Leave the ball and trust St Lucia bounce, says Estwick to WI batsmen

West Indies Assistant Coach Roddy Estwick is appealing to West Indies batsmen to leave more balls and trust the bounce on the pitch at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia.
Estwick has said it was pleasing for him to see the batsmen set-up, but the conversion of good starts would be essential for the upcoming South Africa Test on June 10.
“The leaving of the ball is important. You can leave the ball on length, and I think too many people got out to balls they could leave; but we have had discussions with them, and they got to know that you can trust the bounce in St Lucia,” Estwick explained.
Speaking after the Best v Best 4-Day match, Estwick also indicated that the bowling was inconsistent. He said the bowling should have been a lot fuller when seamers are trying to hit the top of off-stump while staying disciplined.

West Indies Assistant Coach Roddy Estwick

“In Test match cricket, you can’t be going at four runs per over. You have to try and keep the opposition around 2.9 to three. The bowlers need to maintain getting the ball in good areas for a long period of time,” Estwick said.
With Shannon Gabriel and Nial Smith pulling up with injuries, Estwick said, according to the physiotherapist, these are not major injuries. “It is a bit of soreness from the hard camp that we had over the past 10 days, but we will make sure they get adequate rest,” Estwick told Cricket West Indies media.
Estwick also said the spinners should stay disciplined, and they would come into play after the second day in the Test match.
West Indies Provisional Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice-Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Jomel Warrican.

West Indies will play two Test matches against South Africa starting, from June 10

Young fast bowler Chemar Holder was unavailable due to injury, while 19-year-old fast bowler Jayden Seales is a first-time inclusion in the West Indies provisional squad for a Test Series. Guyana’s Nial Smith will remain in St Lucia to assist the team in Test preparation.
The two-match Betway Test Series will be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground for the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy on June 10-14 and June 18-22.
These are the final matches in the current cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, and both teams would be trying to finish higher in the final Championship table. The final 13-man West Indies Test squad will be announced on Monday June 7. (Brandon Corlette)