Jason Holder named new West Indies Test captain ahead of Sri Lanka tour

Jason Holder is replacing Denesh Ramdin as Test captain of West Indies
Holder has been the one-day skipper since the back end of last year
West Indies play two Tests in Sri Lanka, the first starting on October 14
Head selector Clive Lloyd believes Holder has qualities to take side forward

Published:
23:43 GMT, 4 September 2015

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Updated:
23:44 GMT, 4 September 2015

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Jason Holder has been announced as West Indies’ new Test captain ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka next month.

Holder, who has led the one-day side since the back end of last year, replaces Denesh Ramdin in the role, with the wicketkeeper-batsman dropping back into the ranks for the two-Test tour against Sri Lanka, the first of which gets under way on October 14.

Ramdin skippered West Indies in 13 Tests, winning four, with two draws and seven losses, and arguably his greatest achievement was leading a weakened Windies side to a 1-1 series draw against England earlier this year.

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has been named the new Test captain

However, they were subsequently thumped in two Tests by Australia and Clive Lloyd, head selector of the West Indies Cricket Board, believes switching to bowling all-rounder Holder is necessary.

‘He is a young man that all of the selectors, people in the Caribbean and worldwide believe has several of the qualities that can take our team forward,’ said Lloyd.

‘We felt the time was right for a change and we feel he will do as well as he did when he was elevated to the position of one-day international captain ahead of the World Cup.’

The Windies were knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage but Holder earned admiring glances for his leadership.

He then made his mark in the longest format with a maiden century to help salvage a draw against England in the first Test before career-best bowling figures of three for 15 in the third helped the Caribbean outfit claim a series-levelling victory.

The 23-year-old has only played eight Tests since his debut last June, yet the WICB is convinced he can change the fortunes of a side that is ranked eighth out of 10 teams.

Holder has been captaining the one-day side since the back end of last year

Lloyd added: ‘We expect to get new thinking and new dynamism from him. Jason commands respect. He is a fine young man, very intelligent and he seems to get the best from the players because he is a straightforward guy.

‘I think the players will warm to him. He has a young bunch of players and we feel he can guide them in the manner that is required for internationals.’

Opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite will be vice-captain for the matches in Galle and Colombo, with the Windies squad containing two uncapped players in paceman Carlos Brathwaite and slow left-armer Jomel Warrican.

There is no place for Chris Gayle, however, with the big-hitting opening batsman recovering from surgery on a long-standing back injury.