Pakistan's tour of West Indies: Preview to five-match ODI Series

West Indies bowler Kemar Roach (C) celebrates with teammates after bowling Dinesh Chandimal during the fifth match of the Tri-Nation series at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on July 7, 2013. (Getty Images)

West Indies could have done without the two extra days of preparation for the upcoming series against Pakistan that begins on July 14 at Guyana but it was something that was forced upon them as India defeated Sri Lanka to evict the home-team from the finals.

West Indies had begun the Tri-Nation tournament on an excellent note as they scored consecutive victories of Champions Trophy victors India and Sri Lanka but they slipped up at the Port of Spain.

There were a number of positives that West Indies can derive out of that series including the consistent showmanship of Johnson Charles but these positives were shrouded by the repeated flaws of the side.

They will now gear up to hope yet another sub-continent side as Pakistan visit to play a five-match ODI series and two T-20 matches.

The teams have been underachievers in the 50-over format over the last few months in spite of the massive talent that they have in their ranks. Pakistan has a potent bowling attack with the likes of Md. Irfan, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz whereas West Indies have some of the best all-rounders and power-hitters of the game.

West Indian cricket continues its struggle against its rich legacy and that often proves to be too big a burden for them to bear. Pakistan, on the other hand, have been hampered by the dirty politics within the cricket board and the political state of the nation.

The cowardly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus when they toured Pakistan has had a huge impact on their cricket as they have been unable to host matches at home. Hence, the team that will win this series will receive a mild boost going into the uncertain future.

West Indies would have made a few observations about their performance based on the results of the last two tournaments they have been a part of. The first and foremost lesson is that they need greater stability in their batting line-up.

The top-order is heavy and explosive due to the presence of Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles but the nature of their game is such that they will only be able to deliver to expectations in couple of times in a five match series for instance.

The stereotypical West Indian philosophy of hit-hard and hit’em far often leaves them desiring for more at the end of the day. The likes of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard can form a good pairing in the lower middle-order as they have the ability to get those big runs in the slog overs. They are also the leaders of the side and hence they will have to take the responsibility of being in pressure situations.

The change or the scrutiny that is needed is to be done for the middle-order, which needs to develop that steely determination to stick it out and survive that passage of play from the 25th over to the 40th over.

Darren Bravo has failed to light the world on fire in spite of his accurate mimicry of Brian Lara but he must be given another chance in this series. Marlon Samuels, on the other hand, has the ability to score a big innings at number four but he needs to be watchful in the first few overs of his stay. He needs to exhibit application in order to send the signal that he has the required hunger for runs.

Their bowling department has fared well in the recent past. Kemar Roach is developing as a bowler and deserves to be given his share of time. Ravi Rampaul needs to work on his fitness and if he can do that, he can be a huge part of their 2015 World Cup plans. Tino Best has been ordinary and invests too much confidence in the short ball as West Indies should give Jason Holder a deserved opportunity in this series.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have had a revolving doors policy with a group of players constantly walking in and out of the squad. They have now recalled Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi for this series whereas Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal have been dropped. Pakistan’s batting failed them in the Champions Trophy as they failed to put up a score of 200 in the three matches that they played.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been criticised for not coming higher-up in the batting order. The observation that Ravi Shastri once made about MS Dhoni‘s position in the Indian batting line-up is much truer of the Pakistan captain: “By the time he picks up the broom, the shit has hit the ceiling.” It remains to be seen if that desired change in batting order is made in this series. Md. Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed are two potential candidates who can stem Pakistan’s miseries with the bat.

It will certainly be a mouth-watering contest as the two teams suffer from similar issues in terms of the balance of the side. A competitive series will do good to the cricketing fortunes of both the nations although Pakistan’s bowling attack gives them a slight advantage.