CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (CMC) – Captain Jason Holder says West Indies will try to remain upbeat in the face of their poor form, as they look to improve throughout their Cricket World Cup campaign.

The Caribbean side opened the tournament with a shock four-wicket defeat at the hands of minnows Ireland last Monday, a result that extended their dismal run following on from the 4-1 thrashing in South Africa last month.

Holder said since the Ireland loss, the side had been working to correct many of the problems that had been exposed during that performance.

“We can’t let our defeats get us down. Obviously we lost the game against Ireland it was a pretty tough loss but if we get ourselves down it will be hard to pick ourselves back up so we’ve tried to keep the mood going,” the 23-year-old said.

“We’ve addressed a few issues which we had. We didn’t bowl particularly well in the last game so that was a big concern for us so we’ve tried to correct those things … in terms of our preparation.”

Playing at Saxton Oval in Nelson, West Indies recovered from 87 for five to reach 304 for seven off their 50overs, with Lendl Simmons (102) and Darren Sammy (89) combining in a 154-run, sixth wicket stand to rescue the innings.

However, the West Indies seam-based attack then bowled poorly, as Ireland helped themselves to another stunning victory with 25 balls to spare.

Paul Stirling (92), Ed Joyce (84) and Niall O’Brien (79 not out) all hit high class half-centuries.

Holder, in only his second series as skipper, said West Indies needed to focus on execution going forward.

“What is clear for us is that if we execute our plans and carry out what we want to do, we can be very successful. It’s about being consistent and just trying to execute our plans.”

West Indies face Pakistan in their second match at Hagley Oval here Friday, starting at 11 am (6 pm Eastern Caribbean time).