We are still learning as young players, says West Indies bowling coach

Dec 31, 2018 at 2:04 PM

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We are still learning as young players, says West Indies bowling coach

West Indies bowling coach Roddy Estwick would not be a proud man after his bowlers let the Indian team score a mammoth total of 566 for 8(dec). However, he said that the bowlers are still young and inexperienced and so learning the art of bowling will take some time. Talking to the media after the second day’s play, Estwick spoke on the pitch conditions, bowling strategy and much more.

Excerpts:

On the pitch:

It is a good wicket for batting but also we must bear in mind that as a bowling attack we have lost Jerome Taylor to retirement and we have lost Kemar Roach who has not been selected and when you look at our bowling attack, between them it is about 40-45 Tests between them. So the current bowlers are still learning the art of fast bowling and trying to get the combinations right. So it is going to be a long struggle. And remember that Indian are a very good batting side as well. So it will be a tough series for us and we will continue to work hard and continue to stay disciplined and try and stay focused as possible.

On India’s tailenders scoring vital runs:

It is a very good batting pitch and when you get to 400 for 4, the batsmen can come out and play freely, the tailenders can come and play freely, it is a big difference from if you are 50 for 4 then the ball game changes. But when you get to that total and you have the license to go and play shots obviously declaration is going to come. So there is no pressure on their batsmen at all. Hopefully, we will see down the series what happens when they are under pressure.

On the team’s strategy of not attacking:

Once Kohli was at the wicket, it was very difficult to attack. If you look at how he was playing he was scoring at a-run-a-ball and scoring freely. With containing you have a job to do and chase is in his first test match, Carlos Brathwaite who has only played 3 Tests, Holder in his 15th Test. We are still learning as young players. I heard a couple weeks ago England lamenting the loss of Jimmy Anderson, yet they have Stuart Broad with 99 Tests. So with a bowling unit, it takes time and you have to be patient with a very young attack. And we are playing against a very good Indian batting line up on a pitch that is very good as well.

On Kraigg Brathwaite:
It is always a good thing for the team if you can get a batsman who can bowl a few overs as well especially with our combination when you have gone in with only four specialist bowlers plus Roston Chase who is a batsman. So we are trying to squeeze as many overs out of the batsmen as well. We are still trying to get our combinations right and the last time we played a Test match was in Australia and since then two of our main bowlers have retired. So everything takes time and we cannot rush it and we have got to be patient and give these guys a chance.

On their approach in remainder of the match:

It is a simple thing. We have to bat very well and bat deep into the fourth day and if we can do that, until just after tea on the fourth day, that will give us a chance of saving the game. But the first thing to do is avoid the follow on and somebody in the top four will have to get a very big hundred like Kohli who got 200. So it is important that one of the batsmen says that look this is a good pitch and I am going to capitalize here and if they can come to our backyard and do it, we can do it as well.

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