Campbell has England regrets

Jamaica and West Indies batsman John Campbell has taken some time to reflect on what was a torrid tour of England recently with the regional side.

The left-hander had a tour he would want to forget with the bat, as the opener made only 84 runs in six innings while being not out once.

That not out came during the second innings of the first Test, where Campbell hit the winning runs to see the West Indies to victory in Southampton.

That euphoria would be short-lived for the St Mary native, as his best score on tour was a dogged 32 in the final Test, which the West Indies went on to lose, in the process surrendering the Wisden Trophy to England 2-1.

For Campbell, the three-Test tour was a deep learning experience, one on which he is keen to capitalise.

“I didn’t get any starts and it was pretty difficult conditions to start with. If any batsman wants to be successful in international cricket, getting starts is a key area, especially as an opening batsman. I didn’t stick through the rough patches,” said Campbell.

Campbell said the England bowlers targeted his stumps, hence he went lbw twice in his first three innings. However, he made some adjustments which he believes will help him in the future.

“After realising that they wanted to get me out lbw, I did some work in the nets with the coaches and I started to line up the ball a lot better from around the wicket. I will take that as a definite positive along with the experience that I gained from that tour,” Campbell stated.

SHOT SELECTION

Campbell admitted that shot selection has always been an Achilles heel for him, and noted that there is one other adjustment he needs to make if he is going to prolong his international Test career.

“I think I need to not go too hard at the ball so early in my innings. I am naturally an aggressive and attacking player and I like to feel the ball on bat. But I need to be more patient and let the ball come to me more,” added Campbell.