Consistency is key for new skipper Holder

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Cricket365
September 18, 2015

New West Indies Test captain Jason Holder feels that the key to his side's improvement in all formats will be consistency, and once they find that then they'll start moving up the ICC rankings.

Holder will take over from Denesh Ramdin as Test skipper when the side goes to Sri Lanka, and he hopes they do well enough to avoid dropping below their current eighth place in the rankings.

Holder, who is 23 and thus one of the younger skippers on the circuit, said: "The first thing we need to do is set a standard in the dressing room where we don't fall below [our current ranking].

"I have had a lot of discussion with the coach about [that]. It is important that we set the standards, so guys know where we are at the moment, what is the benchmark and know that we just can't fall below that.

"Once you do that and we get players to buy into that theory then moving forward should be a lot easier.

"In the past, we have been a bit haywire where we have not been settled in a sense where we have a standard. We have encountered with a lot of hiccups here and there.

"Once we could clarify the whole situation, as to what is required as an international cricketer and we set the standard, then it should be a lot easy going forward."

He added of his and coach Phil Simmons' shared viewpoint: "We need to instill consistency in the dressing room and get the guys understanding what is required of them in terms of roles, in terms of different scenarios which they might face in certain games.

"Myself and the coach have a pretty good idea of the direction we want to go in. I guess we will make a little tinker here and there as we go and make the progression.

"But I am sure once you do the right things, once you set things in terms of a good dressing room, then we can make that progression steadily upwards."