Big picture – Babar back as captain
It’s hard to believe this now about the 1980s, but like cassette tapes, smoking on airplanes, and mullets, West Indies against Pakistan in Test cricket was actually considered cool. These two sides were as close to must-watch as Test cricket was in that decade, the best players competing in some of the most iconic series. But the 80s moved on and left a lot of things behind in their wake, including, in a lot of ways, West Indies and Pakistan cricket.
Thirty-eight years on from the greatest series between these sides, West Indies and Pakistan take each other on in the Caribbean again. This time, it’s a basement battle rather than a championship clash; these two sides are the two lowest-ranked sides in the current World Test Championship cycle, with West Indies narrowly ahead of Pakistan on eighth. Pakistan have lost 12 of their last 16 Tests, while West Indies have won just one of their previous ten. It is a sustained rot rather than a snapshot; in the last cycle, too, West Indies and Pakistan finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
For the hosts, this represents a rare opportunity to put points on the board in a series where they are clear, if not necessarily outright, favourites. West Indies have built up a deceptively good repertoire of seam bowlers, even if it has not necessarily reflected in their Test results of late. Their pace attack is one that, with Shamar Joseph’s blistering pace, Jayden Seales’ impressive record against Pakistan, and Kemar Roach’s agelessness, should withstand the blow of Alzarri Joseph’s unavailability.
The hosts come into the series with a solid home win over Sri Lanka, one that, with Amir Jangoo’s double-hundred, offers the prospect of batting talent that may scale up to the international stage. The quality of the batting order is comparable, at least to Pakistan’s, and with Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase, West Indies should be able to match Pakistan for spin should the pitches lean that way.
The headline for Pakistan is a little more rearranging of the deck chairs. Shan Masood is out as captain after a miserable 30-month stint, with Babar Azam retaking the armband initially taken off him. Whether that can overhaul the more tangible aspects of Pakistan’s Test decline remains to be seen; much of their Test side has not seen much of an overhaul in that time. It may not be a huge surprise to find the same people throwing up the same results.
Aamer Jamal’s return is a point of interest for a Pakistan side in search of a two-in-one cricketer of the kind Faheem Ashraf ultimately failed to be in Test cricket. A seam-bowling allrounder with a series coming up in England next month, Jamal at his best offers Pakistan balance in the lower order. That should especially come in handy when they’re unsure of the best bowling combination, as, perhaps, is the case with a Test on a ground that has never seen Test cricket before.
The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba will make its debut on Saturday with this game, and though there is a vague expectation it might favour slower bowling, having that seam-bowling allrounder to hedge with is a cosy position to be in.
While these may not be vintage West Indies and Pakistan sides, they have thrown up absorbing clashes in recent history, especially in the Caribbean. West Indies’ one-wicket victory in 2021 is one of the great Test matches this decade, while Pakistan’s Yasir-Shah-inspired 2-1 win in dying light in 2017 capped off a series whose drama made up for its relative modesty of quality.
Four of the last seven series between these two teams have ended up drawn, and while West Indies and Pakistan don’t challenge the very best anymore, they certainly challenge each other right down to the wire.
West Indies: DWLLD (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: LLLWL
In the spotlight – Kemar Roach and Azan Awais
Kemar Roach is fresh off his 300th Test wicket, and, in Alzarri’s absence, will have to take on yet more responsibility for his side’s bowling attack. Roach has an excellent record against Pakistan, averaging better than against all other teams bar Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. His consistency at home is legendary, something he demonstrated yet again last month with six wickets in a crushing win over Sri Lanka. Roach averages 22 in the West Indies, and against a vulnerable Pakistan batting line-up will fancy his chances of adding to those 300 Test wickets.
Azan Awais scored a hundred in Pakistan’s warm-up game before the first Test, two months on from the debut century in Bangladesh that cemented his spot as Pakistan’s first-choice opener. Batters who come into Pakistan’s Test side haven’t batted for too long, with bright starts ultimately tapering away. Abdullah Shafique, who took to Test cricket by storm, is perhaps the clearest example, and Awais will be aware that his quest to prove himself remains very much ahead of him. The 21-year old is the youngest batter on either side this series. A full-strength West Indies bowling attack will be a different prospect to what he faced in the warm-up, and whether he can raise his level accordingly could prove pivotal to both the series and his long-term prospects.
Team news – No Alzarri Joseph, no Abdullah Fazal
The big news for West Indies was Alzarri’s decision to render himself unavailable for selection this series. Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s half-century in the warm-up against Pakistan could see him start, especially with John Campbell ruled out with a hamstring injury. West Indies have added an extra spinner in slow left-arm orthodox bowler Joshua Bishop, who could partner Jomel Warrican if required.
West Indies (possible): 1 Tagenarine Chanderpaul/Kirk Mckenzie, 2 Brandon King, 3 Kavem Hodge, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Amir Jangoo, 6 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 7 Roston Chase (capt), 8 Jomel Warrican, 9 Shamar Joseph/Joshua Bishop, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jayden Seales.
Highly-rated Abdullah Fazal picked up a lower-back injury while training for this Test match and has been ruled out for an extended spell. Imam-ul-Haq is likely to take his place. There remain questions about the team’s best bowling combination on surfaces they are unsure about. The warm-up game is likely to have baked in the belief that the pitch is likely to play flat and slow, which could put left-arm spinner Ali Usman in line for an international debut.
Pakistan: 1 Azan Awais, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Shan Masood, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Awais Zafar, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Aamer Jamal, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Mohammad Ali/Ali Usman, 11 Mohammad Abbas.
July is the wettest month of the year in Trinidad, and there are passing showers expected on most days of the Test. The second half of the first day, in particular, is forecast to be rain-interrupted. Pitches in Trinidad have, of late, tended to be flat and slow, though The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba hosts its first ever Test, making it the 13th venue in the West Indies to host Test cricket.
