Simmons: We are beating ourselves

HEAD coach of the West Indies Phil Simmons said his players are not doing themselves a favour in the second Test match against New Zealand as missed opportunities have put them on the back foot.

West Indies closed day two on 124/8 in the first innings of the second Test with a mountain to climb. The regional team still trails by 336 runs after New Zealand posted 460 batting first.

West Indies dropped at least five catches in the match so far which allowed New Zealand to post the massive total.

“I think it is something that we brought on ourselves,” Simmons told media in New Zealand after the close of day two.

“When you drop one batsman four, five times and he goes on to make 170 then you asking for trouble and then we did not bat as well as we should have been batting on a wicket that seems good for batting. We’ve put ourselves in a position that only us can try and take ourselves out of it, so it’s a hard day to watch this, put it that way.”

Henry Nicholls cracked 174 after West Indies let him off the hook many times.

Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner have been destroying the Windies batsmen with their pace and accuracy.

Simmons said the New Zealand fast bowlers are a strong unit, but said the Windies batsmen must look in the mirror.

“It is relentless, but it is about batting. It’s about batsmanship and it is about how you put your innings together against four quality bowlers.

“It is up to you as a batsman to work out how you going to bat against these four bowlers and where you intend to score your runs and everything else that goes with it.”

Asked what he wanted to see from his players on day three, Simmons said, “The word I have put up is fight. You need to see some sort of fight on both sides…I can’t say enough about how the bowlers (have fought) and the effort the bowlers have put in. We need the batsmen to match that.”

Simmons said shot selection at the top of the order cost the West Indies.