Sharjah: Though it was Kraigg Brathwaite who ensured West Indies a creditable victory over Pakistan in the third and final Test match at the Sharjah Stadium, it was their skipper Jason Holder who inspired the team with a career-best five wicket haul to create belief in the team that they can beat World No. 2 ranked Pakistan.
Despite losing matches, Holder said he believed his young players could have won earlier though it did happen only in the last match of the series. “It was extremely important we won this match. After the Dubai Test many people thought we could have won the game. We all believed we could have won that game but we could not get across the line. So to come here for this last Test match in such a situation and put myself into a position to win and actually get the team across the line is a huge monkey off my back,” he said. “It’s a great feeling. It shows that we have the ability to win Test matches if we can string it together and complete the game.”
Holder always believed his Test team was competitive. “I am proud of my team. Proud with the character the guys showed. Proud with the faith they showed. In the back of a lot of criticism here and there it has been a tough period for the guys to come over in this last Test match and perform the way they did. I believe that not only in this Test match but throughout the Test series we were very competitive. To show that commitment and never-say-die attitude is really commendable and really makes me proud.”
How did he feel about leading from the front with a five-wicket haul?
“Playing cricket for West Indies is something I had always dreamt. To be able to win a Test match or win any cricket game for West Indies means a lot for me personally. So to be a big factor in terms of contributing to the team win is always a heartening feeling for me. I will really take this win to heart and it will go a long way for me in the future,” he said.
To a query on how West Indies cricket will be impacted after players like Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite declined central contracts offered by the West Indies Cricket Board for the 2016-17 period, Holder said: “As I had said before, all the negative things around West Indies cricket arethings that are basically beyond my control. I cannot control who signs a contract. All I can control is my destiny on the cricket field. That goes to everybody in the dressing room. We as players have to be just responsible and mature for own actions and take our own personal pride on to the cricket field and control cricket. For me it is just go out there and control by playing good cricket.”
For Holder what matters is that everyone should be working hard for more victories. “This is a very good win for the guys. We have shown glimpses that we can compete and that we have what it takes to compete at this level. For us it is just a matter of consistency. We must not get complacent though we have no reason to be complacent with just one Test victory. It is a situation where we’ve got to stay hungry and that is something I really believe we have in us. Everybody is young and everybody is keen to make a mark in the international circuit.”
Holder revealed that despite defeats in the series, the mood in the dressing room was never down. “Everybody was hungry for success. One thing I really enjoyed in this dressing room is that everybody is happy at each other’s success. It is a situation where I believe we need to stay together and we need more time to be together as a group and to gel and play some solid cricket. We have definitely shown it here. We competed well against India and we had some really good Test matches in Australia. So it’s a situation of having to string together consistent performance over an extended period of time. I have no doubt we will get back on track to take West Indies cricket back to the top.“
Asked what his message was to fans back home, Holder said: “Stay with us and keep supporting us. As I said before, one Test match victory does not make us big and safe, but it is a situation we have shown people that we can do it. We have what it takes and we are not a rollover team by being competitive against Pakistan through the entire series. We fell short in Dubai and we were outplayed in Abu Dhabi, but to come here and finish the series with a victory is a great feeling. So for West Indies fans back home the message is: keep supporting us, give us the love however far you are and I have no doubt this team will lift West Indies cricket.”
