West Indies captain Jason Holder has lamented the “soft dismissals” and “horrible shots” which led to his side’s six-wicket loss to Australia in their second match of the Tri-Nations Series here Sunday.
Sent in at the National Stadium, only two West Indies batsmen made it past 20 as the hosts were bundled out for a disappointing 116 off 32.3 overs.
Australia then coasted to their target in the 26th over with aggressive left-handed opener David Warner stroking a run-a-ball, unbeaten 55.
“If you went through the dismissals, there were quite a few soft dismissals,” Holder told reporters here.
“The Australians challenged us in terms of building pressure, but I don’t think they got us out with any spectacular balls, per se. We just played some horrible shots out there at a crucial stage of the game which cost us our wickets.”
West Indies lost Andre Fletcher for four to the fifth ball of the game and never really recovered despite a 44-run, second wicket stand between top-scorer Johnson Charles (22) and Darren Bravo (19).
Once Bravo gifted his wicket in the 12th over with a loose drive to cover off seamer Mitchell Marsh, West Indies capitulated from 50 for one to lose their last nine wickets for 66 runs.
“We never really got any partnerships going, just not enough runs on the board, to be honest,” Holder lamented.
“The bowlers didn’t really have anything to bowl at, although we tried really, really hard and did get four of the Australians’ wickets. I thought Sunil Narine came in and did an excellent job for us in the end and we got some wickets upfront.”
The defeat came on the heels of West Indies’ victory over South Africa in their opening game of the tournament on Friday at the same venue, when they chased down 189 to win by four wickets.
And Holder said Sunday’s game could have been more competitive had the Windies managed to score over 200.
“I think anywhere between 210 and 220, we backed ourselves to defend. Previous games we played here, there were not many that were high-scoring,” the all-rounder pointed out.
“Obviously, the first game we played, one team only got 180-odd and we managed to win the game in the second-last over.”
Holder said while he was pleased with how the bowling had performed in the two games to date, he acknowledged that batting department needed to step up.
“I think we’ve bowled reasonably well for the first two games. The bowlers have really put up their hands,” he pointed out.
“It’s just important for the batsmen to build partnerships, especially up front, and just give ourselves some cushion in the middle and be able to blast at the end with the power we have in the dressing room.
“But the most important thing for us is to get some partnerships going up front and let the momentum flow through the mid-innings.”
West Indies now have a long break before taking on Australia next Monday at Warner Park in St Kitts, in the second leg of the tournament.
(Taken from CMC)