Captain Jason Holder insists that the West Indies won’t be fixated on short deliveries during Thursday’s World Cup clash against Australia at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The West Indies deployed the tactic successfully in last week’s win over Pakistan at the same venue. Seamer Andre Russell’s removal of opener Fakhar Zaman and middle-order batsman Haris Sohail exemplified this. Both were dismissed by bouncers.

‘I guess it all boils down to the conditions. One thing I said in the last press conference is that we tend to formulate our plans for each batter. If it’s a situation where we feel a batsman may be susceptible to the short ball, then we’re going to use it. If it’s a situation where that’s not the case, then we’ll find other alternatives,’ said Holder.

‘It’s not that we are just stuck on the short ball. I think all the teams so far have used the short ball, and it’s just something that’s in the game. You’ve got two short balls per over; you might as well use them.’

The West Indies and Australians have contested 139 ODIs since 1975’s first. The former have won 60 and the latter 73, with three no results.

‘We’re just taking it game by game. This is our country versus Australia. We’ve got a hurdle to overcome. I think when we overcome that hurdle, then we’ll move deeper into the tournament,’ added Holder.

Opening batsman Chris Gayle and Russell are nursing respective back and knee injuries, but are expected to be fit for the encounter with the Australians.

‘They are recovering quite nicely,’ concluded Holder.

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