‘Less pressure on us, more on them’ – Jason Holder driven by 'underdogs' tag

Ranked No. 8 in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, the Windies stunned England, crushing them by 381 runs in Barbados and by 10 wickets in Antigua to record a famous 2-1 series win.

The ODIs present a new – and potentially tougher – challenge, with England ranked No.1 in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings. But Holder said his team could make the most of the confidence gained from their Test exploits.

“We're pretty confident coming into the game. We’ve obviously had some momentum from winning the Test series, and some good experience in the dressing room,” he said. “We start this series as underdogs again, but that is not a bad tag to have – obviously less pressure on us and more pressure on them. We just have to go out there and play the cricket we want to play and execute the plans.”

Holder welcomed the return of Chris Gayle, who is entering his final stretch as an ODI cricketer – he will retire at the conclusion of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 – and was positive about the resources at his disposal.

“We pack a pretty heavy punch when we're stacking up our team,” he said. “A guy like Chris Gayle is coming back into the team, and we have Carlos Brathwaite at the back end. We all know what these guys can produce. I’m really excited by the challenge.”

Holder was one of the driving forces behind the Windies’ Test series win, taking seven wickets in two Tests and smashing a double-century. He sat out of the third game, serving a one-Test ban for slow over-rate, and his side collapsed in his absence to lose by 232 runs.

“It was tough watching the Test in St Lucia, but I'm very hungry to get back on the park and looking forward to the challenge of carrying the team forward,” he said.

The home side's preparations have taken a hit with injuries to several key players. Keemo Paul was stretchered off after damaging his right quadriceps in St Lucia, while both Evin Lewis and Rovman Powell were ruled out with injuries after being named in the squad as well.

It has opened up the possibility of Andre Russell being added to the squad for the first two ODIs. Though the all-rounder had informed Cricket West Indies that his knee wasn’t ready for the 50-over grind, he has recovered faster than expected.

Russell hasn’t turned out for the Windies in an international match in over six months, and has played a lone ODI, in July last year, since November 2015. But Holder left the doors open for a return.

"We've selected a side for the first two matches, and I don't want to pre-empt selection, but it's still possible for anyone to come in,” he said. “We've had a lot of injuries and that may open the door.”