‘Execution was the main issue’

Jason Holder says the West Indies face a tough task to reach the World Cup semifinals after their dismal defeat to Bangladesh on Monday.

The West Indies have now lost three of their five matches and, with four games left, captain Holder conceded there is only a slim chance they can make the semi-finals in the 10-team tournament

“It’s looking tough at this present moment, but it’s not impossible. We have to play every game here now as a final,” Holder said. “We’ve got to win every game left to give ourselves a really good chance.”

Holder also backed his bowlers, saying that it was the batsmen who had come up short. He also lamented that none of Bangladesh’s top-edges found the way to a fielder.

“I still think we were a few runs short. If you look at the contents of the game and the way Bangladesh scored, I think we were arguably roughly 40, 50 short. Having said that, with 321 on the board, we still go out there, fight and make a game of it. We needed new ball wickets. We didn’t get it today. They batted well. Shakib came in really well. And Liton Das played really well.”

Holder added that that the lack of a spinner did not make an impact.

“I think the quick bowlers could have done the job. If you look at their spinners, they didn’t cause much a threat. Shakib is the only one, I think, who got wickets. Mehedi struggled. We pretty much scored off him freely. So, no regrets there.”

While Holder admitted that Shai Hope had to go about his business slowly, he scored a 121-ball 96, due to wickets falling at the other end, he said that Hope should have “shown a little bit more intent”. Ultimately, however, Holder blamed his team’s execution.

“We didn’t execute. Execution for me today was the issue. And it paid off, hurt us in the end.”