West Indies captain Jason Holder has defended fast bowler Shannon Gabriel’s reckless batting in the penultimate over which resulted in a series defeat to Pakistan on the final day of the decisive Third Test in Dominica last week.
With West Indies battling to save the match late in the evening, Gabriel batting at number 11 survived for about half an hour at the crease in a last wicket stand with century-maker Roston Chase, to frustrate Pakistan.
But with one ball left to negotiate the penultimate over of the day Gabriel lost his cool, and probably attempted to hit leg-spinner Yasir Shah out of the ground, was bowled for four to give Pakistan a 101-run defeat and a 2-1 loss in the three-match series.
Holder told reporters; “We’ve just got to give him encouragement. Up until then, he was doing an outstanding job for us in this entire series.”
He has bowled his heart out and gotten a match-winning haul in the second Test in Barbados and also bowled well in Jamaica and in Dominica.
“We make mistakes and hopefully he can learn from it and move forward,” Holder said.
The captain said prior to Gabriel’s indiscretion, Man-of-the Match Roston Chase seemed poised to pull off a remarkable draw for West Indies with an unbeaten l0l.
The victory for Pakistan saw them clinch their maiden series win in the Caribbean since the two teams first met 59 years ago.
The West Indies team has now lost 13 of their last 20 Tests.
