KINGSTON, Jamaica – West Indies Test captain Roston Chase has characterised the West Indies’ humiliating batting performance, which saw them bundled out for just 27 in the second innings in the third and final Test match against Australia on Monday as “heartbreaking”.
Chase, in his first series as captain, could not hide his disappointment after they were dismissed for 27 in 14.3 overs chasing 204 runs for victory at Sabina Park.
Justin Greaves scored 11 and was the lone batsman in double figures, as Mitchell Starc ran through the top order with a spell of 6-9, while Scott Boland took a hat-trick.
It was the West Indies’ lowest ever Test total and the second lowest of all-time, bettering only the 26 made by New Zealand over 70 years ago.
Speaking following his team’s defeat that saw them lose the series 3-0, Chase could not hide his emotions.
“It’s heartbreaking, obviously, to be in a position like that where we think we could have won the game and then come out and have that poor batting display.
“I mean it’s something that has been recurring for the whole series, so that makes it even more disappointing,” Chase admitted.
Chase gave kudos to his bowling unit, which he said had carried the regional side during the entire three-match series.
However, he said the West Indies’ batsmen needed to take the time to evaluate their performances and make major improvements to their individual games, with the next Test series slated against India in October.
“It’s quite easy to assess [the series]. The bowlers kept us in the series all series long and the batting never really showed up and I think that’s what we really need to work on. We need to take a deep look at ourselves as batters,” Chase maintained.
“I mean the next series is in quite a while, so we have time on our side, so I think that’s what we need to really do, really have a look at our batting displays for this series and see where we can improve and see how we can put 300 run totals on the board.”
CMC