Jason Holder denies rift with teammate Darren Sammy after ‘little tussle’

Joy Chakravarty 14:06 15/03/2015
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  • Holder celebrate taking the wicket of Swapnil Patel.

    After leading his team to victory over the UAE, West Indies captain Jason Holder defended the unity of his squad following a brief, on-field skirmish with former captain Darren Sammy.

    Holder handed the ball to Sammy in the 31st over, but decided to replace him with Dwayne Smith after one over that yielded just four runs.

    From the look of it, that did not go well with Sammy but Holder described the incident as nothing more than ‘banter’.

    Holder’s had earlier taken 4-27 during an unchanged spell of 10 overs that reduced UAE to 46-6.

    When asked about the incident, the 23-year-old Barbadian said: “We just had a little banter on the field.

    “We just wanted to have some fun, and unfortunately it didn’t look the way it seemed, but we were all good. We are very good mates, and we just had a little tussle there.

    “It’s just part of the game. It’s not a crucial game, but at the end of the day, we still smile together.

    “I couldn’t ask for anything more from the guys. It was a must-win game and we had to win by a big margin and the way the guys came out and played cricket I can’t ask for much more.”

    Holder was delighted everything went according to the plan, including winning the toss, and of getting the UAE on the backfoot as soon as possible by taking early wickets.

    “Yeah, it was important for us. I always wanted to bowl first and to get the runs as quickly as possible, and it just fell into place today,” said Holder.

    “It’s my third four-wicket haul in international cricket, and I haven’t really been able to break that barrier. But, I did it for the team, which was important.”

    Holder hopes Chris Gayle will return for their quarter-final match after sitting out their win over the UAE with a sore back.

    Chris had the same back problems over the last year and sometimes he has good days, sometimes he has bad days,” informed Holder.

    “Obviously he’s a key player for us and his fitness is key going into the quarter-final. I’m sure he will be up for it even if he is not a hundred percent. It’s an important game and he’s a big-game player, and you know what someone like him can do on big days.”

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