Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, said their 2-1 victory in the Test series will give them confidence going into the ODI leg of the series against England, the top-ranked side in the format.
The five-match series will begin in Barbados on Wednesday, February 20. The home side go into the match as underdogs, but Holder has taken the tag in his stride, adding that it reduces the pressure on his team.
“We’re pretty confident coming into the game,” he said. “We’ve obviously had some momentum from winning the Test series, and some good experience in the dressing room.
“There are obviously some concerns, but you have to believe in yourself, you’ve got to have confidence.”
Adil Rashid isn't intimidated by Chris Gayle's big talk 👇https://t.co/R9mhgSYFwJ
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 19, 2019
“We start this series as underdogs again, but that is not a bad tag to have – obviously less pressure on us and more pressure on them. We just have to go out there and play the cricket we want to play and execute the plans.”
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Chris Gayle, who has announced he will retire from ODIs after the 2019 World Cup, is back in the squad for the series and is one of a few returnees to the set-up. Holder said they would act as a fillip to the side.
“We pack a pretty heavy punch when we’re stacking up our team,” he said. “A guy like Chris Gayle is coming back into the team, and we have Carlos Brathwaite at the back end. We all know what these guys can produce. I’m really excited by the challenge.”
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The West Indies skipper was suspended from the third and final Test against England in St Lucia, which the home side lost by 171 runs. That, however, has only made him hungrier heading into the limited-overs matches.
“It was tough watching the Test in St Lucia, but I’m very hungry to get back on the park and looking forward to the challenge of carrying the team forward,” Holder said.
