Simmons: Bangladesh series win added boost for Australia Tests

WEST Indies head coach Phil Simmons said the Test series win over Bangladesh will be a confidence booster as they face a quality Australian team later this year.

West Indies eased to a 2-0 series win with a seven-wicket victory in the first Test in Antigua and a ten-wicket win in the second Test in St Lucia.

West Indies have now won back-to-back Test series in the Caribbean.

In March, they defeated England 1-0 in a three-match series.

Simmons said the Test players should be buoyed by the series win over Bangladesh ahead of their two-match tour of Australia from November-December.

“It should give us confidence and we’ve got time to prepare to go to Australia. Australia is always a difficult series, (it) does not matter what team you go down there with, so we have to make sure we prepare well and continue our winning.”

Simmons said the performance of the West Indies fast bowlers was one of the highlights of the series.

“I think the bowling of our fast bowlers in the both Tests (was impressive), because I don’t think the first wicket was conducive to fast bowling, but...at the end of the day we we got them out for low scores, and in this Test match, to bowl them out on the first day (was creditable) in what was a slow wicket by comparison to wickets we get here…I think the fast bowlers have to get a lot of credit throughout the series.”

TT fast bowler Anderson Phillip made his debut in the second Test. Simmons said Phillip made a positive start to his Test career.

“I think he had a good debut – two wickets earlier on (in the match) – but due to a little bit of cramps (he could not bowl more) and I think that comes with all the nervousness that goes into your first Test match. If you’re not nervous, something is wrong and I think he was nervous, and it did not help him. But I think he bowled well when given the ball.”

West Indian Kyle Mayers was named player of the series for an all-round effort. He scored 153 runs in two innings in the series, including a knock of 146, and also grabbed six wickets.

“I think he brings a wicket-taking factor. I think when he bowls you expect to get wickets, because he puts the ball in the right areas. He is not express (with his pace), or anything like that, but he does something with the ball and he puts it in the right areas, so he gets the wickets.”

Mayers is an attacking batsman and Simmons encouraged him to continue playing his natural game.