Jason Holder expects Andre Russell and Chris Gayle to make Australia clash

The duo were seen nursing slight problems against Pakistan but West Indies captain Holder is hopeful they will be fit to face the holders

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West Indies captain Jason Holder is hopeful key duo Andre Russell and Chris Gayle will be fit to face Australia at Trent Bridge tomorrow.

The pair played a significant part in West Indies' opening game triumph over Pakistan at the same ground on Friday, where the World T20 holders bundled Sarfraz Ahmed's side out for 105 before chasing the target down with seven wickets to spare.

Allrounder Russell took the wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail in a spell in which he conceded just four runs from his three overs, while Chris Gayle hit the only fifty of the game in their reply from 34 balls, and therefore Holder is hopeful they can both declare themselves fit tomorrow.

"We've had a few days off and they have been recovering quite nicely," he said.

"We expect both of them to hopefully be fit and ready to go tomorrow. We've still got some more time until the game tomorrow morning, so then we'll make a final decision in the morning.

"I think the beauty with both of those guys is they've played enough cricket. We just tend to trust them, take their word and then make a final determination then.

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Holder expects Russell and Gayle to be available against Australia

"Chris was at practice for the last couple days, so Chris for me is all well and ready to go. Andre will be obviously assessed today, and we're very, very hopeful that he'll be fit tomorrow."

West Indies used the conditions at Trent Bridge to their advantage against Pakistan, and Holder is hoping that his team's knowledge of the ground could give them the edge against Australia.

"We obviously had one game here before. We bowled 22 overs in the game and so we didn't get a full allotment.

"But having said that, we've got a little bit of knowledge about the ground, how the wicket plays, but there are quite a few strips on this square.

"I'm not sure which one we're on tomorrow. I just think it's a situation whether we bat or bowl first, we need to assess the conditions as early as possible and then play to suit."

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Russell and Holder were part of a brilliant bolwing display against Pakistan

Through Oshane Thomas, Russell and Holder himself, West Indies exposed Pakistan's fallibility to the short ball, but the captain maintains that tactic is not the only one that his bowling attack will look to employ tomorrow against a multi-faceted Australia batting lineup, whilst he wants the batsmen to exhibit no fear out in the middle.

"I guess it all boils down to the conditions. One thing I said in the last press conference is that we tend to formulate our plans to each batter.

"If it's a situation where we feel a batsman may be susceptible to the short ball, then we're going to use it. If it's a situation where that's not the case, then we'll find other alternatives.

"It's just not stuck on the short ball. I think all the teams so far have used the short ball, and it's just something that's in the game. You've got two short balls per over; you might as well use them.

"We just want to be as positive as we possibly can be. I think whether we bat first or if we chase, we've got to show intent.

"Intent is something that we spoke about in the dressing room, and it's something that we want to go about our goal with when we go into our innings. Yeah, I don't want to get too caught up with the conditions, but at the end of the day I just want the guys to show intent and be fearless."

Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk

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