West Indies head coach Phil Simmons yesterday reckoned that his side has what it takes to retain the Wisden Trophy but will have to consistently hit the 400-run mark to give themselves a chance.
Simmons was at the time speaking to the media via zoom chat where he looked at the various issues relating to their upcoming three-Test series against England.
Speaking of his team’s chances of winning the series Simmons stated, “I think we have the best squad we can have. Unfortunately, a few guys decided not to go up but we are here with the best squad we can have from the way we have started and the work we would have put in I think we would be ready and looking to defend our trophy.”
Simmons was quizzed on the importance of the batting unit scoring centuries where he agreed that “it is an important part of the tour,” while adding, “we need to get that 400-450 on a regular basis to give ourselves a chance in these Test matches.”
He explained that pressure was on the batsmen.
“It is a lot of pressure on the batsmen to perform because the bowling unit has been carrying the Test team for a while now and it’s something that we are harping on a lot not to put extra pressure because there is enough pressure playing a Test match but we need to get that total of 400-450 to give our bowling unit which I think is a top-class bowling unit, the fast bowlers especially.”
The 57-year-old admitted that he was aware of the calibre of middle-order batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Daren Bravo who along with Keemo Paul had opted out of the tour.
“We understand and know the quality of these two individuals and we know what we will be missing,” Simmons noted.
He added, “But in situations like this we have to work hard with the guys that are here and make sure the work we are doing is putting them in a position to fill those two shoes for the series and hopefully, whoever fills those shoes can go on to be as great as they want to so just have to work hard with who we have here and find two players to fill those shoes.”
Nevertheless, Simmons said that he believes the circumstances do not put them at a disadvantage but rather a level playing field especially due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“I think it’s a plus because England have come from two tours recently and we have just been playing cricket at home because I think under normal situations we would have been coming from camps and England would have been halfway through their season and the series would have been going on right now so I think that is a plus for us because I think it levels things out a little bit because they would have not been playing competitive cricket for a while now also,” Simmons opined.
West Indies squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach.
Reserve players: Sunil Ambris, Joshua da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican.
