Pressure on Windies to win

LONDON: West Indies cricketers can improve their points rating, if not their position, on the International Cricket Council’s Test Championship table by just under a point if they win both Tests in the series against Bangladesh, starting in St Lucia tomorrow. A 2-0 series result will have little impact on their position in the table, but the consequences for West Indies if they lose one of the matches will be particularly severe.

A drawn series would see the Windies slide to 77, putting them 17 points adrift of their nearest rivals Sri Lanka. Bangladesh will be battling to maintain a positive rating. They need at least one drawn match to keep a rating of one point while a drawn series would boost their rating to four points. West Indies’ current rating is the lowest it has been since the new system of calculation was introduced in June last year. Under the old rating system, West Indies were never below seventh in the official table. They are currently eighth. (CMC)