Cricket Match Preview : West Indies Host Pakistan


West Indies and Pakistan will begin a three-match series with the first Test in Sabina Park, Kingston today.The Test series follows on from the recent three-match One Day International series which saw Pakistan claim a 2-1 win. The Asian tourists also claimed a 3-1 win in the four-match T20 series, and will be targeting a clean sweep of series triumphs in their tour of the Caribbean. However, Pakistan come into the match on a run of six successive Test losses - a sequence which started with a loss to West Indies in Sharjah in October-November last year and followed through away series against both New Zealand and Australia.

Their build-up to the first Test has not been encouraging: Pakistan could only draw their warm-up match against a West Indies President’s XI in Trelawney. They conceded a large first-innings lead and their bowlers struggled for consistency and penetration. It may have only been a warm-up, but on the back of six straight Test losses it doesn’t bode well for Misbah-ul-Haq’s team.

The West Indies’ last Test action was the above-mentioned win against Pakistan in Sharjah - it came in a three-match series in the United Arab Emirates which they lost 2-1. Yet, on home soil and with Pakistan clearly out of sorts in the long format of the game, this three-match stretch represents West Indies’ best chance to win their first Test series since 2014, when they defeated Bangladesh 2-0 at home. The Caribbean hosts have recalled Kieran Powell following his two 50-plus scores for the President’s XI against Pakistan, while uncapped batsmen Vishaul Singh and Shimron Hetmyer are also included after impressing in the warm-up match.


West Indies v Pakistan


Head-to-head in Tests

Matches played: 49
West Indies wins: 16
Pakistan wins: 18
Draws: 15
Ties: 0

Form guide (last five results, most recent first, Tests only)

West Indies - WLLDL
Pakistan - LLLLL

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Published: 04/21/2017