Jason Holder expects ‘big things’ from Nicholas Pooran in future

Another centurion from West Indies ended up on the losing side yesterday (1st July) as the Caribbean side fell short by 23 runs at Chester-le-Street. Chasing Sri Lanka’s total of 338 runs, West Indies were way off the target at 199/6 in 34.3 overs but it was 23-year old Nicholas Pooran who did not concede defeat. Pooran launched an attack on the Sri Lankan bowlers and brought up his maiden ODI century in the process.

Needing 31 runs from 18 balls, West Indies had hopes from the centurion. However, in a stunning twist, Angelo Mathews dismissed him on the first ball. Distraught Pooran walked back with 118 runs on his name in 103 balls with 11 fours and two sixes.

Also Read: SL vs WI Review – Pooran’s heroics in vain as Lanka edge thriller

West Indies captain Jason Holder was full of praise for the youngster. “What he (Pooran) has produced is what we expect him to produce, we want him to get better and improve. We selected him for a reason and gave him full backing to go and play the game he wants to play,” the skipper said.

“Yes he will make mistakes as a young player but it is important for development to take place. He needs to learn from scenarios and we all need to learn from scenarios we have been faced with. We will look after Nicholas the best we possibly can, I expect big things. He has got the talent, ability to change gears, he can improvise, has every shot in the locker and it is just a matter of him putting it together more often,” he added.

What a powerful day for @nicholas_47 … Early in 2015 a car accident left him wondering if he would ever walk again let alone play cricket. It took him 7 months to walk unassisted. He had to learn how to walk again. Now he has scored his maiden ODI century. #? pic.twitter.com/osVwwRLHMC

— Mike Haysman (@MikeHaysman) July 1, 2019

The loss against Sri Lanka was third for West Indies where they came close and failed to finish off the chase. Previously they had faltered by 15 runs versus Australia and five runs versus New Zealand. Pondering on the same, Holder assessed, “It seems to be the case in this World Cup, we have had a few close games but are just unable to get over the line.”

“It is disappointing to come so close on a number of stages and not get that win. We can look back and pinpoint a number of areas, we didn’t field particularly well, we probably gave up 30-40 runs. But when we were batting I thought we were always in the game with a shout. But we lost a lot of wickets at crucial stages,” Holder explained.

These wins could have changed the complexion of the tournament for West Indies. After their win in the first match against Pakistan, the Caribbean side has suffered six losses. They will be ending the disappointing campaign on 4th July versus Afghanistan.