Phil Simmons heaped praise on his fast bowlers who helped West Indies in the Top early in the second Test in St Lucia.
The West Indian pacers picked up wickets on slow wickets and it showed in the stats with Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach topping the wicket-taking charts with 12 and 10 wickets respectively in 2 Tests.
Roach in the process surpassed 250 Test wickets, going past Michael Holding, he now has 252 wickets to be sixth on the all-time leading West Indies list.
Young fast bowler Jayden Seales also picked up nine wickets.
“(Roach) is helping the fast bowlers to mature quicker,” said Simmons on Monday (June 27).
Doing it with the bat 🤝🏽 Doing it with the ball.
The #MenInMaroon top the charts this series! 📈 #WIvBAN pic.twitter.com/zEXwpMUhw9
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) June 27, 2022
“I think he has an exceptional influence on all the young fast bowlers. He has taken his role as the senior pro very seriously. It shows on the field. You can see him talking to them, who are trying to do the right things all the time. I think his influence has been massive to these young fast bowlers.” he added
Apart from Joseph and Roach, Anderson Philip had an impressive debut, while Jayden Seales and Kyle Mayers chipped in with timely wickets as Bangladesh were restricted to below 250 across all four innings.
“The first (Test) wicket wasn’t conducive to fast bowling but we got them out for low scores,” Simmons said.
“In this Test match, to get them bowled out on the first day on a comparatively slow wicket, gave us the driver’s seat. The fast bowlers deserve a lot of credit. We have worked hard in the two series, and come out victorious.
This one maybe wasn’t as hard as the first one, the important thing is that at the end of the day, the W is behind the two Tests. We won 2-0 in Bangladesh in 2021 as well. You have to take all those things, and sit back and enjoy it.” West Indies Head Coach added.
Philip also had a good first outing but Simmons felt that nerves got the better of him at times.
“I think he had a good debut. Two wickets earlier on, but he got a bit of cramps. It comes with all the nervousness that comes with your first Test match. If you are not nervous, something is wrong.
He was nervous, and it didn’t help him. He bowled well in both the innings. He did what the captain wanted him to do.” he added
Mayers, not only impressive with the ball, but his all-round prowess was on display, even having scored his second Test century in the second Test.
“He brings in the wicket-taking factor. He is not express, but he puts the ball in the right areas. If he bats normally, he scores quickly in all three formats. I have to get him to understand that he needs to bat normally. Once we get that, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with.” simmons concluded.
After the two big wins against Bangladesh, Windies add some valuable ICC World Test Championship points to their tally. but they’re still far placed from the top two teams – Australia and South Africa.
West Indies remain in the sixth place ICC World Test Championship points table.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth spots are taken, respectively, by Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and West Indies. England, New Zealand, and Bangladesh are placed at the seventh, eighth, and ninth positions respectively.