WI coach Andre Coley wants his team to draw inspiration from the Gabba Test victory

Trailing 0-1 in the series, West Indies’ head coach Andre Coley has asked his team to take inspiration from their series-leveling Test win in Australia earlier this year. 

On their tour Down Under, the hosts Australia brushed West Indies aside in a 10-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead. However, with all odds against them, West Indies bounced back with an 8-run win to level the series. 

Having lost the Lord’s Test by an innings and 114 runs, West Indies are in a similar position as the last Test series they played. 

"They would've taken a lot of positives from that," Coley answered when asked about the Gabba Test. "In terms of how we were able to bounce back, the process that we went through to be able to do that I believe is a lot more powerful.

"It reinforces the fact that in a series you could actually not start well but then compose yourself and come back in the series and be quite competitive, potentially set it up for a game-three decider. So there are real positives to be taken away, not only from the first Test here, but what we would've [faced in the] last six months."

Coley believes now that the team has spent more time in England, they are better used to the conditions, which should help them in the remaining Test matches. 

"Having been here now about two weeks, having a bit of time to acclimatize to conditions and actually getting time in the middle, I do believe that there's a lot to be had in terms of learning and takeaways.

"We admit that the side we have, it is young and emerging but we are still very positive about how we are approaching the second Test. Everybody's in good spirits. We've been catching up with the players one-on-one and this will really be the first time that we'll be settled as a squad.

"There's been quite a bit of activity on and off the field leading up to the first Test and it's been a lot, I can imagine, for some of our players to have been able to absorb. So it's a massive learning for everyone, players and staff, and we are still very positive as we head to Nottingham,” he stated. 

Coley was satisfied with West Indies’ bowling performance in the first Test. Batting first, the visitors were bowled out for 121 and 136, playing less than 90 overs in both innings combined. However, the bowlers mitigated the margin of defeat, bowling out England for 371 in the only innings they batted. England were marching along for a big score with a couple of 90-run partnerships. But the Windies’ bowlers kept chipping in with wickets to peg the hosts back. The last six England wickets managed only 127 runs between them. 

"There were periods in the game where England actually had to show really good application and grit. Jayden Seales, Jason Holder; you had Alzarri Joseph, his pace was back up; Gudakesh Motie played a fantastic role in terms of helping the captain, Kraigg [Brathwaite] to be able to control and take the key wicket of the captain Stokes,” Coley acknowledged the hard yards put in by the bowlers. 

However, the head coach also asked his bowlers to “impose” themselves more on the opposition batters. 

“Quite a few positives. I would love to see us with a lot more intensity that we're known to show in the field. I thought in this Test match, we weren't at our best in terms of imposing ourselves on the England batters. That is definitely something that we need to be better at for the next Test."

The second Test begins on Thursday (July 18) in Nottingham. Shamar Joseph, who picked eight wickets in that Gabba Test win including a seven-wicket haul in the second innings, is doubtful for the second Test.

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