West Indies defeat England 3-2 after Holder’s heroics

Jason Holder marked a historic performance for the West Indies on Sunday in the tie-breaking fifth T201 against the visiting England side.

An excellent performance from West Indies player of the series Jason Holder guided the team to victory in a very close chase against visitors England.

The two teams have been inseparable throughout the series and for most of the final match, but Holder ended England’s victory chase by taking four wickets in the final four balls to seal victory by 17 runs.

In doing so, he became the fourth bowler in international T20 history to take four wickets in four balls.

Speaking to CWI media, Holder expressed joy at such a remarkable performance from both himself and the team, in wake of the devastating defeat against Ireland, who registered a historic 2-1 series win over the home side.

“After the start we had in Jamaica against Ireland, everybody was relay really down and deflated. To see the way, we bounced back here against England, umm … it just shows the character in the dressing room.”

“I think it’s special for me knowing how bad I felt after the Ireland series and I think personally I felt as though I let the team down with my personal performances. It’s just one of those things where it just didn’t click, it wasn’t for lack of effort, just one of those times where it just didn’t click and it didn’t happen.”

Sunday’s match was the fourth time in five games West Indies won the toss, but for the first time they chose to bat.

After a disappointing first match for the West Indies, they delivered a succession of compelling and high-quality contests before reaching the closing stages of the series.

“But you know, I think everything happens in its time you know this series was my time. I’m just grateful to perform and contribute towards the series win.”

Despite being player-of-the-series, Holder underscored the efforts of his teammates.

“I try not to single out individuals because I feel as though it was a complete team effort. Yes, there were outstanding individual performances, but for me to just sit down and pinpoint individuals - I think it would be unfair to the entire team and what we’ve done together.”

“I can’t stop saying it enough because it’s honestly one of the first times I’ve felt such strong togetherness in the dressing room.”

An unchanged squad will next take on a three-match ODI Series against India from February 6 to 20.

“Hopefully we can continue this on and continue building something really special. I think this group has to be the group now with such young talented players to come even closer and get better. And I think once we do that you know, the future for West Indies Cricket will be in good hands”