All posts by csb10.top

Match Facts

Saturday, December 4
Start time 09.00 (03.30 GMT)
Three games to go, a seat in the World-cup dugout awaits, will Yusuf Pathan stake his claim?•AFP

The Big Picture

Three games remain but the ODI series already seems to be heading into a one-way street, and the focus has shifted towards the preparations for the World Cup. The success of Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, R Ashwin, and Sreesanth must have heartened the Indian camp and the spotlight is now on the likes of Yusuf Pathan. Suresh Raina, who has one ODI fifty in the last 17 games, has got a break and his form can now be only monitored in South Africa.Yusuf doesn’t have much time to stake his claim. When Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag get back, and given Kohli’s rich form, the think-tank could choose to play Yuvraj Singh as the allrounder at the expense of Yusuf and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin has perhaps already shoved Jadeja out of the equation with his performances.That leaves Yusuf in the hot seat. You can understand India’s desire to see him succeed. The pitches for the World Cup will most likely be flat tracks where Yusuf can hide his shortcomings against the short ball, and showcase his brutal power. Hope floats. On the other hand, we saw him suffocated by the short delivery even on the Indian tracks during the IPL this year and, unfortunately for him, his bowling hasn’t reached a level where it can compensate for weaknesses in batting. Three games to go, a seat in the World Cup dugout awaits, will he seize the moment?New Zealand have lost both games and the World Cup puzzle is yet to fall in place: Should Ross Taylor replace Kane Williamson at the crucial No. 3 position? When Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder return at the top, will Taylor, Scott Styris, and Williamson take up the positions from No.3 to No. 5? If Daniel Vettori bats at No. 7, who will then fill up the vital No. 6 slot? “Jacob Oram if he’s fit, [James] Franklin is in the mix but I don’t think [No.] 6 suits Grant Elliott’s batting style,” Craig McMillian, the former New Zealand batsman, believes. And where does Martin Guptill figure in this line-up?The New Zealand seamers disappointed with their inconsistency in the first two games but a few good things have come out in the batting department. Guptill, prone to spontaneously combust after getting starts, has had two good games; Styris is proving as dependable as ever in the lower order; Vettori showed signs of returning to batting form after an indifferent run in the Tests; Taylor had a good first game and looked good for more in the second; Williamson is learning how to pace his innings and while he is yet to crack it, this experience will be invaluable.

Form guide

(most recent first)
India: WWWLW
New Zealand: LLLLL

Watch out for…

Scott Styris is New Zealand’s crisis man. He does what Shoaib Malik used to do at his best for Pakistan. He can bat sensibly and deal in singles if the occasion demands it, and can attack. He paces his innings really well and will be the vital cog in the middle-order.Praveen Kumar returns after missing two games due to fever. He has been one of India’s top ODI bowlers for some time now and will look to quickly get into his stride. His slower ones and cutters can test Brendon McCullum’s adrenaline rushes.

Teams

Brendon McCullum batted in the nets without any discomfort and is likely to play.New Zealand (probable): 1 Brendon McCullum (wk), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Grant Elliott / James Franklin, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Andy McKay
Praveen and Zaheer Khan are likely to make the playing XI, and Saurabh Tiwary and Ravindra Jadeja might fight it out for the No. 6 spot.India (probable): 1 M Vijay, 2 Gautam Gambhir (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Yusuf Pathan, 6 Saurabh Tiwary/ Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Wriddiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra/Munaf Patel

Stats and trivia

• Vettori became the 12th allrounder in the history of the game to achieve the double of 2000 runs and 200 wickets in ODIs. He is the third New Zealander, after Chris Cairns and Chris Harris, to accomplish this feat.
• Brendon McCullum averages just 24.57, with just two fifties, from 20 games against India.

