Manchester: West Indies captain Jason Holder congratulated both England and Stuart Broad after they took the series 2-1, to regain the Wisden Trophy on Tuesday at Old Trafford.
The final day of the decisive third Test endured an early rain delay to keep Stuart Broad waiting for his 500th wicket - but it eventually came.
Holder admitted he ''felt for him when he was left out of the first Test Match, it was a massive shock to me because we all know the calibre of bowler he is'' and praised his ''excellent achievement.''
All-rounder Holder accepted his side had come up short after looking to clinch the series themselves following victory in the opening Test at the Ageas Bowl.
Holder on being asked about the series defeat to England said, ''I'm not that disappointed with the overall group. Yes, we will be disappointed with the result but yeah, England are a really good side in their back yard, their statistics show that. Not man teams come over here and beat England. So, to sit and debate attacks here, in a way to me it's a bit indifferent. But yeah, I would just give England credit for the cricket that they've played. And say well played to them.''
He also talked about his team's performance in the series and the impact of being away from home for so long.
''It's hard to say really. Yeah, we've been kept indoors for the last two months. Yeah, the guys haven't seen a bit of real-life for a bit. I would say that it's tough to constantly get up, you're here, you open your curtains and you just see the cricket ground. You're not hopping on the bus as you normally would do and at least see some kind of pedestrians or anyone outside of that. It has been challenging mentally - a lot of our guys have felt it. Coming closer to home probably that's a little bit more difficult, but more or less I think the guys have done outstandingly well, in terms of keeping their focus. The last Test Match obviously we were probably outplayed. But I think in the Test series, we've had a lot of positives in this Test series. Whether it be wickets, runs and yeah generally as a group we've shown signs of improvement as well.''
Meanwhile, the West Indies skipper congratulated Stuart Broad on his achieving the milestone of 500 Test wickets.
''To Stuart Broad, the heartiest congratulations to Broady. You know I kind of felt for him when he was left out of the first Test Match, it was a massive shock to me. Because we all know the calibre of bowler he is. To play 140 Test Matches and get 500 wickets, it's kind of strange that you would leave him out. Particularly in these conditions where he is born and bred. So, I just want to really personally congratulate Stuart - he's had a fantastic career so far and to take 500 wickets in any cricket, let alone the highest cricket, Test cricket, is an excellent achievement.''
