Ramdin holds top order batsmen responsible for defeat

Bridgetown (Barbados), July 2 (IANS/CMC) Captain Denesh Ramdin has scolded frontline batsmen on the West Indies for not transforming their starts into substantial scores during the third and deciding Test match against New Zealand here.

An inept batting performance by the host side aided visitors New Zealand to a 53-run victory as the West Indies were bowled out for 254 chasing 308 to win the series at Kensington Oval, reports CMC.

Ramdin has accused the top order batsmen of squandering their starts as the Black Caps took the series 2-1.

"In the first innings, all our top six-seven batters got starts and nobody went on to make that big hundred. It is all in the mindset, the way we apply ourselves," Ramdin said.

"If we are content with 50 or 60, we need to be bigger men and come out and fight and show what we are made of. We need to carry on from those 50s and 60s and only be satisfied with big hundreds -- 160, 150 -- to put the team in a commanding position."

The Trinidad and Tobago wicketkeeper has appealed to senior players to improve their performances as a way of supporting the efforts of junior players, spelling more success for the home team.

Jermaine Blackwood and Jason Holder scored half centuries on their debut matches during the series while a century from Kraigg Brathwaite in the second Test helped the West Indies to square the series.

"There were a lot of challenges along the way and a lot of positives as well. Young (Jermaine) Blackwood, Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, those guys coming in and getting runs for themselves... Hopefully they can go from strength to strength and the senior guys can pull their weight a bit more. That will augur well for the team," said Ramdin.

"Test cricket is a lot of hard work and if you go out there and work hard, you get the rewards for it. Hopefully this can be a stepping stone for some of the guys who did well. All the guys who didn't, it should be a wake-up call for them to do well in the future."

The West Indies and New Zealand play a two-match T20 series Saturday and Sunday in Dominica.

--IANS/CMC

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