(Reuters) – All-rounder Jason Holder said West Indies must improve in all departments of their game in a must-win contest against Zimbabwe on Wednesday if they are to get their T20 World Cup campaign back on track following their stunning defeat by Scotland.
The Caribbean side, who won the event in 2012 and 2016, crashed to a 42-run loss in their opening Group B match and know they must beat Zimbabwe in Hobart to have a realistic chance of making it to the Super 12 stage.
Former test and 50-overs captain Holder was the only shining light for West Indies, top scoring for his side with a 38 and picking up two wickets.
“We were all disappointed with the performance that we had yesterday,” Holder told reporters on Tuesday. “But I think the most important thing for us to do is to come together even tighter now and try to find solutions.”
Zimbabwe made a strong start to their campaign with a 31-run win over Ireland and Holder expected a highly competitive match.
“I think we’ve got what it takes to win this competition within our dressing room,” Holder added. “But there’s no point in just having the talent. We’ve got to produce it.
“Execution is the name of the game. So more or less we just need to find a way to put it together, not only put it together in the batting front but a complete game.”
Zimbabwe opener Regis Chakabva said they had to beware of a West Indies backlash and that his team would have to stick to their game plan to succeed.
“West Indies are a force to be reckoned with, and they’ll be hungry tomorrow to put in a big fight, and we know they’re going to bring a big fight,” said Chakabva, who dons the wicketkeeping gloves for Zimbabwe.
“We just have to also try and make sure we play our best cricket on the day and hopefully that we come out on top.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter Rutherford)
