West Indies coach Phil Simmons believes that losing the white-ball captaincy will help former One-Day International skipper Jason Holder’s Test career. He has also suggested that the responsibility of captaincy thrust upon underachiever Kieron Pollard will boost his batting in the shorter formats.
Speaking to the media on his arrival in India where West Indies start a limited overs series against Afghanistan next week, Simmons suggested that with the pressure of leadership no longer on Holder in the ODIs, his Test stats could start to trend further upwards.
Pollard takes over as ODI captain after a difficult World Cup, in which Holder’s side won just two matches and finished ninth in the ten-team round-robin group stage. That disappointment led Cricket West Indies to set up a task force to revamp their selection process, which recommended replacing Holder as captain.
Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder and Phil Simmons
““It might be [beneficial] but that is something that he has got to answer that question,” he said. “He’s the No. 1 Test all-rounder in the world, so he has shown that he has learned a lot in that format, and he is going to continue to lead this team.”
Holder was first appointed captain of the Test side back in 2015 at the age of 23, and Simmons said that his experience in the role meant he could now afford to demand performances of his players.
“With the experience he has now, he should be putting more pressure on a lot of the players to perform. So his role slightly changes, and he gets to relax in the other two formats because sometimes you could see that mind thinking on the field, and then when it comes to batting, the pressure is on.
“Now with him relaxing a little bit more in the other two formats, maybe you’ll see a lot more coming from him in the Test matches,” Simmons suggested.
Simmons told ESPNcricinfo that he backed Pollard to lead from the front with the bat in the shorter formats even though he had not played ODIs since 2016.
“It showed in the T20Is with India. He took the reins and led in those. That’s what I expect from him: that responsibility of being captain is going to make him want to always be on top of the runs and leading from the front. He is that kind of a leader – even though he asks you to do something, it is not something he wouldn’t do or he wouldn’t want to do.”
Pollard was the leading run-scorer in that series with scores of 58, 8* and 49, and Simmons said that he expected that form to continue.
“I expect a lot of runs to come from him. Hopefully he doesn’t get to bat where he’s batting much because the top order should be performing now – they have been around for a while in both those two forms.”
And Simmons pointed to Pollard’s career as evidence that he stands up whenever he is under pressure.
“A lot of people write him off,” Simmons said. “The pressure always makes him stand up. If you look at his career, every time he’s under pressure he stands up and he shows ‘look, I’ve had a blip, but I’m back’.
“His experience in general, and not just the knowledge, but also his ability to involve all the players and his ability to give players challenges but at the same time be on their side – that natural leadership is there. It is something that he will bring a lot to the team.”
Pollard’s first assignment as permanent skipper is a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in India, followed by three T20Is. Holder will then lead the side in a one-off Test against the same opposition in Lucknow, before they play another white-ball series against India, which comprises three T20Is and three ODIs.
Simmons expressed confidence in both captains living up to expectations.
Pollard has had an underwhelming career with the bat in West Indies’ maroon. Thus far he has played 101 ODIs, scored 2289 runs at the paltry average of 25.71 with three centuries and nine fifties. He has also appeared in 62 Twenty20 Internationals, scored 903 runs at an average of 21.50 with three fifties.
Holder, a bowling all-rounder, has played 107 ODIs, captured 130 wickets at 35, and 11 T20Is with nine wickets at 33.77. He has also scored 1771 ODI runs at 26.04 with nine half-centuries and 60 runs at 10 in the shortest format. At the Test level Holder has played 39 matches, scored 1887 runs at 33.10 with three centuries and eight fifties and taken 101 wickets at 27.26 with six five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket match haul. (Cricinfo/WG)
