West Indies captain Jason Holder believes they can end up in top 4 or 5 in World Test Championship

Once the rulers of the cricketing world, the West Indies fare poorly in the longer format in the current times and are lagging at No.8 in the ICC’s world rankings. But captain Jason Holder is of the opinion that his team has a “realistic” chance of finishing in the top four or five of the ongoing ICC Test Championship. The all-rounder said this after the West Indies thrashed Afghanistan by 9 wickets in their one-off Test in Lucknow inside three days.

The two sides played in their first-ever Test match after two absorbing series in the ODIs and T20Is but the Afghans failed to impress with their batting as they got all out twice in just over two days for 187 and 120, respectively. Off-break bowler Rakheem Cornwall, who was playing in only his second Test, picked 10 wickets in the game to end as the man of the match.

West Indies have lost both Tests they have played in ICC championship so far

However, the West Indies are yet to open their points account in the Test Championship. They have lost both the matches they have played so far against India while the win over Afghanistan will not be counted since the Afghans are not part of the tournament. But they can certainly feel confident with the win after the humiliation they suffered against India on home soil.

“I think by the end of the Test Championship, I don’t see it being impossible for us to be fourth or fifth in the world,” Holder, 28, said at the post-match press conference as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“That would be a significant achievement in a two-year period. We’ve got some tough series coming up. We’ve got England, then South Africa coming to the Caribbean, then we’ve got New Zealand… all good cricket sides. But I don’t think it’s beyond us to beat them. We’ve just got to make sure we keep building and developing. Once we do that, we can compete with any side in the world. A realistic target in two years would be to be ranked three or four in the world.”

Holder took all the three remaining Afghanistan wickets on Day 3 after the Asian side resumed its innings from the overnight score of 109 for 7. They were bundled for 120 and that left the Caribbeans only 31 runs to win. They knocked off the runs in 6.2 overs but lost a wicket in the process.

Holder’s decision to bowl first in the match after winning the toss despite having three spinners in their ranks had raised eyebrows but after the clinical win, the West Indian captain can certainly have a relaxed time ahead.

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