We are building blocks for 2023 WC: WI bowling coach Estwick

The West Indies endured a catastrophic campaign in the 2019 edition in England and Wales, finishing 9th in the round-robin phase. Going by what its bowling coach Roddy Estwick remarked on Friday, a thrusting Caribbean side is amalgamating its pieces and building blocks for the quadrennial event.

“It’s all about learning. When you face the best, it helps you to raise your game. So, it is good that we are playing against India, a quality team,” Estwick told reporters, ahead of the first One-Day International at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.

The destructive duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran and the classy Shai Hope were all first timers in the previous showpiece and didn’t exactly hit the ground running. But Estwick, who also doubles up as head coach Phil Simmons’s lieutenant, felt the trio is still developing and added exciting times lie ahead of the West Indies.

“We have got these young batters who are working really hard. They are beginning to see the results. People forget the fact that at a very young age (22), Hetmyer already has four ODI hundreds. Obviously, there is a lot of talent (in our side). In cricket, you cannot rest and relax. When you do that, it will bite you,” he explained.

The 58-year-old opined Virat Kohli had set a yardstick for cricketers all over the world, urging his players to take a leaf out of the India captain’s book. The former player acknowledged hours and hours of toil is the reason behind Kohli piling truckload of runs in the middle. “Hard work is boring but it can give you great success,” stated Estwick.

“He is someone who will be in the gym and work very hard. A lot of my boys can learn from him. Without hard work, there is no success. You need to be prepared to do that.” The West Indies usually eats up a lot of deliveries in the middle overs courtesy its inability to rotate strike against quality spinners.

While admitting playing out dot balls has been a concern, Estwick said the unit is putting in the hard yards to improve upon that aspect. “I think we did (rotating strike) brilliantly against Afghanistan. Whilst we were able to execute that in the previous series, we have got to continue. Yes, we have the power in the back end but the middle phase has been our problem,” he accepted.