Windies tackle Pakistan in Bajan Test

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS: The beleaguered West Indies received bad news yesterday when an injury to all-rounder Dwayne Bravo put him in doubt for the first Digicel cricket Test against a confident Pakistan which starts today at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Coach Bennett King confirmed Bravo was doubtful after twisting his left ankle in a session after the third one-dayer in St Lucia on Sunday. Bravo hit his maiden Test century this month against South Africa in Antigua and added depth to West Indies, which was  winless in its international home season. West Indies was defeated 2-0 in the four-match test rubber against South Africa, who also swept the one-day series 5-0. Pakistan then won all three of their one-dayers, which ended last weekend.

If Bravo is unfit, it should provide left-arm seamer Ian Bradshaw with his first Test cap at the age of 30. Barbadian Bradshaw has appeared in 30 of the West Indies’ 31 one-day internationals since his debut a year ago against  England. His left-handed batting is good enough to have earned  him a first-class century. He should add levelheaded consistency to a four-pronged fast bowling attack at Kensington Oval. Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards are the quickest, with Corey Collymore and Reon King also   vying for a spot. King admitted his team, ranked eighth in the 10-team test standings, faced difficulties in competing with the higher nations. “We’re at an interesting time of our cricketing development   within the West Indies,” King said.

“Our cricketers are probably the only cricketers that are still amateurs at this stage in world cricket. Nearly all the other countries that are above us are full-time professional cricketers.” “They spend all their time with good resources and facilities practising their cricket. Our cricketers don’t have that luxury, so until we start matching some of those similarities, we’re always going to be a little bit behind the eight-ball, I believe,” King added. West Indies will be buoyed by the presence of world record-holder Brian Lara, who returns after being rested for the one-day series against Pakistan. Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was wary of the influence the 36-year-old can wield. “I’ve seen him get 501, I saw him on television get 400. He’s also got 375. Not a bad player Brian Lara, so if he gets runs, he can make a difference,” Woolmer said.

Woolmer’s side will be led in a test for the first time by Younis Khan, who stands in for regular skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq who was ruled out due to a one-match suspension by the International Cricket Council for excessive appealing in the India series. “This particular side has gelled as a team under a strong captain in Inzamam,” Woolmer said. “They are now led by Younis, who is also a strong individual. There are a lot of strong individuals in the side. They have faith in what they are doing and that’s why I think they are   playing some good cricket at the moment.”

Squads:
West Indies: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Wavell Hinds, Courtney Browne, Ian Bradshaw, Daren Powell, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Reon King and Dwayne Bravo.

Pakistan: Younis Khan (captain), Yasir Hameed, Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Bazid Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Rana Naved, Shabbir Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, Rao Iftikhar, Shahid Nazir, Salman Butt, Arshad Khan. (AP)