Roston Chase: Financial issues have motivated us to do even better
The West Indies captain is hoping to end the ICC World Test Championship campaign with a fifth or sixth spot
West Indies Test captain Roston Chase said that they are hoping to end the ICC Test Championship campaign with an improved standing, setting a target to finish fifth or sixth.
West Indies are currently eighth in the ranking with 30 points, but the skipper insisted that they are taking inspiration from their performance in 2026.
“We played four Test matches, won two, drew one, and lost one (in 2026),” said Chase.
“We want to take two wins and try to take ourselves up the ladder and finish probably in fifth or sixth position and that would be a good Christmas gift for the team as well,” he said.
“This is the last series and if we want to make any strides in terms of going up the table, it has to be in this series,” he said.
When asked what went wrong for them in the ongoing Championship cycle, Chase said the batting unit’s failure to put up decent totals in the second innings often put them on the backfoot.
“I think as a batting unit, we've been able to put up some big first-innings scores, over 300 runs in the first innings. And I think that adds a lot of scoreboard pressure to (on) the other team. But I think if we can consistently do it not only in the first innings but also in the second innings and if we can get a decent total in the second innings with the bowling lineup that we have, I think we'll be challenging teams and winning more games,” said Chase.
Chase said the changes in player contracts has not affected the squad's commitment, and has instead pushed them to perform in Bangladesh.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) recently announced a series of sweeping measures aimed at addressing what it described as a financial, developmental and competitive crisis, including a 25% cut in international players' retainer fees.
Cricbuzz understands that West Indies players are yet to sign their national contracts.
“I don't think it (contract) changed my commitment or any of the guys' commitment. We came here, all the guys wanted to be here and we look forward to playing this series,” said Chase.
“Even when that stuff came out with the financial issues, as you see, we still had a very good series in India. It kind of motivated us to do even better to obviously get in a position where we can demand more money around the world. So everyone is still committed," he added.
