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WEST INDIES white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran said while the team lost the three-match ODI series against India, they are getting better.
Pooran and other members of the team visited Tranquility Government Secondary School on Thursday to speak with members of the Vacation Revision Programme. The programme was opened to 9,000 students who scored below 50 per cent in the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA). Some 2,700 students signed up for the programme, with 90 of them attending Tranquility.
Speaking with Newsday at the end of the programme, Pooran said while the team failed to capture a win, it is getting better.
“Yes, the results showed that we lost the game but from a team perspective I think that we are getting better. We will take steps forward as we come up against India. For us, it was just to compete stay in the fight and do the right things for a long period of time. I think we did do that but unfortunately, we came up short.”
He added that the team spirit is still there and building the team following the defeats is on the agenda.
“We ask for batsmen to bat 50 overs, we asked for bowlers to bowl well in the power play. We ask for guys to bowl better at the nets. We did that in different games. To cross the line, we just need to be a little bit more consistent.”
“These losses to me, I actually feel like we have gotten somewhere, and we are building. I keep telling the guys that this is our story and that at the beginning of a story is never perfect. Going through tough times like these as a group, as a team, if we continue to stay together, I believe that we will eventually start to win games, hopefully, sooner rather than later.”
He said he hopes that in the upcoming match against New Zealand, which will begin on August 10, West Indies will earn World Cup points and will be looking forward to that series.
The cricketers who visited the school were Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, former West Indies captain Jason Holder, Jayden Seales and former cricketer and now curriculum coordinator at the Ministry of Education Samuel Badree.
The players, in speaking with the students and some of the school’s cricket team, encouraged them to believe in themselves and never forget the importance of education. Former captain Jason Holder encouraged the children to have discipline both on and off the field.
Tranquillity Government is the only school the players visited since they came to the country for a three-match one-day international series against India. West Indies lost the tournament 3-0. On Friday, the team play the first game of a five-match T20 series against India, at the Brian Lara Stadium.
Pooran, during the interview with Newsday, said he leans on his Christian faith when he is down. He added that apart from prayers he usually reaches out to past Tranquility cricketers and retired West Indies international players Keiron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo for support.
Asked how his relationship with Pollard assists him in leading the team, Pooran said: “It helped me a lot. Even when he was captain, he was trying to show me the ropes and show me the way. A lot of captaincy is not on the field but off the field issues as well; I am seeing that for myself.
“I learned a lot of captaincy tactics from him. A lot of the decisions I make, sometimes when I reflect on it is things we spoke about in the past. I am happy I had someone like him in my corner, who took time to show me how the sport is played and how life is.”
Looking forward to the T20 match against India and the series against New Zealand, Pooran said the squad aim to leave their mark on the series.
The post Pooran: We just need to be a bit more consistent appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.