Reifer calls for consistency as West Indies eye series sweep
Having already fetched the lead, the visitors are eyeing a series win in Sylhet
West Indies batting coach Floyd Reifer on Tuesday (November 3) urged his players to guard against complacency as they prepare to take on the hosts in the series-deciding second Test at Sylhet. He stressed that they would have to start all over again, as the next game would begin from zero.
West Indies lead the two-match Test series 1-0 after securing an eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in Dhaka and will be keen to end their ICC World Test Championship cycle on a high by beating their opponents in their own backyard.
“It's important that we be consistent and we pick performances. Yes, we played well in Dhaka, but it's important that we come here and play well again. You know, this next game starts from zero,” said Reifer.
“You know, you have a first innings and a second innings in the game. We still have to go through all the processes that we went through in terms of how we started the innings and how we built the innings, understanding when we're in control of the innings and building on it,” he said.
“For me, it's consistency in terms of how they approach batting again,” he said, adding that he was pleased with their batting approach in Dhaka.
“I thought the batting performance was brilliant. I'm very pleased in terms of how the guys batted against spin. We were confident in our defence and we rotated the strike very well. As you can see, in the second innings, we took our boundary options while chasing down those 172 runs,” he said.
Reifer added that the understanding between his two openers, John Campbell and Brandon King, helped them build partnerships, as he felt they complemented each other very well in the middle. The duo have so far put together three century partnerships and added more than 50 runs on six occasions.
“Those guys (Campbell and King) know each other's game, and that's important,” said Reifer.
“The synergy is good between them. Both of them are very attacking players, and they follow their defence as well, and they complement each other. As you saw in the last innings, when they were chasing down the 172, you could see that they fed off one another,” he said.
“It is good that they build partnerships, and the conversations that they have at the crease are great as well, considering all that goes into building a partnership. But the main thing is that the synergy is good between them,” he said.
The series-concluding second Test is scheduled to be played at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from November 5.
