Ahead of the series-decider third and final game of the three-match Test series against the hosts England, West Indies Test captain Jason Holder feels that they still have a good chance to win the ongoing Test series.
The visitors won the first Test of this series at Southampton by four wickets. Meanwhile, the hosts England levelled this series after winning the second Test at Manchester by 113 runs. The third and final game of this series will begin on this Friday (24th July), and once again, Old Trafford (Manchester) will host this Test.
Jason Holder is still confident to win this series and he is not much concerned about the workload as he feels that the pacers are ready to play another strong character in this series-decider.
In the pre-match press conference, Holder said, “I am not too worried about the workload because these guys have been doing it for a while even though the turnaround is shorter than normal. But we have got enough motivation to keep pushing as we still have a good chance to win the series.”
Fielding is an area for us to put in a much better effort and lift it: Jason Holder
The Caribbean skipper admitted that the fielding was their main issue in the last match while they were much competitive in both batting and bowling. In the first innings of that second Test, the West Indies fielders dropped the English opener, Dom Sibley, for twice. Also, they dropped Ben Stokes in both the innings of that Test match.
Holder also wants to see that the Caribbean batsmen are converting their starts into the big scores.
He added, “Fielding is an area for us to put in a much better effort and lift it. That was our main issue in the last game. We were competitive on the other two fronts. We also want our batters to convert those starts and this is the perfect opportunity to step up and get that hundred.”
On the other hand, England Test vice-captain Ben Stokes is nursing a minor quadriceps issue. English Test captain Joe Root has confirmed that Stokes will appear in the series-decider, but the all-rounder is doubtful to bowl in this match.
All-rounder Stokes played the most crucial roles in the last Test as he won the Player of the Match award after the hosts levelled the Test series.
Apart from scoring his slowest Test century (in first innings), Stokes also recorded the fastest fifty as an English Test opener (in England’s second innings) in the previous Test match. Also, he managed to pick up a total of three wickets in that match, including dismissing two set batsmen in both the innings.
On the other hand, Jofra Archer has returned to the final 14-member England squad for the forthcoming Test match. Archer missed out the last Test after breaching team’s bio-secure protocols. Root has confirmed that Archer is ready for this upcoming Test as the fast bowler is bowling at the speed of light.