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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

February 23, 2015

Jason Holder

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Q. Coming into this game, as you said at the end of the last game you were looking to come with your A game every match from now on. Two days' rest I'm sure the guys are refreshed and ready to go?
JASON HOLDER: We had a long travel day yesterday. We decided to give the players the day off today, so we hopefully should be wellrested for tomorrow's game. Again, I think we should bring our A game for every game. It doesn't always happen, but I'm sure that we will bring our A game tomorrow.

Q. Tell us about the involvement of Clive Lloyd. He has been traveling with this team. He won two World Cups. What has been the benefit of having him around you guys?
JASON HOLDER: Well, obviously Clive Lloyd has been here and done it. He has a wealth of experience. He's been through it. He's also been a leader. He's been a cricketer. He's been a mentor for some. So his information is very crucial for us, and he's been an integral man to our sport so far.

Q. How important was it for you guys to get that win in the last game and build a bit of momentum?
JASON HOLDER: It was very important. Obviously losing the first game, it's hard to play catchup in a short tournament, so it was important that we had won that game against Pakistan, so moving forward we just need to keep the momentum going and keep it going as long as we can.

Q. Two scores above 300 this tournament. You guys are doing well at the bat, but I'm guessing it would be better to have Chris Gayle firing at the moment, as well?
JASON HOLDER: Yeah, we've gotten in excess of 300 twice. It's a good feat to get. Getting 300 is also a psychological edge going into the field in the second half of the game. Obviously we didn't get us some runs top order thus far, but the middle order has really put their hand up and taken the responsibility to take us through. It's probably better if we can get the top order to fire, and hopefully in this game we can do that.

Q. Gayle is a pretty cool customer. I'm sure he has had his fair share of critics in the past and brushed them off. How has the tweet from Dave Cameron affected his mindset? Has he been able to sort of put that to the side?
JASON HOLDER: Well, that's beyond me at this present time. That has nothing to do with me at this time. I'm sure Chris will just put that behind him and just move into this game now.

Q. Are you sort of expecting maybe that might awaken the Chris Gayle we sort of know?
JASON HOLDER: Well, Chris is awake. I can assure you he's awake. He was awake from the beginning of the tournament. Again, it's beyond our control right now. It's all done and dusted in my opinion, so we've just got to control what we can control, and that's the cricket.

Q. You know you weren't part of the team I don't think in 2010 when Chris, I guess, exploded out here on Manuka Oval, 140 off 89 balls. Do you think that sort of familiarity will sort of, I guess, get him back into a bit of a form? Can we expect to see a similar sort of performance?
JASON HOLDER: Well, every time I see Chris Gayle, I expect to see one Chris Gayle, and that's a positive Chris Gayle. Although he hasn't been getting runs, we still have a lot of confidence in him. I just hope that he can come tomorrow and just get us in and just take it as deep as possible for us.

Q. What are you expecting from Zimbabwe tomorrow?
JASON HOLDER: I expect a very good game. I don't think any game in this tournament is a walkover or an easy game at that. So I expect a very good contest from them, but I still expect my players to execute our plans and come out on top.

Q. Definitely you wouldn't like to change a winning squad, but you're in a situation where you have to make a change tomorrow. Is it likely Jonathan Carter would be in?
JASON HOLDER: Well, obviously Darren Bravo pulled up in the last game with an injury. It's doubtful he would take part in the next game. We still haven't sat down and discussed what we're looking to do going forward into this game, so as soon as we do, I guess you'll see the team tomorrow.

Q. Zimbabwe tend to play better on pitches that are slow where they can stop the game. How do you think conditions will suit or work against them in this match?
JASON HOLDER: Well, in the Caribbean I can tell you we have some pretty slow pitches at the moment, too, so I'm not too worried about the conditions, whatever the conditions are. I think we just have to adapt and just play some positive cricket. We were aggressive in the last game when we started with the ball, and I think that is important that we keep that impetus going in this game, and just be aggressive towards the Zimbabweans.

Q. I saw a few comments by Otis Gibson in the media about you as captain, I think. What was your response to that?
JASON HOLDER: Well, it was just made known to me on my way here, actually. Obviously I have a decent relationship with Otis Gibson. We got along pretty well. I respect him a lot, and I heard about his comments, and I fully endorse them and thank him for them. I've always seen myself as a leader, and to be here now in this position to lead the West Indies in this World Cup is a proud moment for me, and I'm just hoping to do as well as I possibly can to get the best out of the players for West Indies cricket.

Q. Are you confident that you are ready and the right man to lead the team?
JASON HOLDER: I can say I'm ready. If I wasn't ready, I probably wouldn't accept the job. Yes, I am ready, and I think I can make a difference. Again, it's early days for me in captaincy in terms of this West Indies team, but I think over time once I can get my players to come together a lot more and just gel as one unit, I think we can be world beaters again.

Q. You sort of touched on it before that the last performance probably you want to continue that momentum, but I guess are you sort of confident that the team that lost to Ireland won't sort of reappear?
JASON HOLDER: You know, I'm very confident going forward into this game. I really don't want to dwell too much on the past. I think what is important is that we keep this momentum that we have going. I think we still have room for improvement. Obviously we can cut a few of our boundary balls when we bowl, and I think if we can get a few more contributions going deeper into the innings in terms of the top order, I think we can get close to 350 plus, and I think that is not beyond us because of our firepower in the middle and the end. I think we still have to improve, too, in our fielding. I think we could be a lot sharper in the field and give a better account of ourselves.

Q. And I guess touching on Chris again, do you sort of think maybe it's a good thing for you guys that he hasn't fired yet? I guess it's just a matter of time perhaps before he does?
JASON HOLDER: I wouldn't say it's a good thing. Any team would despise having Chris Gayle going guns blazing at the top. Obviously yet he hasn't, but we still have full confidence in him, and it's very good to see that he still hasn't fired and we're still getting 300 runs. I guess when his contribution comes, we'll get somewhere close to 400 hopefully.
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