Holder Maintains Captaincy For WI Tests In NZ
Jason Holder, the world no.1 all rounder, has been retained as the West Indies captain for the two Tests on the 19-day tour of New Zealand.
The Windies squad has yet to be named, with the contingent due to fly out on 27 October, but the 28-year-old Barbadian will remain as skipper. With Holder restricted to a 25-player squad in England, the tourists simply played cricket, practised and stayed in their hotel because of the safety protocols with the coronavirus crisis.
Holder got the Windies off to a winning start in tour of England, but their abject failure in the next two Tests saw them lose the series 2-1 with a whimper in July. His leadership as captain was widely criticised following the seven-week tour, with former internationals claiming that he heavily favoured his compatriots from the island.
He replaced Trinidadian wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin five years ago as skipper and has since led West Indies in 35 of his 45 Tests, winning 11 matches, losing 19 games and drawing five.
Last year Holder was relieved of the One Day International captaincy following five years at the helm, with Trinidadian all rounder veteran Kieron Pollard taking over and also assuming leadership of the Twenty20 team.
The Windies have won just seven of the last 20 Tests and languish at world no.8 in the ICC Test rankings.
However, the Windies are anticipating to utilise more players to strengthen their squad for the forthcoming New Zealand tour and will name their troops this week.
New Zealand have been inactive since March, when they played hosts Australia in a behind closed doors one-day international in Sydney, but remain a force to be reckoned with.
New Zealand v West Indies provisional tour schedule
27 November
1st T20 international
Eden Park, Auckland
29 November
2nd T20 international
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
30 November
3rd T20 international
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
3-7 December
1st Test
Seddon Park, Hamilton
11-15 December
2nd Test
Basin Reserve, Wellington
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