West Indies skipper Holder eyes more Test success

Captain Jason Holder has urged his West Indies side to "stay hungry" after they broke a prolonged slump to beat Pakistan by five wickets in the third and final Test to post their first Test win in 19 months.

The all-rounder said the West Indies had the makings of a very good unit, but stressed it was important to build on the Sharjah success and begin to produce more consistent performances in the future, reports CMC.

The West Indies completed an emphatic victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium when they easily chased down a modest target of 153.

They resumed the final day on Thursday 114 for five, still requiring 39 runs for victory, but opener Kraigg Brathwaite and wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich both stroked 60 not out in stretching their overnight unbroken sixth-wicket stand to 87 to rule out any chance of defeat.

Holder, who was presiding over his first Test win, also called for the unit to be kept together as he believes they have the potential to become a dominant Test force.

"This is a very good group of guys. We've shown glimpses that we can compete, we've shown glimpses we have what it takes to compete at this level," said Holder.

"For us, it's just a matter of consistency. We mustn't get complacent. We have no reason to be complacent. One Test victory, by all means, is not enough. It's a situation where we have to stay hungry, and that's something I really believe we have in the group."

"Everybody is young, everybody is looking to make their mark on the international circuit, so everybody is hungry for success. And one thing I really enjoy in this dressing room is that everybody is happy for each other's success," he added.

He continued: "It's just a situation where I think we need to stay together. We need to be given some time together as a group to gel, to understand one another, to play some good solid cricket."

"We've definitely shown it here. We've competed against India (earlier this year), we had a good last few Test matches in Australia (last year), so it's a situation where we need to string together consistent performances over an extended period of time."

"I have no doubt we will get back on the right track in order to take West Indies cricket back up to the top," the 25-year-old added.

Holder said that after losses in the first Test in Dubai and the second Test in Abu Dhabi, he was proud of the way the West Indies had rebounded to win here.

"If I could sum up my feelings right now in one word, I'd just say 'proud' - proud of the character which the guys showed, proud of the fight they showed on the back of a lot of criticism here and there," he explained.

--IANS

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