Jason Holder expressed happiness at being back in West Indies colors for the first time since last August after the team’s defeat in the opening game of their three-match T20I series against England.
Prior to Friday’s opening T20I against England, Holder’s last game for the West Indies was a Text match against South Africa at Providence in Guyana last August.
His last T20I appearance was in February 2024 against Australia in Perth.
“It was a little strange putting on the clothes but happy to be back. People probably felt I was gone and probably retired but it’s just really good to be back out there on the field playing for West Indies,” he said in a post-match press conference.
As it relates to the game itself, the West Indies suffered a 21-run defeat, replying with 167-9 after England posted 188-6 from their 20 overs.
The main period where the loss may have been set up was during England’s batting powerplay when they scored 78 for the loss of only one wicket including 22 runs in the fifth over and 23 runs in the sixth.
The West Indian bowlers did well in the final 14 overs to restrict the hosts but one can only wonder how things could’ve been different with a better bowling performance in those first six overs.
“I thought it was a par total. We did really well to pull back the game after the powerplay they had. Credit must be given to them for the way they played in the powerplay. It’s not easy bowling with two fielders out but, having said that, I think we could’ve done a little bit better in terms of restricting them,” Holder said.
A big part of the powerplay struggles with the ball, one may argue, was the absence of Akeal Hosein who usually bowls the new ball effectively for the West Indies.
He missed the game after being unable to travel to the UK due to visa complications. Holder acknowledged Hosein as a big miss but noted that it’s no excuse.
“He’s obviously one of our frontline players so it’s just an unfortunate situation with him but we can’t control that. We’ve just got to control what’s in front of us. We’ve got players who are more than capable of doing the job," Holder said.
Hosein will join up with the squad ahead of the second game on Sunday.
Holder also heaped praise onto former England captain Jos Buttler who kept their innings together with a top score of 96.
“He played really well. I thought he got some really good momentum in the powerplay. It was a little niggly situation in the middle where they lost some wickets and he had to really pull back,” Holder said.
“Credit must be given to him for the way he played. He paced the innings really well. He knew when to go and hold back and get his other partner in,” he added.
He also pointed out some things the regional side can do better in the second game with bat in hand.
“When we look back at our performance with the bat, we definitely have to touch up a little bit on strike rotation and just being able to score a little faster up front. We didn’t really take on some of the matchups that we had and I think, if we can correct a few of those things going into the next game, we’ll be in good stead,” he said.
The next game is set for Sunday.