Jason Holder

Holder led the West Indies to a surprise 2-1 victory over the then number one team in the world during the series played in the Caribbean in early 2019 and took hold of the Wisden Trophy.

However, during a press conference in the UK on Wednesday, a day after the team arrived for their three-Test series, Holder was quick to dismiss any notion that his team were favourites to win the series that will be played behind closed doors.

“So many things have changed from then to now, conditions being one of them. To call us favourites would be wrong. England are a higher-ranked side than us and I think they are favourites in their back yard,” said Holder.

“There is lots to play for and lots to motivate you as a group. Guys are pumped up for the opportunity and the only sad thing is that we won’t be able to play in front of the crowds.”

Holder believes his players should cherish the opportunity to play notwithstanding recent developments wherein the players are facing a 50 per cent temporary pay cut imposed by a cash-strapped Cricket West Indies.

 “I see so many leagues in jeopardy and the World T20 as well -- so the mere fact we are getting an opportunity to play cricket I think we should cherish that,” Holder said.

“Many organisations are taking pay cuts and we have suddenly got our opportunity now to make some money so we have a lot of things to be thankful for and I think we just have to relish the opportunity and grab it with both hands.”

The West Indies will spend the next four weeks preparing for the series that begins with the first Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

In the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which considers performances in the last three matches of the series, Hosein moved up 15 places to 18th position after a haul of 4-30 that helped him finish with six wickets in three matches.

“It’s not something I pay close attention to. However, when I play or train, it’s always about aiming to become the best,” Hosein said while speaking with CWI Media.

“It’s about having that mindset of wanting to improve and wanting to be at the top, so definitely it is an aspiration of mine to be the number one bowler in the world someday. Therefore, this move means a lot to me. It shows that my hard work is paying off and that I will be rewarded if I perform well. It’s definitely a good feeling.”

Holder was the star performer with the unique feat of grabbing four wickets in four balls in front of his home crowd. He finished with figures of 5-27 – the best in a T20I at the historic venue. This took his tally to nine wickets in those three matches, as he advanced three places to 23rd with a massive gain of 20 rating points. Overall, he took 15 wickets in the five matches, a new record for the most in a bilateral series, and was named the Player-of-the-Series.

Left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell (up 10 places to 31st) is another West Indies bowler to move up in Wednesday’s update while England spinner Moeen Ali (up three places to 32nd) and Liam Livingston (up 33 places to 68th) have also advanced.

In the ranking for batters, Nicholas Pooran is up eight places to 18th after scoring 113 runs in the three matches including a knock of 70, while opener Brandon King (up 25 places to 58th) and West Indies captain Kieron Pollard (up 15 places to 60th) have also advanced. King made a stylish 52 not out in the first match as West Indies won easily, while Pollard had a crucial 41 not out off 25 balls in the final match.

“This definitely means a lot to me, because I put a lot of work into my craft. I work day in and day out, so moving up the rankings is important. The ultimate goal is to be the best. I do pay attention to it (the rankings) because it is a good way to track your growth,” Pooran said.

Rovman Powell made the most of his return to the team with a brilliant 107 in the third matchmaking him the third West Indian to record a century in this format. He followed up with 35 not out off 17 balls in the last game.

Speaking at the end of the enthralling series, West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said the improvement shown was extremely pleasing.

“After the last couple of months that we’ve had, it’s really pleasing that we’ve won a series. Improvement for me is actually more important than winning the series because you’ve got to focus on getting to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and doing a lot better than we did in the last one,” he said.

“The crowds coming back to the stadium is very important. The players were a lot freer this time around. The bubble was still there but a lot more relaxed and you could see the players responding to it so credit to the medical staff of the Cricket West Indies.

“Akeal Hosein was really brilliant for us when the chips were down along with Fabian Allen. They turned the tide, put England under pressure, continued to get wickets and that’s all we can ask, that people put their hands up when they need to and lead and fight and battle.”

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.

Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.

The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75^th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.

On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.

Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.

Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.

Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.

Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.

In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.

Joseph, whose breathtaking performances in the recently-concluded two Test series against Australia earned him the Player of the series award, was instrumental in the regional side's historic second Test win against the World Champions. He took five wickets for 94 runs in the first encounter, which Australia won by 10 wickets and seven wickets for 68 runs in West Indies' famous eight-run win.

The 24-year-old Joseph and his pace partners all secured ranking upgrades, as Kemar Roach moved two places up to 17th and Alzarri Joseph inched four places up to 33rd. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson remains the Number one batsman ahead of England’s Joe Root and Australian Steve Smith, while the bowling list is headed by Indian Ravi Ashwin followed by South African Kagiso Rabada and Australia's captain Pat Cummins.

