Jason Holder offers support to Shai Hope and backs seamers to cope with quick turnaround

NICK FRIEND: The West Indies captain added that unless in the case of a late injury, he would be selecting his side for the final Test at Emirates Old Trafford from his main 15-man squad rather than dipping into his reserve group

West Indies captain Jason Holder has backed Shai Hope on the eve of the third Test at Emirates Old Trafford.

Hope has made 57 runs in four innings so far in the series, while the 26-year-old has averaged just 19.82 across his last 19 Test matches.

He has only reached three figures twice in a 33-game Test career, with both hundreds coming in the same game at Headingley in 2017. Since then, he has only passed fifty on three occasions. Yet, in ODI cricket he averages 52.20 – almost double his overall Test figure of 26.35.

After West Indies’ 113-run defeat in Manchester last week, head coach Phil Simmons admitted that he was “concerned about his form”.

Former fast bowler Curtly Ambrose added on Sky Sports that he felt West Indies should leave him out for his own good.

“If you keep playing him and he keeps failing it will only get worse,” he argued. “You are going to destroy him if it continues like that.

"I like Hope a lot. I think he is a fantastic player but this is not doing his confidence any good. Are West Indies going to go with him again? It's a tough call.”

Speaking on Thursday, however, Holder reaffirmed his support for his countryman.

“All of our players have got my full backing,” he said. “They know how I personally feel. Yes, some of them haven’t been getting the runs that they would like, but more or less it’s just giving them that full support.

“We all know what Shai can produce and has done before at this level at Test cricket. He’s arguably one of the best one-day batsmen in the world and we know the calibre of player he can be. I’ve got full confidence in Shai to get some runs. He’s got starts so far in this series, so he’s not far off converting a start into something really special for us. So, he’s got my full support.”

Holder added that West Indies were unlikely to look beyond their main 15-man squad ahead of the final instalment of the three-match series, unless compelled to by a late injury.

If that is the case, it would seemingly rule out the possibility of Test debuts for either Joshua da Silva or Shayne Moseley, both of whom are top-order batting options and made runs in the intra-squad warmup matches at the end of June.

Meanwhile, on the fitness of his seam bowlers, he confirmed that “everyone has pulled up really well”. There had been doubts over whether himself, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel would be able to continue running in at full-tilt, given the short turnaround between Tests and the fact that England have so regularly rotated their own bowlers.

^{West Indies' pace armoury has impressed since the beginning of the series}

Gabriel and Joseph appeared to struggle at times in the second Test, with both spending time off the field receiving medical attention.

“Having the Test matches with a short turnaround, such as it has been, has been tough,” Holder explained. “No doubt, both teams will be feeling it. But we’ve got enough motivation to keep pushing; we’ve got a chance to win this series, and we’ve been playing some pretty decent cricket. Just writing the wrongs that we had in the last game and making sure that we hit the ground running, so we can start this Test really well.

“We’ve been doing this for a number of years now. The nucleus of our playing XI hasn’t really changed significantly. These guys have backed up Test matches before; yes, the turnaround in this one has been a lot shorter than normal, but these players have done it before.”

He talked, too, of Rahkeem Cornwall, the highly regarded off-spinner who so far has not been named in the team for either game but took ten wickets in his most recent Test against Afghanistan in November last year.

Roston Chase took five wickets in the first innings in Manchester and has a fine record against England, also possessing an eight-wicket haul against the same opposition. However, after watching the ball spin consistently and from early on at Emirates Old Trafford, there may be some temptation to bring Cornwall into the reckoning.

“If he does come in, he’s a wicket-taker,” Holder said. “He’s proven to be a match-winner. Not only at regional level, but in his last Test match he played. I think he is a quality off-spinner.

“No doubt, to me, he would be the best spinner on show in this series. He’s always a wicket-taking option for us, but not only a wicket-taking option. He brings a bit more slip-catching, batting as well – he can bat. And then he bowls a lot of control with his art.”

Whoever Holder ultimately calls upon, the equation will remain straightforward: avoid defeat, retain the Wisden Trophy.

“We still have a really good opportunity to win this series,” he added, “and everybody is upbeat for the occasion. We know what’s at stake.

“I’m really proud of the guys so far; we’ve done really well. It’s just a matter of pushing it to the next level. We have done reasonably well as a Test side in the last two to three years, and we’re slowly but surely getting our feet wet in terms of what this team can produce.

“I have full confidence that this team can turn things around for West Indies cricket. It’s just a matter for us to stick together, continue to learn and grasp as much information as you can possibly grasp, playing in different conditions around the world.”

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