Quotes

” Batting is what is going to win us games. It’s important that New Zealand have a confident, aggressive batting line-up which is confident in its ability and can just go out and play its natural game.””
Former New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan sounds the alarm bells

Cricket Canada and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways have announced a deal where Etihad will become an official event partner and national program sponsor with the board.”This partnership will remove cost barriers for our youth to access high quality academies worldwide,” Cricket Canada president Ranjit Saini said. “Additionally our teams will be within reach of premier cricket destinations where we can play against high quality opposition and receive high performance coaching.”The partnership helps us to remove the financial obstacles created by geographic challenges. We can now move our teams around the world more frequently and at a reduced cost. We can more readily explore the growing options to bring quality international and domestic fixtures to Canada and it gives us the opportunity to extend the reach of our high performance program while strengthening our international board relationships…a win-win situation for us.”While we should commend the achievements made in the past few years by our High Performance program to take us as far as we’ve come, we are under-resourced for a nation of our size and cricket population. This program ensures [players] will be able to further hone their skills in the time between youth programs and when they reach the senior men’s team. “Through the deal, Etihad will provide Cricket Canada with round-trip airfare for Canada’s elite development players to academies and coaching programs around the world as well as provide a significant capital contribution towards bringing high performance teams to Canada.The agreement with Etihad is the third major partnership announced by Cricket Canada this quarter. Earlier in November Cricket Canada inked deals with Mercury Communications Group and clothing giant Reebok. Canada will carry the Etihad name at the upcoming Caribbean T20 tournament in January.

The death of 38-year-old first-class cricketer Aamer Bashir, after a long-running battle against cancer, has led to a call from former Pakistan players Ramiz Raja, Rashid Latif and Abdul Qadir for the establishment of a players association in the country.”I think the way, and the conditions in which Aamer Bashir passed away are sad and there are many other players facing similar financial problems,” Ramiz told . “The formation of the players association will mean they can work for the welfare of players from one common platform.”Leading cricketers like Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan and Basit Ali worked hard to ensure Bashir received proper medical treatment, in addition to monetary assistance from the board. Ramiz asked for a more organised set-up to help such cricketers, and made it clear that forming a players association did not mean the players wanted to confront the board’s authority.”It should not be viewed that way [as a threat to the board],” he said. “If we have a proper association it can work for the welfare of players and also educate them on how to handle things and behave while playing for Pakistan.””When you are fighting with a terminal illness having financial issues plays a big role in only worsening the disease,” Latif, who had campaigned to raise funds for Bashir, said. Latif also noted that the board had opposed earlier efforts to set up a players body, a point that Qadir agreed with.”Even if the board does not give us permission we can easily go to court and get permission because I think it is the right of cricketers to have a representative body in the country it is long overdue,” Qadir said. “I just feel in Pakistan cricket, where there are so many disputes and controversies, a players association can play a very productive and positive role.”

