Windies eyeing ICC rankings during Sri Lanka series

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Windies captain Jason Holder says the importance of winning the Sri Lanka series and moving up the ICC Test rankings, has not been lost on his side.

Last month, the regional side slumped to a historic low of ninth in the ICC Test rankings and are only now above Zimbabwe.

And without a series win over a higher-ranked side in six years, the three-Test series, which bowled off here yesterday, has now taken on greater importance.

"It's really important. Every game counts for something," Holder said.

"There's something to look forward to, something to play for. We have that at the back of our minds obviously."

Be more consistent

The Windies' only series win last year came when they beat Zimbabwe 1-0 in a two-Test series in Bulawayo. All told, they won just three of 10 outings, with two of those victories coming against Pakistan and England.

Holder said any improvement in Windies results would only come when the team learned to be more consistent in their performances.

"For us, we need to keep building as a side," the 26-year-old said.

"As I said last year we had a reasonable year, I just think it's a matter for us to string together some more collective efforts. We've had individual glimpses of brilliance. It's just trying to combine that now as a team."

Following the Sri Lanka series, the Windies host Bangladesh in a two-Test tour next month before heading to Dhaka for a return series and then on to India for another Test series.

The Windies have never lost a series to Sri Lanka on home soil, winning two and drawing one of the three previous tours of the Caribbean.