West Indies’ white-ball captain, Nicholas Pooran has vowed to use the hurt of his team’s first-round exit at the ICC Men’s Twenty/20 Cricket World Cup as “motivation” to bounce back strongly.
After being beaten by Scotland and Ireland, the West Indies failed to advance to the Twenty/20 Cricket World Cup proper for the first time.
Pooran said: “Obviously, we don’t know what the future holds but we will take it day by day.
“Again, it was a learning experience for all of us and this is our journey and our story. Time will tell what will happen but for now it is just about focusing on ourselves and how we can get better as individuals.
“Rest is the ultimate and every player needs that but inside it is still hurting as well. I want to use that hurt as motivation and obviously come back strong.”
The reaction to West Indies’ early exit was sharp and swift, with CWI President, Ricky Skerritt blaming the batsmen and promising that a “thorough post mortem” would be carried out. Former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting called the exit a “disgrace”.
Phil Simmons, meanwhile, has resigned as Head Coach, with his last assignment set to be a two-Test series in Australia, which starts next month.
Pooran suggested that he would not step down as captain, but look to learn from these setbacks.
He said: “I have been thinking about the last couple of months. Playing cricket is my dream and obviously I have had my test in life as well and this is another test for me. I am a person who embraces challenges and this was just another one for me.
“It is not going to stop me. I am going to continue to learn from my experiences and again I am happy I can wake up in the morning and see that I have an opportunity to play cricket again.”