Beginning on Saturday in Hong Kong, USA’s journey back up the World Cricket League ladder comes full circle when they get a chance to take part in Division Three. It’s taken almost four years for USA’s players to dig out of a hole they found themselves in courtesy of the country’s cricket administration, with the lion’s share of the digging done in 2010 in Nepal and Italy.Back in 2007, USA were scheduled to participate in the inaugural ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Darwin, Australia. Unfortunately, it coincided with an ICC suspension for the USA Cricket Association and when they were readmitted, they were relegated to Division Five. Now that they are back in Division Three, they don’t intend to stay for long. But standing in their way is a handful of opponents far stronger than what they faced in 2010.Based on talent, USA have what it takes to gain a third consecutive promotion. Much like any other sport though, cricket matches are not played on paper. For success in this tournament, contributions will be needed from top to bottom.In 2010, USA relied on their batting depth to get out of sticky situations. Aditya Thyagarajan was USA’s highest scorer in 50-over cricket last year with 612 runs at 55.64 despite coming in at six or seven on most occasions. Coach Clayton Lambert refers to him as the team’s insurance policy, but the habitual need to cash in on it shows how inconsistent the rest of the batting order is.Captain Steve Massiah was the leading scorer at Division Five last February with 289 runs including four of his six half-centuries on the year. Orlando Baker had one century and two 50s in 16 50-over innings while Lennox Cush had a 55-ball ton and three half-centuries in 14 knocks. Yet each of these three top- and middle-order batsmen averaged below 40 in 2010. Their contributions will be vital in determining the extent of USA’s success in Hong Kong.Another key factor will be the adjustment of four new players to the squad. Chief among them, left-arm spinner Asif Khan is being counted on to play more like a seasoned veteran instead of a rookie. The 31-year-old has first-class experience in Pakistan on his resume, but that was more than a decade ago. Asif was hit hard in USA’s only warm-up fixture on Monday, going for 43 runs in six overs without taking a wicket against a Hong Kong Invitational XI that featured six players in the Hong Kong side for this tournament. Teenagers Mark Chapman and Nizakat Khan both registered half-centuries in that game. Hong Kong’s more seasoned batsmen will be licking their chops if Asif can’t get himself sorted out by Saturday.The biggest concern for USA is that they have limited knowledge of most of their opponents. At Division Four in Italy, they had a good understanding of Nepal after playing them twice at Division Five and also faced off against two very familiar rivals from the Americas – Argentina and Cayman Islands. As for this tournament, USA should feel comfortable matching up against Italy having played them twice at Division Four. Ryan Corns and Muhammad Ghous may also recognize the five players in Hong Kong’s squad that they played against in 2009 at the U-19 World Cup Global Qualifier in Toronto.Other than that, they have scarce information heading into matches against Oman, Papua New Guinea and Denmark. PNG’s players are traditionally very disciplined, fighting tooth and nail for every run and in the field. Oman and Denmark were both in Division Two until recently and are probably chomping at the bit to move back up. USA recorded victories by 10, 9 and 8 wickets at Division Four. No match will be that easy this time around.Adding to the pressure for USA is the fact that at five of the last six WCL events, the host team has finished in the top two to gain promotion. The only team that didn’t finish first or second was the Netherlands at Division One last July, and promotion and relegation was not at stake in that event. USA had the opportunity to ease themselves into action before facing Nepal and Italy on their opponents’ home soil last year. They don’t have that luxury this time around and if they falter against Hong Kong on Saturday, USA will most likely need to run the table to lock up one of the two open berths for Division Two in the UAE this April.However, USA only has to look at recent history for inspiration that they can keep up their winning ways. Afghanistan completed a dramatic surge from Division Five to Division One in the span of 11 months from 2008-2009. It will take a little bit longer, but the possibility exists that USA can duplicate Afghanistan’s run of consecutive promotions to climb into Division One by 2013.On Saturday, USA will finally get to experience what they missed out on in Darwin. Halfway around the world, fans back home in America will be hoping that it’s similar to the experiences the team had last year in Kathmandu and Bologna: climbing the next rung up the World Cricket League ladder.

Federal Areas’ seamers Sadaf Hussain and Iftikhar Anjum were clinical in running through Punjab’s tail and secured three points for a first-innings lead for their team on the fourth day at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Punjab’s sixth-wicket pair of Kamran Sajid and Adnan Akmal were threatening to push their team past Federal Areas’ 361, as their 68-run partnership took them to 290 for 5. Sadaf struck first, dismissing Adnan, and then Anjum got into the act, as they took five wickets for just 15 runs. Umair Khan and Umar Amin got in some batting practice, getting half-centuries as Federal Areas reached 133 for 2 in what was a second innings of no consequence. The three points mean Federal Areas move on to 12 points and are looking good for a place in the final.Baluchistan’s Saeed Anwar junior helped himself to a century against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province on the fourth day at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Baluchistan had already secured three points on the third day, and there was little chance of a result on the fourth. They did not take the risk of declaring early and tempting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa into attempting a chase, batting for 34.3 overs instead and setting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa an impossible target of 335 to win in just over half a day. Anwar junior reached 122 before he was run out, and Baluchistan added their runs quickly. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa then got in some batting practice of their own, with Adnan Raees following up his 88 in the first innings with 71 in the second. Baluchistan stay top of the table, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are yet to pick up points.

