Roston Chase: Our heads cannot fall at this moment

West Indies captain Roston Chase assured his side was not lacking in confidence heading into the second Test against India, which kicks off on Friday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, but added it could benefit from soaking in pressure at crucial junctures, the lack of which hurt it in the series opener.

“I don’t think the guys are lacking confidence. But it’s just about getting that one big score – to get that start, and then kick on from there. Once you have that good innings, or that 100, that then gives you the confidence to know that ‘I can actually do it’. When you get out there, and you don’t start well and the pressure is on, it’s for us to soak up that pressure, and still find a way to score to put back the pressure onto the Indian bowlers. I think that is the biggest challenge for us,” Chase said on the match eve.

West Indies batters put up a meek effort in the first Test in Ahmedabad, and the side was bundled out inside two sessions in both its innings. Having had a week to recoup from that drubbing, Chase expects his side to learn from its mistakes.

“It’s a matter of confidence and continuously playing quality First Class cricket and so on. Just that know-how of going up there and facing good attacks for longer periods. And obviously, trying to improve on faults that you may have picked up early on in your career.

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“When you first start, no one really knows you. You play a couple of games, and people see your weaknesses and try to exploit them. It’s just for the players to try to improve on those weaknesses as early as possible. That’s it,” Chase said.

The reverse was a crude wake-up call for the West Indies, which is in the midst of plotting a roadmap to reduce the gulf between itself and other top Test-playing nations. In an attempt to stir up the team’s morale, former captains Brian Lara, Sir Viv Richards, and Richie Richardson spoke to Chase and his men ahead of the match.

“I had the privilege of speaking with all three of them. And they basically said the same thing. They just told me to keep believing that though we’re down right now but it will change at some point; the change can start from now. It starts with the belief and the mindset of each and every player, to keep motivating the guys that we can still play some positive cricket and change the run. Our heads cannot fall at this moment,” Chase said.

Published on Oct 09, 2025