On the eve of the second #Raisethebat Test match between the West Indies and England and Old Trafford on Thursday, West Indies Jason Holder is backing Shai Hope to eventually come good with the bat.

Hope has struggled in Test matches averaging 26.71 in 32 Tests. In the first Test at the Ageas Stadium in Southampton last week, Hope had scores of 16 and 9, raising concerns about whether he might eventually be dropped from the team. However, at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Holder when asked if Hope runs the risk of being dropped because of poor form, jumped to the defence of his number-three batsman.

“Going into a Test series you want to give a player as much confidence as you possibly can. I don’t look at whether you want to drop and select somebody else. You’ve got a core group of guys which you give added confidence and boost to in order for them to go and perform,” Holder said.

“The great thing about this site is that we have been together now for a while. The nucleus of this squad has been the same and all I want to do is keep encouraging our guys. Shai is a quality player; we’ve seen that particularly the last time he came here in England, and his one-day form has been really good, so I have all confidence Shai will deliver. He just needs to get himself in, get himself going and he is going to go big for us.”

In 2017, Hope scored centuries in both innings (147 and 118*) at Headingly as the West Indies defeated England by five wickets.

Holder said his side does not feel pressure going into Thursday’s match because his players are focussed on the task at hand.

“There is no pressure for us, we don’t get caught up in the off-the-field noise and everyone talking,” he said.

“We are just here to play cricket and each individual has a role within the team and it’s more or less us having to focus on our individual roles to bring together a strong collective effort.”