer and Bravo are considered to be two of the team’s most talented and dangerous batsmen and Paul a promising all-rounder.

Despite an average performance from the bowling line-up, the team on occasion found themselves well short of batting, particularly in the final Test where they could only manage 326 in both innings.  England, by comparison, made 369 in the first innings.  Based on the conditions Holder, however, does believe the batsmen’s inclusion would necessarily have helped the situation.

“I’m very happy with the team we brought up here.  The team we brought up here is a part of our Test team.  There is no guarantee that Bravo, Hetmyer or Paul would play,” Holder told members of the media via a Zoom press conference interview.

“The way we’ve gone as a batting unit, we haven’t had the consistency we have been looking for.  If you look at two of the three players they are batsmen so there is no guarantee and Paul was a back-up to what we had here so far,” Holder said.

“The squad we had here was the squad to do it.  I’m happy with the guys who came and the work we put in.  It’s unfortunate the way it turned out but there are still lots of positives,” he added.(Sportsmax).