Holder expects Hope and the bowlers to pull through

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Thu, Jul 23, 2020, 07:36 PM

He's got my full support: Holder said about Hope. © Getty

A day ahead of the final Test in Manchester, West Indies skipper Jason Holder kept most of his cards close to his chest about possible changes to the team. While England have gone ahead and named their 14-man squad, Holder preferred to take more time before taking a few decisions.

Some of the issues that would be on Holder's mind includes a fragile top order, the lack of runs from Shai Hope and the fitness levels of his pacers which could play an important part given the short turnaround time between all the Tests.

Holder confirmed that West Indies are sticking with their same 15-man squad, where there is no back-up top order batsman, unless there was an injury.

"All our players have got my backing. They know how I personally feel. Yes, some of them haven't been getting the runs that we would like but more or less it's about us giving the full support," said Holder about the batting issues that has plagued his side, before throwing his weight behind Hope in particular.

"We all know what Shai can produce, and he's done it at this level. He is one of the best one-day batsmen in the world and we know the calibre player he can be. I've got full confidence in Shai to get some runs. He's got starts so far in this series and he's not far from converting the start into something really special for us. So he's got my full support," he said.

The bowling, likewise, throws up a few questions of its own with Shannon Gabriel pulling up stiff on a couple of occasions during the second Test, but managing to see the game through. Holder said that he was happy about how his pacers have shaped up.

"As I said, I like to wait till the morning of the game to see the wicket, see what we're faced with. In terms of the workloads and the management of our players, everybody has sprung up really well. We've been doing this for a number of years now, the nucleus of our playing eleven hasn't really changed...yes, the turnaround for this one has been really short but these players have done it before. So I'm not too worried," said Holder.

Conditions at Old Trafford, if the second Test was anything to go by, could possibly dictate a change. Rahkeem Cornwall's chances may have just received a boost after Roston Chase's offspin proved successful at the same venue in the previous Test. But Holder remained tight-lipped about Cornwall, despite going as far as saying that he'd be 'the best spinner on show in this series'.

"If he does come in, he's a wicket-taker and he's proven to be a match-winner. In his last Test match, he got 13 wickets in it. He is a quality spinner and no doubt he would be the best spinner on show in this series. He's always a wicket taking option for us. Not only that, slip catching, batting as well, and he also brings a lot of control with his arm," said Holder.

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Holder expects Hope and the bowlers to pull through

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