HOBART, Tasmania—Even with West Indies battling to avoid an early exit from the Twenty20 World Cup, all-rounder Jason Holder remained adamant the new-look Caribbean side possessed enough quality to win the showpiece.
Pointing to the bowling attack in particular, the 30-year-old Holder said West Indies boasted a strong fast bowling element, decent spin options and backup personnel, which augured well for the balance of the unit.
“It’s clear to see that we’ve got a fast bowling base attack, and that’s just what we’ve got at our resources. I think we’ve got good enough fast bowlers and the spinner (Akeal Hosein) that we played yesterday [against Zimbabwe] was exceptional,” the former ODI and Test captain said.
“Again, as I always speak about, the resources that we’ve got on the bench. We’ve got Yannic Cariah who’s come into his own in international, for example, as another spinner, and then we’ve got Sheldon Cottrell on the bench, who’s another fast bowling resource.
“I think that’s just the dynamic of the personnel we have, and I think we’ve got all the tools here that we need to win this competition.
“For us, I think it’s more about a mental challenge to us, just really staying in the moment, understanding each and every scenario, each and every battle that we may be faced with, and just executing.
“I think once we continue to do that, the sky’s the limit for this team.”
West Indies won the 2012 and 2016 editions of the T20 World Cup but flopped spectacularly in their title defence in United Arab Emirates last year, winning just one of their five first round matches.
With all-rounder Dwayne Bravo subsequently calling time on his career and Chris Gayle, at 43, all but retired, West Indies made a clean break with the past for the Australian showpiece, opting for a relatively inexperienced unit while overlooking the likes of Andre Russell.
Holder, who has featured in the last two T20 World Cups, said the current squad was ideal for rebuilding the region’s T20 brand.
“I think when it particularly comes to World Cups, you see different personnel every time. Maybe sometimes the nucleus of the squad will remain the same, but more or less you see fresh faces every time,” he pointed out.
“The teams which would have won in 2012 and ’16 were pretty dominant. They had some very big T20 players when you look at that in the context of world cricket.
“In this current team we’ve got some young budding stars who have really established themselves on the circuit, and it’s just for us now to be a lot more senior … or spend a bit more time on the international circuit and doing some of the things.”
He continued: “When you look around the dressing room, we’ve got a pretty young team, and most of the guys are in their early to mid 20s, and it’s a great side for West Indies cricket.
“I think my point was just mainly us rebuilding and rejigging our T20 mantra—for lack of a better phrase—and trying to now re-establish ourselves as a new West Indies look T20 side.” CMC
