Darren Bravo's Batting Only Positive In Sorry West Indies Performance, Says Skipper Jason Holder

Jason Holder's disappointment was clearly evident as he slowly walked from the field after being dismissed late Tuesday in the second Test against Australia. (Australia Defeat West Indies By 177 Runs, Take Unbeatable 2-0 Lead in Series)

For almost two days, the West Indies challenged Australia in the second Test, and for a few hours on the fourth day it seemed that a draw was possible.

That all ended when captain Holder was dismissed by Mitchell Marsh for 68 to break up a defiant 100-run partnership with Denesh Ramdin.

Australia claimed a 177-run victory shortly after to clinch the Frank Worrell Trophy but, after a disastrous showing in its lone tour match and a crushing innings and 212-run loss in the first Test, the West Indies did at least manage to win back some respect.

"It hurts you know. You're playing for your country and you lose games. It's not a nice feeling, especially with all we've been through," Holder said. "It's just disappointing, but again I thought we showed a lot of improvement from the first test match."

After Australia declared its first innings on 551-3, Darren Bravo guided the West Indies from 91-6 at the end of the second day to a gutsy reply of 271. It was enough to force Australia to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on, as the bowlers needed rest.

Australia declared again on 179-3 before the start of day four and the West Indies produced its best performance of the series to deny the hosts a quick win.

"It's just a situation where we just need to believe. We took a lot more belief when we went to bat," Holder said. "You could see guys really try and apply themselves. Once we continue to do that we'll show better signs in the third test match."

Bowling is still clearly an issue, with the West Indies taking just 10 wickets from three innings over the two tests.

"We've just got to look at how we bowl," Holder said. "We didn't control the game the way we'd like. Our bowlers really need to take stock of what they're doing and understand a little bit more the situations in the game."

Holder identified Darren Bravo's innings of 81 in the first innings as one of the highlights of the second Test, form he hopes will be carry on into the third test in Sydney starting Sunday.

"Darren Bravo has been exceptional so far. He's led our batting and is showing signs of maturity," he said. "Darren has a lot of talent and a lot of eyes have always been on Darren for the way he plays. It's just good to see he's maturing."