MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, June 28, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer has urged his team to play for pride as they start to rebuild for the future after a disappointing World Cup campaign.
Jason Holder’s men came into the tournament tipped as a potential surprise
package, especially after scoring 421 in a warm-up victory over New Zealand.
But an opening win over Pakistan at Trent Bridge has been their only
victory so far in seven matches.
India were the latest team to beat the two-time champions, easing to a
125-run win at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Reifer and Holder held an impromptu team meeting for 90 minutes after the
defeat and the head coach, who replaced Richard Pybus on the eve of the
tournament, wants to see a response against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in
their final matches.
“We had some frank discussions about the World Cup that we’ve had and
we’ll try to finish the tournament as a strong unit now,” he said.
“We are still playing for pride, we know that … people back home in the
Caribbean are backing us and we are representing them here.
“This is about our journey, there is cricket after this World Cup and we
need to find that winning formula and culture again.”
Reifer admitted the West Indies had had a poor World Cup but said he could
see improvements.
“The guys bowled well against India and the fielding was much improved but
it’s about getting all three departments working together to win cricket
games,” he said.