After the West Indies remarkable fightback to win the second Test of the series both sides have it all to play for in the series decider set to get underway on Wednesday in Dominica.
Windsor Park will host only the fifth Test in its history and will be the stage on which the West Indies will seek to prove that their win last week in Barbados was no fluke.
This Test will be the big farewell for two legends of the game in skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan and while that will motivate Pakistan to achieve their first series win in the Caribbean, the West Indies will not want to roll over as they have a chance to claim their first series win over an established nation since 2005 with their last two series victories coming against Bangladesh.
Pakistan are desperate to put out of the system the diabolical last day at the Kensington Oval when the result was down to yet another familiar collapse and would have brought back the ghosts of their spectacular implosion at the MCG against Australia last December.
Much of the second Test was a dour affair with scoring rates hovering between two and three runs per over and both sides will be looking for improvements in all areas of the game, in particular, the fielding.
For the hosts Shannon Gabriel personified the West Indies recovery as he had a shocking start to the Test bowling six no-balls in a day before recovering to put in a match-winning performance claiming 5-11 in the second innings.
Another big plus from the second Test would have to be Shai Hope finally making good on his promise as a Test batsman registering his first fifty and falling narrowly short of a maiden ton for the West Indies.
Hope has proven that he can translate his undoubted talent into performance in the longest format and the West Indies will want him to stand up and lead the young middle order. Gabriel is a traditional West Indian quick who conjures up images of the glory years but he needs to reign in his no-ball problem and become a consistent match-winner.
The West Indies batting still looks suspect and reliant on lower-order heroics from Roston Chase whose second Test century kept the West Indies in the Barbados fixture, but the same can be said for Pakistan who sport some world class batting talents in Babar Azam, who bagged a ‘pair’ in the Bridgetown Test, and veterans Younis and Misbah but need to find a way to prevent batting collapses.
The Pakistan bowlers have proven difficult for the West Indies to handle but it will be intriguing to see if teenaged leg-spinner Shadab Khan gets another run after an underwhelming Test debut.
Misbah and Younis both will surely be determined to drag Pakistan to victory at any cost. Mohammad Amir has been getting back to his best in this series and if his progress continues the West Indies could be in for a testing time in Dominica.
Teams (from):
WEST INDIES: Kraigg Brathwaite, Kieran Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Vishaul Singh, Shane Dowrich, Jason Holder (captain), Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel, Jermaine Blackwood, Miguel Cummins.
PAKISTAN: Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Shan Masood, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Asghar.
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (England) and Bruce Oxenford (Australia).
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (England).
Match referee: Chris Broad (England).
The stage is well set for the series decider between West Indies and Pakistan and fortunately enough, it’s taking place in Dominica. Pakistan we know is always named is some kind of corruption and Dominica no doubt is the capital of corruption in the world. In fact as we speak we read of a Pakistani cricketer that has been summoned to answer questions relating to corruption. http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/1096866.html . Also, members of the Pakistani team might well be interested in a second passport or maybe a deal to sell passports. But let’s concentrate on cricket because I will be going to the cricket. I know Prime Minister Skerrit, who I refer to as the deal master and closer will be at the cricket along with Emmanuel Nanthan, who is the director of the sale of passports in Dominica. So….
Boy boy we need an international airport no flights