England Lions romped to a comprehensive victory over Windward Islands at Windsor Park in Dominica. Set a target of 356, Windwards were struggling at 10 for 2 at stumps on the third day and the going didn’t get any better on the fourth. Only three of their batsmen reached double-figures as the line-up crumbled against the left-arm spin of Danny Briggs, who bagged six wickets, and offspinner Adil Rashid who took the remaining four. Briggs wrecked the top and middle orders while Rashid helped mop up the tail as Windwards were left to rue a poor batting display in a game where none of their batsmen reached 50. The win gave England Lions 12 points and they now top the table.The tables turned on a remarkable third day at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua as Barbados sealed a six-wicket win over Leeward Islands. Offspinner Justin Athanaze cleaned up Barbados on the third morning, finishing with a five-for and helping his team secure a first-innings lead of 26. But the Leewards batting failed miserably in the second innings, capitulating for 82 in just 23.2 overs. Jason Peters top-scored with 23 but watched the procession to the pavilion at the other hand as the Leewards batsmen simply failed to measure up to a collective bowling effort from Barbados. Pedro Collins picked up a hat-trick, dismissing Gavin Williams, Steve Liburd and Kerry Mentore off successive balls, and was backed up by Tino Best and Ryan Hinds, who collected two each. Barbados lost three early wickets in their chase, and the dismissal of Kraigg Brathwaite with the first ball of his spell giving Athanaze a hat-trick of his own after he claimed the last two wickets in the first innings. However, Hinds’ 24 and Jonathan Carter’s unbeaten 36 sealed victory.Left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul put Guyana on top with a six-wicket haul against Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Three Ws Oval in Barbados. CCC had gained a first-innings lead of 44 on the second day but squandered it on the third, as only Nkruma Bonner offered any significant resistance against Guyana’s bowlers. He made 62 but lacked support at the other end as Permaul grabbed 6 for 39 to skittle out CCC for 155. That meant Guyana had to chase 200 for victory. They progressed slowly in their chase, reaching 30 for 1 in 20 overs at stumps.Jamaica reached a strong position at the end of the third day against Trinidad and Tobago at Sabina Park in Kingston. T&T squandered the advantage they had gained on the second day to lose seven wickets for 43 in a collapse on the third. Daren Ganga reached a century but his dismissal triggered a slide as only one of No. 6 to 10 reached double-figures. T&T had been in an excellent position of securing a first-innings lead, but they ended up conceding one as Andrew Richardson, Brendan Nash and David Bernard chipped in with wickets. Having gained a lead of 77, Jamaica set about extending it, reaching 116 for 3 at stumps with Nash unbeaten on 33.

Scorecard
A devastating spell of bowling from Glen Chapple and Gary Keedy helped Lancashire to an innings-and-55-run victory over Sussex in their County Championship match at Liverpool. The majority of the final morning’s play was wiped out due to wet weather and that gave the visitors plenty of hope in their bid to save the game.When played resumed at 1.10pm at total of 24 overs had been lost. Sussex were 151 for 3 after 47 overs and still faced a deficit of 78 runs. But Murray Goodwin’s men slipped to 174 all out in double quick time thanks to four wickets for Chapple and three for left-arm spinner Keedy.At their worst, Sussex lost six wickets for 12 runs in 35 balls to fall from 152 for 3 to 164 for 9. In victory, Lancashire collected 22 points from the game. Keedy finished with innings figures of 5 for 41 from 26 overs and Chapple 4 for 49 from 19.5.The rain may have provided the Lancashire duo with a little more assistance from the pitch but Sussex’s batsmen did not do themselves any favours at all with their kamikaze approach. Chapple struck with the eighth ball of the day when he had Joe Gatting caught behind by Gareth Cross for 28 before Ben Brown left a ball from the Lancashire skipper which cannoned into his off stump.Goodwin was then caught by Paul Horton at first slip to give Keedy his third wicket of the innings to leave the score at 154 for 6 in the 52nd over. With the Zimbabwean’s departure went Sussex’s last realistic hope of salvaging a draw, although Lancashire would not have dreamt that an opening-round win could come as quickly as it did.Rana Naved-ul-Hasan crashed Keedy down the ground for six with his second ball at the crease but could only divert the same bowler into the hands of Steven Croft at silly mid-off shortly afterwards. Naved Arif was just as expansive as his team-mate and fell the very next ball -bowled when trying to crash the ball through the off side.James Anyon was the ninth Sussex wicket to fall – and the third with the score on 164 – when he was well caught by a diving Tom Smith at second slip off the bowling of Chapple. The match was concluded when Chapple trapped Monty Panesar lbw for 4 with the last ball of the 63rd over.Sussex closed with little cheer and just three points from the fixture.