All-rounders Jason Holder, ranked at seventh, and 10th-ranked Kyle Mayers, the highest rated West Indies players on the all-rounders’ list, did not play against Australia in the recent series. India’s Ravi Jadeja heads that list.

The last time the regional team faced Sri Lanka away, in 2015, it was the part-time spin of Brathwaite that stole of as the batsman claimed six wickets in an innings.  The frontline pace bowlers Kemar Roach (2), Jason Holder (3), Shannon Gabriel (1) failed to have a huge impact on the series, with the exception of Jerome Taylor who claimed 6 over two games.

Although the captain admits the surface is likely to favour spinners, Brathwaite is confident the Windies quicks will have a big role to play.

We haven’t been there as yet to see the surface but there’s always a role for the fast bowlers.  Shannon Gabriel really led the way in Bangladesh in the first Test, bowling with some good pace, then Kemar Roach getting an early wicket in the morning was very crucial.  Obviously, Jason wasn’t there but is always crucial.  So, I do believe that possibly there being spin-friendly pitches, I think the pace bowlers will do well.

“I can see them getting wickets.  It’s really about building pressure but seamers are very important and obviously, Shannon will bring some aggression and I look forward to seeing the guys operating.”

The tour is set to take place between January 10 and February 11.  It was greenlighted on the recommendation of the CWI’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), who received a detailed report from a pre-tour visit of Bangladesh by CWI Director and Member of the CWI and ICC MAC, Dr. Mansingh, and Security Manager, Paul Slowe.

The recommendations have, however, not been enough to convince some players to embark on the tour.  With 510,080 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7,479 deaths, Bangladesh is one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.  The country has, however, been hosting cricket tournaments under heavy quarantine restrictions.

According to initial reports, both captain Jason Holder and vice-captain Roston Chase have opted out of the tour with out-of-favour batsman Shai Hope also reportedly unwilling to accept the invitation.  The West Indies were one of the first teams to resume playing international cricket when they travelled to England in July.  The team then went on to travel to New Zealand for another series earlier this month.  Cricket West Indies (CWI) is expected to announce the squad for the tour within the next 24 hours.

The squad is expected to depart from the Caribbean on June 8.

According to cricket commentator and talk show host Andrew Mason, the selectors had a hard time selecting a squad but in the end, came up with a squad that includes the recalled Jermaine Blackwood and Shannon Gabriel.

The names of the others who were selected include Captain Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Shane Dowrich, Roston Chase, Shemarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Nkrumah Bonner, Alzarri Joseph, Chemar Holder, John Campbell, Raymon Reifer and Kemar Roach.

The West Indies will be in the United Kingdom for about four weeks and will be housed in a bio-secure environment while they get up to speed before the start of the first Test.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Tuesday that a three-Test series without spectators is scheduled to start on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl.

Old Trafford will host the second and third Tests.

The venues have been selected from a group of four that submitted an interest, having had to demonstrate to the ECB board an ability to meet criteria surrounding biosecurity, medical screening-testing provision, footprint to enable social distancing and venue-cricket operations.

Edgbaston was picked as a contingency venue and will be utilised for additional training throughout July.

The Windies are due to arrive in England on June 9 and will use Old Trafford as their base for training and quarantining before travelling to the Ageas Bowl.

West Indies trio of Andre Russell, Kyle Mayers, and Jason Holder were integral in the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders' commanding 30-run victory over the Sharjah Warriors at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

According to Benjamin, Joseph has been underutilized by the skipper, making it difficult for him to develop a rhythm and perform at his best.

“It’s not because I’ve worked with this young man, but I think Alzarri has been handled poorly by the captain from day one, not just this series, and just look at how he is being used. Here it is that you have a youngster with raw talent and we don’t have a lot of bowlers with raw talent, but how do you get experience, isn’t it by doing what you have to do?” said Benjamin during an airing of the ‘Good Morning Jojo Sports Show’.

Benjamin also suggested Holder has an issue with Joseph and may not think he is as good as people are purporting.

“If you’re not happy with an individual and you think there is too much talk about this individual and don’t think he’s as good and you want to prove a point, then you give him short spells, bowl him with the old ball when things are tight and critical so he never has a break,” said Benjamin

Benjamin went on to point out that Holder has a responsibility that comes with being captain that, if not managed properly, could be harmful.

“The captain has the ability to make or break a bowler. The time that you give him the ball to bowl, the confidence that you place in him will determine the frame of mind and if you are going to give me two overs and take me off every minute, the first thing I am going to say is that you don’t have any confidence in me so my whole demeanour is now going to change,” said Benjamin.

