Holder wants to focus more on batting

BARBADOS: Jason Holder, the No 1-ranked all-rounder on the ICC Test rankings, is keen to pay more attention to his batting, but feels a heavy bowling workload makes that difficult.

Since his debut in June 2014, only Kraigg Brathwaite (2906) has made more runs than Holder’s 1830, among West Indies batsmen. The West Indies captain has three hundreds, including a career-best 202 not out against England earlier this year.

He has also bowled more overs than anyone else in this period, and his 95 wickets are only behind Shannon Gabriel’s 116 and Kemar Roach’s 97.

His batting figures seem more impressive when considering that he usually comes in at No 8, and has batted only at Nos 7, 8 and 9. And given his steady returns, at a time when the West Indies top order is struggling, there is a case for him to bat higher.

“It’s something that I’ve obviously been wanting to do for a long time,” Holder said in Jamaica, ahead of the second Test against India, starting on Friday, 30 August.

“Based on the team composition, I’ve been asked to bowl a lot of overs. That’s primarily my role upfront, just to be a workhorse, just trying to keep the run flow down. I’ve had a lot of success with the ball as well. Having to bowl 20-30 overs and then come out and bat high has been difficult. But if we can ease the burden off myself and get people like Roston Chase (to bowl longer), then I’d be able to give a little bit more attention to my batting.”

Batting has been West Indies’ weakness in recent times — they were bundled out for 100 in the second innings of the first Test against India. Holder urged the top order to be patient without being tentative.

“We’ve got to be decisive with our footwork, decisive with our shot selection,” he said. “That’s just standard cricket. We’ve just got to be a little bit more certain with what we are looking to do and back our defences, trust our preparation, and just fight through the tough periods.

“We have had guys get in and get out, so it’s just a matter for us to stay a little bit longer in our game plan and be a little bit more patient as well, and wear the Indian bowlers down.

“We saw a little bit in the second innings that after a spell or two, they tend to be a little jaded. So we’re just trying to keep them a little bit more on their feet. Here in Jamaica, it tends to be very hot and humid as well, so the longer we keep them on their feet, the better off we will be.”