ScorecardIf tradition and resources had any bearing on performance then Middlesex v Surrey would be a marquee match. The city slickers with Test grounds and, until recently in Surrey’s case, big wallets, should be lording it over the shire sides. As it is, these teams finished at the foot of Division Two last season and have not met in the top flight since 2005.With patience, not to mention cash, dwindling, this season had to mark an improvement and after hundreds for Neil Dexter and John Simpson in a mammoth 254-stand that hoisted Middlesex from 88 for 4, it’s they who look best placed to make a promotion tilt this season. The pair negotiated the Tiflex swing early on before cashing in under the evening sun to close the day 368 for 5.It was a triumph for Dexter who took over the captaincy when Shaun Udal resigned mid-season last year. Though Middlesex have won their opening games their jittery batting hasn’t inspired confidence and they needed him to haul them out of trouble again. Yasir Arafat had broken his season’s duck in his third match by taking three wickets in his opening spell and with Gareth Batty making it four before lunch gloomy Middlesex fans were fearing the worst.Dexter though was untroubled from the start and absorbed the pressure while Simpson took 23 balls to get off the mark. Once the shackles broke the runs came at a canter with 134 added between lunch and tea and another 142 in the final session.Dexter lifted Batty into the pavilion to bring up his fifty and twice swatted Rory Hamilton-Brown’s gentle spin to the midwicket, one of which carried for six. With the swing long-since departed proceedings in the evening session looked very easier for Middlesex pair and Dexter reached his century by driving sweetly back past Jade Dernbach. The next ball he was dropped at slip by Hamilton-Brown. That was the only chance he offered until he fell late in the day and celebrated the reprieve by punching the next delivery wide of mid-off.Simpson was less expansive but equally solid and reached his own hundred in the 81st over, nudging Tim Linley to fine leg. He is in the side ahead of Ben Scott for his batting and looks far happier down the order having been made to bat in the top three last season.By the latter stages Surrey were toothless. The second new ball came and went to the boundary. Though they had Chris Jordan back for the time since 2009 they missed the injured Stuart Meaker, who has been their best bowler so far this season.Jordan was understandably rusty early on but produced his best spell just before the close and was rewarded with Dexter’s wicket with the Middlesex captain spooning a catch to mid-off for 145, a run shy of his highest first-class score.It was Jordan’s senior partner, Dernbach, who the England selector James Whitaker will have been watching most keenly though. Despite his muscular pace, however, he bowled too short and never really threatened. Chris Tremlett would have been useful, but part of his reward for nudging Steven Finn out of the England side is that he gets to enjoy an extended rest. Finn, on the other hand, will be in action during the second day.

