Will Use New Delhi Game As A Stepping Stone To Improve In Tests, Says WI Skipper Chase

Arun Jaitley Stadium: West Indies’ captain Roston Chase believes his team’s spirited performance in the second Test against India could mark the beginning of a more competitive phase for the Caribbean side in red-ball cricket. On Tuesday, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, West Indies’ suffered a seven-wicket defeat to India and lost the series 2-0.

Despite the defeat, Chase was appreciative of the fight with the bat shown by his players - particularly in batting nearly 200 overs and having two centurions in John Campbell and Shai Hope. While the West Indies made 248 in the first innings, the second innings was a much-improved effort – 390 runs came in almost 119 overs.

"This is the kind of fight that I wanted to see from us from matches before. I think this is a stepping stone, a building step for us to go forward and improve as a Test playing nation. This is the performance that I think will give us the confidence and boost us in terms of that belief that we can do it against proper Test playing nations.

“I just want to see the guys continue in this vein and don't let us go back to those ways. Even if it's for us to lose, we have to lose in a good and positive way, where we can have a lot of positives coming out of the game," said Chase in the post-match press conference.

The performance in New Delhi offered a rare glimpse of resilience from a West Indies batting unit that has been under scrutiny for months, especially after being bowled out for 27 against Australia at home. While the scoreboard reflected progress, the conditions played a significant role.

India’s recent shift away from square turners to more traditional, flat home surfaces gave batters a chance to settle in and have good batting time. The centuries from John Campbell and Shai Hope, along with Justin Greaves’ unbeaten 50 and lower-order resistance, came on a slow, low Delhi pitch that offered little help to bowlers.

Chase acknowledged the importance of adapting to conditions and sustaining basic disciplines over long periods, especially with the West Indies set to go on the tour of New Zealand.

“Well, I think where we could improve mainly is our batting. I think that's what let us down for the last two series. I think we have a good bowling attack, despite having a few injuries. I just think that as I said in the press conference before the game, once we can put good first inning totals on the board, we will be able to fight for some wins in the Test championship.

“I think that we had a chat and this first year in the cycle, we always know it was going to be tough with opposition like Australia, India, and then we go to New Zealand. But I think that once we learn from what we've done in those series and take it into the next year where we have guys like Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who are closer to us in the rankings, I think that we can be more competitive against those once we learn from these games.

“Well, I think how we are playing is based on conditions. You can't bat the same way on every wicket. So it's just finding out what's working on the wicket and applying it for as long as possible. So I think that that's something that we really have a downfall in.

“We know the basics, and do it, but we don't do them for long enough periods. Test cricket is obviously five days, so you can't just do it for one or two sessions. You have to try to win more sessions than the opposition. So in doing that, you have to do the basics for a very long period,” he elaborated.

Chase also backed Justin Greaves for having a bigger role in the future. “Well, actually, if we had batted first, he would have batted at number six… I personally think his batting is better than his bowling. He's a good player of spin also, and pace, so I think he's one for the future.”

While Chase distanced himself from board-level decisions on A tours, he stressed the need for more exposure to spin-friendly conditions, referring to the training trip some West Indies’ players had during their time at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) high-performance academy in Chennai.

“That would be great if our board could organise that. But obviously, we know they keep saying, we know it's a bit hard for us to have everything put in place. So we just have to work with what we have.

“But I think it's good that the guys could come down here and have exposure to especially playing spin, because I think we're a bit more comfortable playing fast bowling than good spin bowling. So if the guys could have that opportunity to obviously play some more spin on a regular basis, I think that would be good for our cricket.”

He also feels longer runs for players will help them adjust to international cricket arena. “That would be lovely if we could obviously give some players a bit of a run so that they can learn on the job because when a lot of our players come into the international level, they play like 15-20 first class games. While in other teams, when guys come into international cricket, they have like 80-100 first class games.”

“So for us, it's always learning on the job. So if a guy can get a little longer run so that he can adjust and adapt to this level and see what it takes for him to improve and to be consistent at this level, I think that's good.”

Reflecting on the mood in the dressing room, Chase said the team needed to rediscover its joy in playing together. “I just think that the fight that we showed in this last game would, as I said, give us that belief and that confidence to know that we have what it takes to perform at this level. But it's just to consistently keep working hard and believing and working as a team.”

“I think that sometimes we don't really have that joy in the dressing room because we're not really playing good. So it's not really enjoyable to come out there and be on a losing end. But once we can find that enjoyment in still playing and working hard for each other, I think that will take the group forward.”

Reflecting on the mood in the dressing room, Chase said the team needed to rediscover its joy in playing together. “I just think that the fight that we showed in this last game would, as I said, give us that belief and that confidence to know that we have what it takes to perform at this level. But it's just to consistently keep working hard and believing and working as a team.”

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“So there are not many sports that you can provide for your family. So a lot of the youngsters tend to go to cricket because it's only really where you see people on TV playing and earning money. So I think yes, cricket is still loved and sought after in the Caribbean.”

Article Source: IANS