	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

May 31, 2019

Jason Holder

West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

West Indies - 108-3, Pakistan - 105

Q. All around a very competent and tight-knit kind of performance. That must be exactly what you want from your first game in a World Cup?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, really good start from the boys. I thought we bowled really well. We got wickets with the new ball and really set them back, slowed their momentum and quite fortunate for us we were able to keep picking wickets up and you know they never recovered from the position they were in at the very beginning. I think when we batted it was a clinical performance as well, obviously started nicely by Chris. He put the accelerator on them and was supported by Pooran in the very end.

Q. Was that a premeditated sort of tactic -- go after Pakistan with the short bowl, or was that something Andre Russell just picked up on and went with when he came out to bowl?
JASON HOLDER: I think our style was just to be aggressive. We just want to be aggressive with whoever we're playing against. It's just something that we need to do in order to pick up wickets. I think with the the modern-day game, if you are not picking wickets up throughout the innings you're going to struggle to contain teams. So we just want to be aggressive even if we give up a few runs up front, trying to get wickets. One of the things we've spoken about in the recent past is just trying to have that mindset to take wickets because if you're not taking wickets you're going to struggle.

Q. You spoke about aggression and Andre showed that really nicely in that 3-0 spell. Can you talk about that spell and also is Andre okay after he limped off?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, his spell had great impact, obviously. It started the slide for Pakistan, and again, he's one of those players that runs in and gives it his all. He has a lot of force going through his body, and he's one of those players that he will give you 110 percent every time he steps up to the plate.

Yeah, he limped off the field, so we're just obviously going to monitor him over the next few days and see how he pulls up for our second encounter against Australia.

Q. You bowled England for 110 in St. Lucia a few months ago with quite a similar style of bowling. Did today remind you of that in some ways, with lots of short bowls and so on?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, as I said before we want to remain aggressive. I think every single team in the competition that's going to be looking to pick up wickets throughout the entire innings has been a common trend. If you don't get wickets continuously going throughout the innings, you're going to struggle to contain teams at the very back end. It's something you have to do, whether it be through spin, which is the way a lot of teams have gone, or whether it be through good fast bowling, which is the direction we've been going.

Q. Thomas was doing today (indiscernible) is he something of a new discovery coming into this tournament? Four wickets today?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, he's been excellent. The last game he got five wickets and then he comes and follows it up with four wickets here today. It was great to see him running in and bowling fast. That's one thing we ask of him, just to be aggressive in those middle overs, as I said before. He's working out quite nicely for us. It's just a matter for us to be consistent with it, and at times not get carried away with it in terms of overdoing it.

But yeah, credit to him. He's been outstanding so far, and he's definitely created a buzz throughout the entire team.

Q. Just wondered if you could expand on Andre's injury. What's actually the problem?
JASON HOLDER: I myself am not 100 per cent sure what's actually going on with Andre. As I said, we've got five days before our next game, so we'll just assess him over the next few days, and we'll see what happens.

Q. Same question about Chris.
JASON HOLDER: Same thing. After the game I was eating and whatnot, so I'm not exactly sure what's going on with Chris, as well, too. But the mere fact they sent the physio back off the field is promising signs, as well, too, so again, we've got five days to see how he pulls up in the next couple days.

Q. You've come into the tournament almost off the radar. Nobody has really given your team a chance of winning the tournament. How far do you think you can go, and does that work in your favour?
JASON HOLDER: Look, I'm not thinking too far ahead. We've got Australia in the next encounter. As I said to the guys, we've got a long tournament here, it's just a matter for us to take it game by game, and I'm not getting ahead of myself. We just want to be consistent. The only thing we can focus on and control is cricket, and we've got three departments to make sure we're clinical in in terms of our batting, bowling and fielding, and I just want us to be the best we can in terms of performing our roles for the team.

Q. Was net runaway on your minds in the chase because that could be a total --
JASON HOLDER: It wasn't on my mind.

Q. Sarfaraz, the Pakistan captain, was in here just now and we asked what went wrong. He said the toss was very, very important to the way the game unfolded. Did you feel that way going into the toss? Did you think, my goodness, I've got to get this right, or is that an over-exaggeration?
JASON HOLDER: Well, me when it comes to tosses, I have no luck. I've lost quite a few tosses - I wanted to win, so it was neither here nor there with the toss. Yeah, we chose to bowl, obviously, with the overhead conditions, and first wicket, as well, so we've got four fast bowlers in our lineup, so we just wanted to explore that as early as possible. You tend to back yourself chasing with such a deep batting lineup and so much power at the back end of your innings, as well, too. Yeah, worked out for us nicely today. Hopefully we can continue playing some really good cricket.

Q. Just on the discipline with which the bowlers executed the short bowl early on. How impressed were you with that, and how much of that was planned for specific batsmen or just a general plan, I guess?
JASON HOLDER: Look, when we start any campaign we always have team meetings. We go through the players on the opposition and just try to formulate our plans. As I said generally, we've got a team plan to be aggressive. We get a lot of short bowls in the nets, as well, too, so it's good to see a lot of short bowls transcending from the nets onto the field of play.

Yeah, again, we will just go through batters like normal and we just try to work with tactics to each batter.

Q. But today it seemed a bit more than just a plan it was a real professional and disciplined bowling performance?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, I was pleased with the discipline. Outside the aggression, we need to be following up on our deliveries and building overs quite nicely. One of the things we always harp on about in the dressing room is what are we bowling outside of the aggressive balls, whether it be a short bowl or if you're going up there for a yorker or whatever it may be, you've got to follow up with some other deliveries. It's just about stacking overs nicely together and building some pressure.

Q. Are you looking for further matches' same strategy or will you change?
JASON HOLDER: I guess it depends on the players.

Q. Short balls have been really successful against Pakistan today, so in the next match it will be the same strategy?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, again, it depends on the players. As I said before, we sit down, we plan for each player in the batting lineup. If we feel that a batsman is a bit susceptible to the short ball, then we'll use a short bowl. If not, we've got to find other options.

Q. Sarfaraz didn't use it as an excuse, but he mention the 10:30 start, which means the ball will do more. He said that 10:30 start means the toss is very crucial. How do you see this 10:30 a.m. start, and do you think it's going to play a role in the tournament going ahead?
JASON HOLDER: Well, that's the time that the cricket is supposed to start, and I can't control that. You know, toss is 50/50, as well, so I can't have full control of that, either. I mean, at the end of the day its the same for both sides.

Q. He wasn't talking about this match, it was just looking as a tournament as a whole.
JASON HOLDER: I don't think so. You know, cricket has to be played. It's set that the cricket starts at 10:30, and as I said before, it was a 50/50 toss. Whether you bat, bowl in the first half of the game, you've got to look to do it and do it well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297