The West Indies Jason Holder is hopeful that all-rounder Andre Russell, who is suffering from a chronic knee problem will be fit ahead of their 2019 ICC World Cup tie against England on Friday.
Speaking to the reporters on the eve of their tie in Southampton, Holder shared a brief on how the explosive all-rounder has been progressing. “Yes, he's progressed nicely over the last couple of days. He is just one of those guys where we give him as much time as he possibly needs, so it all boils down to how he wakes up tomorrow morning and feels,” Holder said.
The Windies bowling has surprised many at the World Cup so far. With the likes of Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas firing on all cylinders, the team under the able leadership of Holder, at least to some extent, has remined a few of their past. And Holder was happy with what he’s seen from the boys so far. “We've been getting wickets. I think previously we haven't been getting wickets in the middle,” he said about his bowlers.
“We have always got wickets with the new ball. But previously we haven't been able to get wickets in the middle overs. And it's been the talking point over the last couple of months in one-day cricket and now in this tournament we have been able to get wickets in the middle overs which has definitely broken the back of most teams.”
On the side note, though, Cottrell seems to have gotten on the nerves of the England head Treavor Bayliss. His wicket-taking celebration, which involves a short march, stand to attention and salute to the pavilion, seems to have annoyed Bayliss. But Holder chose to look at the lighter side of things. "I don't think it will change, that's just Sheldon. I guess Trevor will just have learn to accept it," he replied when asked to respond to Bayliss’ quotes.
Another entertaining factor of this World Cup has been Jofra Archer. The Barbados-born has been the talk of the World Cup so far. But Holder seemed unfaced by the challenge that lies ahead of them.
"I have seen Jofra over the years. He is obviously a Barbadian. He's grown up in Barbados playing cricket so what I'm seeing of Jofra doesn't surprise me. He is one of those guys who has always had ability and talent," added the captain.
"It is just unfortunate how things went in terms of his decision-making, but he is a good talent."
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Adrian Dennis