Match Facts

May 12-16, Providence, Guyana
Start time 1000 (1400 GMT)
Misbah-ul-Haq’s tenure as captain has been controversy-free, and he’ll be aiming to achieve what no Pakistan captain before him has done in the West Indies•Associated Press

The Big Picture

We’ve been starved of Test cricket for nearly four months now. Ever since Pakistan drew in Wellington, to win the series against New Zealand, there’s been a glut of limited-over matches – the World Cup, Australia in Bangladesh, the IPL and Pakistan in the West Indies. Re-adjusting attention spans to the pace of five-day cricket might take a while, for both players and us. It is in Guyana, at the other end of the cricket universe from where they last played, that Pakistan resume the Test calendar, in pursuit of a success they’ve never achieved before.Pakistan have never won a Test series in the West Indies. They’ve beaten them at home and at neutral venues (UAE in 2001-02), but in six trips to the Caribbean, Pakistan have lost four series and drawn two. The most memorable of those battles was in 1987-88, when Imran Khan’s team held its own against the champion side Viv Richards inherited from Clive Lloyd in three monumental Tests. One-all it finished. The last two were thrillers. Unfortunately, Pakistan and West Indies have regressed since that watershed tour, and it would be fanciful to expect Misbah-ul-Haq and Darren Sammy’s teams to produce entertainment of comparable quality.Whether Pakistan or West Indies are in greater disorder could make for protracted debate. About ten months ago, it would have been Pakistan. Their captain (Shahid Afridi) jumped ship and retired from Tests, while his successor (Salman Butt) and their two best fast bowlers (Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer) were embroiled in a spot-fixing scandal and then banned by the ICC. From the cold the selectors recalled Misbah and then made him captain. His chalice, however, hasn’t been poisoned and Pakistan have been uncontroversial under his leadership. They also drew against South Africa and won in New Zealand. Pakistan, incredibly, appear well settled.It is West Indies who appear to be in turmoil. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard turned down board contracts, preferring to remain unshackled to pursue lucrative assignments. And ever since West Indies were eliminated from the World Cup, by Pakistan, there’s been a slanging match between the WICB on one side, and the WIPA and several players on the other, over how cricket is run in the region and how cricketers are treated by administrators. The upshot of the series of events is that West Indies will play the Test series against Pakistan without Gayle and Bravo, two players who would have walked into the starting XIs. Also missing is fast bowler Jerome Taylor, who’s playing in the IPL.West Indies have won only three series since Sri Lanka visited in 2003. Two of those were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Their only success against a top side was the 1-0 result against England in 2009, a victory that was due to a searing spell from the now-absent Taylor.

Form guide

(most recent first)
West Indies: DDDLD
Pakistan: DWDDL

Watch out for…

Two local lads, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devendra Bishoo. Chanderpaul was dropped from the ODI series against Pakistan, exchanged lengthy letters with the WICB, and is now back for the Tests. He had made unflattering claims about how the team management kept telling him how to bat, even during his innings, and then subjected him to an interrogation afterwards. He’s going to be playing in the same set up, so watch out for men with drinks running frequently to the middle while Chanderpaul is batting. His performances, however, will be critical in an inexperienced batting order.While Chanderpaul has played 129 Tests, Bishoo is yet to play one, and will most certainly make his debut at Providence. He was a refreshing revelation during the World Cup and his legbreaks and googlies were the only thing that brought West Indies wickets (apart from a run-out) in the first two ODIs against Pakistan. He will be the solitary spinner in the XI, so is shouldering a large responsibility for someone so raw.There have been questions over Darren Sammy’s place in the limited-overs team – he’s the third seam-bowling allrounder along with Bravo and Pollard – and whether he would win a spot by merit if he wasn’t captain. Bravo is playing the IPL, so Sammy is the only allrounder in the Test squad, but he will be under pressure to show he belongs in a format that demands greater skills than the shorter versions do. At present, Sammy averages 16.72 with the bat and 31 with the ball, which isn’t really good enough.Azhar Ali is an extremely different batsman compared to Umar Akmal, who has been Pakistan’s next big thing for a while now, but no less valuable in this series. While Akmal oozes aggression and indiscretion, Ali is patient. He’s made six half-centuries in 19 innings and is searching for his maiden hundred. In the absence of Younis Khan, Ali’s responsibility will be to provide stability in the middle order.

