VINODE MAMCHAN
(England)
West Indies captain Jason Holder is calling on his team to be more consistent in moving forward.
The West Indies had their chances of making the semi-finals of the World Cup slip through their hands yesterday when they went down to a heart-breaking loss at the hands of New Zealand at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Chasing 292 for victory, the West Indies slipped to 160 for seven before Carlos Brathwaite made staged a remarkable recovery with a hundred to take them to 286 all out with one over to spare. It means that the West Indies with just three points from six matches are now without a chance of making the semis. They have another three matches and they will be playing for pride when the tournament continues for them on Thursday against India.
Skipper Holder speaking at the end of the game said: “We fought right down to the very end. We came right back into the game when pretty much everyone thought the game was over.
“And credit to the lower half. The guys really put it in their hands today and took responsibility. Top-notch by Carlos. He was outstanding. He gave us a chance, gave us hope. Just unfortunate at the very end that we weren’t able to get a win.
We were all hopeful at the very end.
“As I said before, we were way behind the eight ball in the middle overs. I think when Carlos came to bat, he had more than 20 overs to bat, a situation for him just to knuckle down get a partnership.
“And credit to Kemar. I thought they put on a really good push. And it was 80-odd, and it really brought us back into the game. And obviously Carlos and Sheldon and then Carlos and Oshane. And these things really gives us a lot of hope, and they obviously make us very, very proud to know that the guys can fight very, very hard down to the end.
“Just a little disappointing, obviously, not being able to cross the line, after coming so close. But I’m proud of the guys. I thought the guys played a really good game of cricket. It was an outstanding game of cricket by both teams. And something we just want to keep doing. We need to be a little bit more consistent in what we’re doing. But as I said before we’re really, really proud of the way the guys fought.”