WI vs IND | We have to work on our batting, says Windies coach Floyd Reifer
West Indies coach Floyd Reifer has expressed his disappointment over his side's dismal batting performance, which saw them collapse for the second time in as many innings. He also lamented as his side's inability to outperform the opposition in key moments of the game - with both bat and ball.
If there ever was any sense of optimism with respect to the West Indian team in Test cricket prior to the start of the ongoing series against India, it would be fair to say that all hopes would have come crashing down after just six days of action. After being bowled out for a meager score of 100 in the second innings at Antigua, the Windies, unfortunately, started where they left off, as they ended Day 2 of the Jamaica test at 87-7, still trailing by 329 runs.
Coach Floyd Refier has now expressed his disappointment over his side's fragile performance with the bat, highlighting their inability to leave deliveries early on in the innings, while stating that they will need to work on their batting.
“Our batting was disappointing again as we did not leave a lot of balls early in the innings," Reifer said in the press conference, reported Hindustan Times.
"When the ball is moving, you have to play the ball as late as possible. We have to work on our batting,” he added.
Windies had the perfect start to Day 2 as skipper Jason Holder went through the defence of Rishabh Pant on the very first delivery of the day, but their party was spoiled by an unexpected intruder in the form of Ishant Sharma, who stitched a 100-run partnership with Hanuma Vihari to frustrate the hosts.
The Windies coach lamented his side's failure to grab the opposition by the scruff of their neck in key moments, as India added a total of 114 runs for the last three wickets. Missed catches and run-outs of both Ishant and Vihari added to the misery of his side, and Reifer admitted that his side can ill-afford such mistakes on flat wickets. However, he did praise his bowlers for the hard yards they put in early on in the day.
“Tough day today, the way we started we aimed to bowl out India early. Our bowlers bowled a pretty good line and lengths, we maintained a good scoring rate in terms of keeping India under three per over,” the 47-year-old said.
“Roach, Holder, and Cornwall had good spells. It’s a matter of us, not seizing the key moments of the game. We gonna take our chances especially on the flat wickets like these. When the chances come opportunities come and you have to capitalize on it,” he added.