ENG v WI 2020: Jason Holder plays down talks of creating history by winning the second Test

West Indies defeated England by four wickets in the opening Test and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

West Indies dominated England on its way to an impressive win in the first Test | AFPWest Indies captain Jason Holder on Wednesday (July 15) played down the talks of creating history by winning the second Test against England in Manchester.

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Last week, the Caribbean team marked international cricket's return following the COVID-19 hiatus with an impressive four-wicket win over England in the first Test at the Ageas Bowl.

A victory in the second Test will give the West Indies side its first Test series win on English soil after 32 years, but Holder wants his troops to stay focussed on the present rather than thinking about making history.

"Winning the first Test match is just one piece of the puzzle. We've got two other games to play and we don't get ahead of ourselves," Holder, who claimed seven-wicket haul in Southampton, told reporters on the eve of the second Test.

The visiting skipper was well aware of the importance of last week's success to cricket fans back home, a point reinforced when he spoke to three Prime Ministers from the Caribbean as a guest during a radio show on Tuesday (July 14).

"This COVID period has really put a dampener on things for the world and things like cricket, especially in the Caribbean, can unify the Caribbean," said Holder.

"It is really good to see how many hearts we've pleased in the Caribbean so far but in order to take it a step further they all want us to win this series."

Southampton Test victory was only the second time that the West Indies had won a red-ball game in England for 20 years.

Their only other Test win on English soil in that period came three years ago in a match in which Shai Hope slammed centuries in each innings at Headingley. 

But those remain the only two centuries in 32 Tests for Hope. He registered the scores of 16 and 9 across the two innings of the opening Test but Holder is backing the No. 3 batter to come good at the Old Trafford.

"Shai's a quality player, we've seen that particularly the last time we came here to England. I've got all confidence Shai Hope will deliver. He just needs to get himself in, get himself going and he's going to go big for us," he said.

(With AFP inputs)

 

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 16 Jul, 2020

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