Benjamin, the mentor of Joseph, was speaking after the first two Tests in the three-match #raisethebat Series currently ongoing in England.

In that first Test, Joseph bowled a total of 31 overs to end with match figures of 2-98, while in the second Test he bowled even less, accounting for 25.1 overs for a match-haul of 1-84. Joseph was dropped in favour of spinner Rahkeem Cornwall for the Third Test which heads into day three on Sunday.

According to Benjamin, there is a certain selfishness in the way Holder rotates his bowlers.

“Now, what I have observed with our captain is that he doesn’t bowl unless things are happening and once things are happening the ball belongs to him and he’s not relinquishing that but as soon as you hit a little rough patch, you go and work this ball for me and as soon as things start happening he comes back in and cleans up. I have seen those things, I’ve been part of those situations many times. I’ve gone through that myself,” he said.

What Joseph needs now, more than anything else, Benjamin went on to explain, is experience.

According to the former fast bowler, who took 61 wickets in 21 Tests for the West Indies, that experience can only be had if the captain allows it.

“You can’t learn experience; you learn skill, you develop skill, but experience is you participating in whatever it is in order to gain the experience.”

The West Indies and England are locked at a game apiece in their three-Test series with England dominating the third.

England, sent into bat scored 369 and after two days of cricket, have the West Indies in a spot of bother, six wickets down for 137.

The Royals won the toss and again opted to field first, but unlike it was again the Knight Riders on Wednesday, it proved an inspired decision on this occasion, as tidy bowling from Jason Holder, in particular, restricted the Tallawahs to 160-7.

Holder grabbed two wickets for 19 runs in four overs and Afghan spinner Qais Ahmad had two for 42 from his four, against Shamarh Brooks’ 41-ball 78 and Imad Wasim’s 33 from 24 balls.

Young left-handed batsman Alick Athanaze and Laurie Evans, then anchored the Royals reply with an 89-run third wicket stand that propelled them to 161-4 with an over to spare.

The 24-year-old Athanaze hammered three sixes and seven fours in his 48-ball 76, while Evans had four boundaries in his 30 off 26 balls.

Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 160-7 (20 overs); Barbados Royals 161-4 (19 overs)  

Sent to bat, the Tallawahs struggled to find their boundary-hitting rhythm, especially after Holder accounted for captain Brandon King (one) and Englishman Alex Hales (12), in between overs.

Kyle Mayers earlier had Kirk McKenzie (seven) caught by Evans and the Jamaican franchise was reeling at 23-3 at that point.

Brooks and Raymon Reifer tried to repair the damage and started out well, putting together 54 for the fourth wicket. However, Reifer (16) fell with the score at 77, as he played all over a delightful deliver from Ahmad and was bowled.

Still, Brooks, who slammed four sixes and seven fours in his knock, found another useful partner in Wasim, as they added another 54 runs for the fifth wicket to add some semblance of respectability to the Tallawahs innings.

After Brooks holed out to Rovman Powell off Ahmad, the hard-hitting Fabian Allen (two) was undone by a beauty from Dutchman Roelof van der Merwe, bowling his slow left-arm spin, and Wasim, who had two maximums and two fours in his knock, was run out off the final ball of the innings. 

The Royals were always favoured to overhaul the target on what was a decent batting strip, coupled with the dew factor coming into play, provided they didn’t crumble like they did against Knight Riders.

When Wasim and Chris Green combined to remove the opening pair of Rahkeem Cornwall (17) and Mayers (four) –both of whom are yet to really fire this season –a sense of déjà vu may have hit the Royal fans that they were in for another disappointing night.

But Athanaze and Englishman Evans ensured it was not so. The young Dominican played the aggressor, as he took Tallawahs top trio of Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Salman Irshad to task with some lofty blows showing decent foot work and innovation in a mature innings.

Though Green had Evans caught by Amir midway the 16th over and Irshad bounced back to have Athanaze caught by Hales on the fine leg boundary, the damage was already done and whatever hopes Tallawahs had of a batting collapse, were erased by Rovman Powell and Jason Holder, who ended unbeaten on 10 and nine, respectively.

Despite the win, the Royals remain fifth in the standing on five points, same as fourth-placed Tallawahs, who have a slightly better net run-rate. St Lucia Kings (six points) head the pack, ahead of Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders, who are also on five points each.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots are at the foot of the standing on two points.

Action will resume on Saturday with a triple header –Amazon Warriors against Patriots at 8:00am Jamaica time, Barbados Royals women against Trinbago Knight Riders women at 2:00pm and Royals against St Lucia Kings at 6:00pm.