EAST LONDON, South Africa, (Reuters) – West Indies captain Jason Holder has lashed his teammates for repeating basic errors and urged them to take more responsibility weeks away from the 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The side slumped to a dismal nine-wicket defeat in the third one-day international in South Africa on Wednesday as they showed little application, zero fight and in many cases a lack of skill on a Buffalo Park wicket that was far better than the 122 they managed in 33.4 overs suggested.
South Africa chased down that total with more than half their overs remaining to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series and leave the tourists with series questions with both bat and ball ahead of the World Cup that starts on Feb. 14.
“I am worried about the way we are going about our cricket. I think we can be a lot more respectable and put up our hands sometimes when we make errors,” the 23-year-old Holder, captaining in his first series, told reporters.
“I think the quicker we learn from our errors the better we would make improvements. At the moment, it just seems as we are making the same errors over and over again.
“It’s just about correcting those errors and being man enough to say I’ve committed this error and just moving on from it.”
Holder spoke of restoring pride in the final two ODIs, the next of which is in Port Elizabeth on Sunday, and says there has to be some straight-talking.
“I believe in honesty. One thing I pride myself in being is honest so I’ll be very honest with the fellas,” Holder said.
“I’m one to just speak my mind at times and when it is appropriate to speak my mind, I will speak my mind.
“It’s just about getting the message across and having players understand where I am coming from and I think once that is established, things become a lot easier.”
West Indies open their World Cup campaign against Ireland on Feb. 16.