Team news

The absence of Gayle will give Lendl Simmons his first shot at Tests since May 2009 at the top of the order. The question, however, is whether West Indies will play six specialist batsman or four specialist bowlers. If they play six batsmen, with Carlton Baugh as wicketkeeper, then Sammy will have to be the fourth bowler, which leaves their attack light. If they play all three quicks – Roach, Rampaul and Edwards – and Bishoo, at the expense of a specialist batsman, then Baugh will have to bat at No. 6, which is a spot too high for him. A stronger bowling side will give them a better chance of winning the Test though.West Indies (probable): 1 Devon Smith, 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Brendan Nash, 6 Carlton Baugh (wk), 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Ravi Rampaul, 9 Fidel Edwards, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Devendra Bishoo.Pakistan’s line-up is more balanced than West Indies’ but they have to make up for the absence of Younis, who flew home because of the death of his brother. It gives Akmal another shot at securing a Test spot, after his tendency to self-destruct cost him his middle-order berth.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Mohammad Salman (wk), 8 Tanvir Ahmed, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Saeed Ajmal.

Pitch and conditions

The Providence Stadium in Guyana has hosted just one Test before this, between West Indies and Sri Lanka in 2008. It finished in a win for the visitors after they batted first. In conditions that have traditionally aided spin, West Indies have gone in with a pace-heavy squad for the first Test, hinting there might be something extra for the seamers. The weather’s a bit of a worry, with scattered thunderstorms forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Since 2007, West Indies have averaged 32 per wicket while batting at home, and taken wickets at 42 apiece while bowling. Pakistan have averaged 27 with the bat in away Tests and 35 with the ball.
• Chanderpaul has scored 2327 runs – the most of West Indies since 2007 – at an average of 68. Misbah has been Pakistan’s best, scoring 1339 at an average of 54.
• Umar Gul is Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker since 2007, with 64 at an average of 37. Edwards is West Indies’ best, with 59 wickets at an average of 34.

Quotes

“I have confidence in Shivnarine Chanderpaul. He has been around cricket for a long time, he has been a professional, and I think he’s gonna go back in there and he’s gonna play the game how he’s supposed to play it.”

Bangladesh have announced that Stuart Law will be their next coach, succeeding Jamie Siddons, whose contract wasn’t renewed after the World Cup. Law, currently Sri Lanka’s interim coach, will quit that position after the five-match ODI series against England and will join the Bangladesh team in mid-July in Dhaka, prior to their tour of Zimbabwe.”Stuart Law was far ahead on our shortlist for a new coach. He has been appointed the head coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team for two years starting from July 1,” Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman Jalal Yunus told . “It’s not only his experience as a coach – his strong leadership abilities were a factor in our decision to make him head coach.”Law – whose appointment was announced at a press conference in Dhaka on Monday – had served as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach under Trevor Bayliss since 2009 and took charge of the team on a temporary basis, specifically for the tour of England, after Bayliss stepped down post the 2011 World Cup.”I only need to put pen to paper. I have finalised it so the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) can tell you,” Law told Dhaka-based daily . “I asked SLC if they would want me to continue after November but they couldn’t confirm anything so I told them that I won’t continue after the UK tour. The most important thing for me is job security.”Yunus confirmed that Law would take up the Bangladesh job after Sri Lanka’s England tour ended. “After that it will take a couple of weeks to complete the formalities before he joins the Bangladesh team in mid-July,” he said.Earlier during the Test leg of the England tour, Law had expressed his keenness to take over the Sri Lankan job on a full-time basis. “At this stage it’s a wonderful opportunity to work with one of the best teams in the world so, yes, I am keen,” he had said. “I’ve got this tour to show what I’m capable of.”However, the uncertainty about his future with Sri Lanka meant that the Bangladesh offer became one he could not refuse. “He told us after the Twenty20 game in Bristol that he was going to Bangladesh,” said Thilina Kandamby, Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain. “We enjoyed working with him, especially here in England because he played a lot of cricket in this country and gave us good advice.”One of Marvan Atapattu (batting coach), Ruwan Kalpage (fielding coach) and Champaka Ramanayake (bowling coach) was expected to take over from Law on a temporary basis.