Roston Chase on accountability after losing second Test, saying ‘We try to hold everyone accountable for their actions’.
Roston Chase wants to leave New Zealand with their first Test win in the country in 30 years.
After undoing the efforts of a disciplined bowling attack, West Indies skipper Roston Chase called on his batters to hold themselves accountable and convert their starts following yet another collective batting failure.
In the second Test match against New Zealand in Wellington, the West Indies scored just 205 in the first innings before holding New Zealand to 278. Even though the batting conditions were better in the second innings, they were dismissed for just 128 and ultimately lost by nine wickets.
Chase denied that the circumstances were to blame, saying that the manner of the defeat hurt particularly because West Indies had established a respectable position prior to the collapse.
“We were in a good position up to this morning, even though in the first innings, we thought that we should have got some more runs,” Chase said in the post-match press conference. “A number of batsmen getting some starts, but we didn’t really convert into anything big. We left some runs up there in the first innings, and we thought that we would have gotten those runs in the second innings, but it didn’t happen. So very disappointing for us after the bowlers really put up their hands and brought us back into the game.
“I still thought that the pitch was one that we could score runs on. Personally, I thought it was not as tough as the first game. I thought the first innings in [the first Test in] Christchurch, the ball was doing a whole lot, but I didn’t think that was the case here. I just thought we just made some mistakes at some crucial points in the game, and we just never really got our foot back into the game today.”
According to Chase, the West Indies’ batting malaise has been evident throughout the tour: batsmen get in, then give it away. In both of the West Indies’ innings in Wellington, seven batters scored 20 or more, but Shai Hope’s 47 was the most. Like Hope, the others frittered away promising starts: 22, 35, and 25 in the second innings after 44, 33, and 29 in the first.
“You have to work very hard to get that start,” Chase said. “It’s just about buckling down and having that determination to carry it. You will get good balls, but I think sometimes we just give it away a little too easy when we get to the 30s and the 40s. But especially in New Zealand, we know the first innings is very crucial. If you can get a good first-innings total where the ball is moving around a lot more and [there’s] a lot of green on the wicket, that puts you in a commanding position to have a chance at winning the game.
However, Chase emphasised that the team was still motivated by a long-standing goal—winning a Test in New Zealand for the first time in thirty years—even after a humiliating loss. In addition to ending that drought, a victory in the third Test in Mount Maunganui would tie the series and provide the West Indies with their first victory of the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle.
“The last time we won in New Zealand was in 1995, so we want to leave here with a win,” Chase said. “We still think that we are capable enough to get a win, but it’s just for us to be consistent, because the bowlers have shown that they’re capable of getting us those ten wickets or 20 wickets that we need to get.”