NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – Wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva said the West Indies batters had learned their lessons, and he was optimistic they could be far more successful against England in the second Richards-Botham Trophy Series Test, starting on Thursday.
Da Silva said he was confident the Caribbean side’s frank discussions following the horror show that ended in an innings and 114-run defeat in three days in the first Test at Lord’s would bear fruit at Trent Bridge.
The visitors failed to cope with the England pacers. In the first innings, they were bundled out for 121, with only three players scoring more than 20 runs. Things hardly improved in the second innings, when they were bowled out for 136.
“All of us are pretty disappointed after the first Test, so we’ve put that behind us, we’ve had our discussions, and we are looking forward to the second Test,” Da Silva told reporters during a news conference on Tuesday.
“We are putting in the work. We are doing everything we can, rebuilding and, in the future, preparing for the next Test.”
Da Silva said the West Indies would not dwell on what happened in the first Test but look for ways to be more successful in the second Test.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s Test cricket,” he said. “At the end of the day, it happens. It has happened to the best teams in the world, England, Australia, and India, so it’s just about how we will bounce back that will be most important.
“The batting did not stick their hands up, and a few of us can stick our hands up and say we got a couple of soft dismissals. Moving into this next Test, I think that will be the key – along with getting 20 wickets, we need to put enough runs on the board for the bowlers to bowl at.”
He added: “It might not look like it, but we’ve taken a few positives [from the first Test]. Many guys got starts, and they didn’t carry on. We discussed soaking up more pressure and dealing with those situations if put in them again. We were not losing wickets in clusters.
“It’s about reminding ourselves of the process and trusting it because we all have a different way of going about it. It’s just about trusting our game and ensuring we get the job done.”
Da Silva, like his captain Kraigg Brathwaite and head coach Andre Coley before him, urged the team to draw on their experience of going 1-0 down on the Tour of Australia in January and making a stunning recovery to win the second Test at Brisbane by eight runs.
“It’s something we can look at,” he said. “We came back, and we won the [second] Test, and if we can replicate that, all of us will be happy.
“It’s not going to be easy. Again, we must do the right things, bat for long periods, and take wickets.”
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