West Indies seek strong finish to WTC campaign against Pakistan

West Indies aim to close out their World Test Championship (WTC) campaign on a positive note as they face Pakistan in a two-match Test series starting Friday in Multan.

The Caribbean side has yet to secure a series win in this WTC cycle, suffering defeats against India, England, and South Africa, while managing 1-1 draws against Australia and Bangladesh.

Despite the challenges, captain Kraigg Brathwaite expressed optimism about ending the campaign on a strong note.

“This series is very important for us,” Brathwaite said. “It’s a new year … it is important to finish this cycle strong and that’s our focus.”

Fast bowler Shamar Joseph was ruled of the series due to shin splits while another pacer, Alzarri Joseph, preferred to play in the ILT20 league in the United Arab Emirates.

Brathwaite said the tourists have left out vice-captain Joshua Da Silva from the playing XI while fast bowler Kemar Roach misses out because of illness.

Multan will also host the second test, starting from January 25 due to ongoing upgrades at Pakistan’s two main stadiums in Karachi and Lahore for next month’s Champions Trophy.

Pakistan will rely on their trusted spin strategy as they look to succeed in the contest between the two lowest-ranked teams.

The same pitch has been prepared for the first test in Multan on which Pakistan spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali neutralized England’s aggressive “Bazball” in October when the groundskeepers successfully dried out the 22-yard strip with the help of giant industrial-sized fans and patio heaters.

“We emphasized during the England series that home conditions are very important in test cricket,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said on Thursday. “We adapted a style of play, style of pitches, (and) now we will try ... to carry forward the momentum of the England series.”

Pakistan came from behind to beat England 2-1 on engineered dry pitches in Multan and Rawalpindi after losing the first test by an innings when the tourists amassed a record 823-7 declared in the first innings.

Off-spinner Sajid and left-arm spinner Noman grabbed 39 of the 40 wickets in the last two test matches against England, and were in the 15-man squad after being overlooked for the away series against South Africa, which Pakistan lost 2-0.

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, who missed the home series against England because of illness, was included as the third specialist spinner in the playing XI with off-spinner Salman Ali Agha giving the home team a fourth spin option.

Pakistan have lost eight of their last 10 test matches under Masood’s captaincy since he was elevated to red-ball skipper in December 2023. But the skipper believed Pakistan couldn’t capitalize a number of times against Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa after putting opponents on the back foot.

“There are lots of test matches during last year when we lost the games after coming into a winning position,” Masood said. “There were only one or two one-sided matches … we came into good positions but couldn’t finish it. The lesson for this team is how we can convert it into victories.”

Pakistan will be without their in-form opening batter Saim Ayub, who was ruled out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks after fracturing his right ankle during the series in South Africa. Ayub will be replaced by Mohammad Huraira, who scored half-centuries in both innings during the three-day warmup game against the West Indies in Islamabad.