For the first time in almost a decade, five West Indies batsmen averaged more than 50 runs an innings in a completed Test series, a statistic that has head coach Phil Simmons feeling optimistic about the future of this evolving unit.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, former captain Jason Holder, as well as newcomers Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner and Rahkeem Cornwall, all averaged over 50 runs for the series, the first time batsmen in a West Indies team were achieving this milestone since 2012 when the West Indies played against Bangladesh.

Simmons believes the positive development is an indication of a change of mindset of the Caribbean side that is languishing near the bottom of the global Test rankings.

“Everybody is looking to occupy the crease. People are working to bat for long periods and our depth goes deeper because Alzarri Joseph and Rahkeem Cornwall have shown within the last three series that they can bat and they can provide that 50-100-run partnerships that later down can take us to 350 to 400s,” said the pleased head coach, who was responding to questions from the media at the conclusion of the two-Test Sandals series against Sri Lanka that ended 0-0 after the teams played to stalemates at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Prior to the start of the second Test, Brathwaite, responding to a question from the media regarding whether he was concerned over his form after he had only scored 26 runs in the first Test (2,23), said he was not.

He indicated that he had faced 43 balls for his first innings score of three and 124 balls for his second innings score of 23, he was confident that the more time he spent at the crease would eventually lead to more runs from his bat.

His words proved to be prophetic. He scored his ninth Test century in the second Test, 126, as the West Indies scored 354. He faced 311 balls for those runs and an additional 196 for his second innings score of 85.

Those scores boosted his average for the series from 13 after the first Test to 59.25 by the time the series came to an end on Friday.

Nkrumah Bonner ended the series with the best average of 72, courtesy of his maiden Test century, an unbeaten 113, scored in the first Test, that was the foundation for the West Indies’ second innings score of 236-4. He was dismissed for 31 in the first innings.

The 32-year-old Jamaican failed to score in the second Test having made a duck in the first innings and was unable to bat in the second after suffering whiplash while taking a blinder of a catch in the slips when Sri Lanka batted.

It was also a solid follow-on after being named Man-of-the-Series in the West Indies 2-0 series victory against Bangladesh in January.

Jason Holder has established himself as one of the best Test all-rounders in the world. He built on that reputation with the bat during the series with scores of 71* 30, 19 and 18* averaging a very healthy 69.

Like Bonner, Mayers was playing in only his fourth Test but his consistency has proven to be a fillip for the West Indies. Mayers has produced scores of 40 or more in six of his eight innings. Following on his unbeaten 210 against Bangladesh, Mayers had scores of 55, 49, 52 and 45 in the series averaging 50.25.

Cornwall delivered on a promise he made prior to the start of the first Test that he would show his true skills with the bat, scoring 61 in the first Test and 73 in the second averaging 67 for the series and impressing Simmons.

“It was great to see Rahkeem’s batting coming to the fore, and in all, the batting has shown up in the last four Test matches and this is a great thing because before that, the bowling was carrying us,” the West Indies head coach concluded.

The West Indies will be hoping for a similar showing from its batsmen when they host South Africa for the next series of matches later this year.