Ramdin: Need to convert starts into tons

West Indies Test captain Denesh Ramdin was disappointed with the series defeat to New Zealand this week, saying if the batsmen had managed to convert fifties to centuries that they would have won.

West Indies Test captain Denesh Ramdin was disappointed with the series defeat to New Zealand this week, saying if the batsmen had managed to convert fifties to centuries that they would have won.

The Black Caps won the third Test by 53 runs after setting the Windies a target of 308 to win on the final day. Ramdin was irritated that earlier in the game, a slew of half tons were not converted, and said that was key to winning Tests.

Ramdin said after the game: "In the first innings, all our top six-seven batters got starts and nobody went on to make that big hundred. It is all in the mindset, the way we apply ourselves.

"If we are content with 50 or 60, we need to be bigger men and come out and fight and show what we are made of. We need to carry on from those 50s and 60s and only be satisfied with big hundreds – 160, 150 – to put the team in a commanding position.

"Test cricket is a lot of hard work and if you go out there and work hard you get the rewards for it. Hopefully this can be a stepping stone for some of the guys who did well. All the guys who didn't, it should be a wake-up call for them to do well in the future."

Some new batsmen did well considering, with Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk Edwards making half tons in the first knock, and Jason Holder nearly saving the game with a fifty on day five, and Ramdin was pleased with them.

He added: "There were a lot of challenges along the way and a lot of positives as well. Young [Jermaine] Blackwood, Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, those guys coming in and getting runs for themselves…

"Hopefully they can go from strength to strength and the senior guys can pull their weight a bit more. That will augur well for the team."

All-rounder Holder's half ton was his first such score in Tests, and he was gutted to get out late in the day after batting for two hours as they crept towards a draw. But he was bowled by spinner Mark Craig in the 74th over.

Holder said: "My goal was just to take the team to the end, whether it was a win or a draw. I thought I played really well, but unfortunately got out at the last stage.

"After coming in, the situation of the game, I knew there was a lot of work to be done.We needed to build a partnership to start and to wear down the New Zealand bowlers as much as possible, frustrate them as much as possible.

"I came in with Darren Bravo there and we tried to build a partnership, unfortunately Darren got out."

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