Jason Holder's inexperienced Caribbean unit has been gradually progressing at the Test level.
Holder, who has had to relinquish his leadership post in the limited-overs formats after the last year's World Cup in UK, says it is these players that have driven him to continue leading the Calypso Kings in the longest format even as he is yet to fully overcome the disappointing captaincy snub in favour of Kieron Pollard.
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"The guys in the Test team really give me that drive to continue to do what I want to do and to continue to play the cricket with the passion and pride I play it with," Holder told Sportstar. "And had it not been for this Test group, I probably would have been in the worst state mentally."
"But these guys have helped me through a lot. I love them, I love playing Test cricket with them. And I will stay around as long as I possibly can to carry this Test team forward."
"I do believe it got what it takes to become the No. 1 Test team in the world. But obviously it is a work in progress, and with the support around in terms of our systems and the backing abroad, I definitely think that we can become the No. 1 team in the world."
Many believe that the main hurdle to Holder's team's progression is the lack of quality first-class structure in the Caribbean and inadequate fixture list at the Test level. But Holder reckons the World Test championship does a bit to address that, even if his team wouldn't ever have as cramped a calendar as India, England and Australia do because of the financial constraints.
"I think the Test Championship is a good move. It gives everybody a level playing field to fight for a championship. Everyone plays the same amount of Test games and the points system is such where you are not at a disadvantage," he said.
"I just think that we would love to play more Test cricket. Unfortunately, situations aren’t there for us to play more Test cricket. Financing plays a bit part of it. We are not as fortunate as England or Australia or India, who definitely have the financial backing to facilitate playing more Test cricket."
"So we’ve just got to make do with whatever we have. I would always encourage us to play more Test cricket, but I understand the challenges that we are faced with," Holder added. "As I said, I just move in to swoop, but to be fair, it becomes a little bit disappointing sometimes. I have played international cricket for so long and Test cricket for so long, and I have got only 40 Test matches. Some players who I probably started with at the same time have got double the amount of Test games I have played."
"But again, it’s something beyond my control, and whenever I do get the opportunity to play Test cricket, I make the most of it."
(Inputs from Sportstar)