West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is well aware of the fact that his team will head into the four-match Test series against India as underdogs. However, he has insisted that his players will give their best in every match. Interacting with the media ahead of the first Test which begins on July 21, Simmons spoke on various topics.
Excerpts:
On the preparation for the series:
We have been together since the 11th and things have been good. There have been a few hiccups in the camp, but generally, it’s been good. Just a few hiccups with rain. But generally, it’s been good.
Significance of the series:
Every series is significant. I think it’s a case where we want to continue winning. We won the last Test match we played in the Caribbean against England and then we had a couple of matches against Australia where we didn’t do well. So now, we just want to try and build on what we have been trying to do in Australia and the last two Tests there were not as bad. So we’re looking to build on that.
The team is relatively young. Is it the start of building a team for the future:
I don’t know about building a team for the future. Every time you go out, you want to win. If you sit down and say ‘you’re building a team for the future’, then it means you don’t want to win. We want to win every game. It’s about now and how we play now.
His take on India:
Whether they think they are well prepared or not, they are one of the most dangerous sides in the world. Their batting line-up alone tells you that they’re dangerous side and that it’s going to be a hard series. We haven’t played four Tests back-to-back in a long time, so that too is going to make it even harder. But we’re going to try to do our best in every Test match.
Any particular preparation for the series:
If I tell you that, then India are going to know it (laughs). I think one of the words we’re going to harp on is about how patient we are. Because we tend to get bored of bowling one place and doing well and not getting wickets, so we try and do something (different). So we’re going to just harp on be patient and do the things that we keep doing well continuously. It’s the same with the batting. You bat long and you stick around and work hard and get your reward.
On Jerome Taylor who recently retired:
He will be missed. He’s the most experienced fast bowler we have and he will definitely be missed. His experience and his ability to get the wickets. In the last Test in the Caribbean, he got a six-for. So he will definitely be missed.
Role of the batsmen:
We started in Australia where Bravo scored a hundred and Marlon scored and Kraigg Brathwaite showed that he can play the long innings. It’s just for the others to come up and join them. Now, it’s for everybody else to be part of that.
On not having a constant spinner:
I don’t know if you can say that because Bishoo has been the settled spinner for the last three or four series. He got injured during the England and Australia series. We have only had two spinners in the last three or four series, which is him and (Jomel) Warrican and we just decided to go with him for the team.