SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Floundering West Indies will hope to arrest their embarrassing slide when they face Pakistan in the do-or-die second One-Day International at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here today.
The Caribbean side have now lost all four games of the series after being whitewashed in the three-match Twenty20 International series and then also being humbled by 111 runs in the opening ODI here last Friday.
And with the series already going horribly wrong, West Indies will be under pressure to secure a win in the day/night contest and prevent yet another series defeat.
Captain Jason Holder said the side had fully adjusted the conditions in the UAE and the focus was now on execution.
“To be fair I felt over here is a little cooler now. Us playing in the late evening into the night, I think it’s a bit cooler,” Holder said.
Veteran right-hander Marlon Samuels top-scored in the opening One-Day International but West Indies are yet to get a big score from their top order.
“I think most of the guys have adjusted now. We’ve been here for quite a bit of time now so it’s just about us going out and executing. I don’t think the conditions right now are coming too much into play in terms of the humidity.”
West Indies’ batting has been at fault in almost every game of the series, going back to the disastrous performances in the T20, and it returned to haunt them again on Friday.
Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, they watched as Pakistan piled up 284 for nine in a game reduced to 49 overs following a 20-minute floodlights failure late in the innings.
In reply, West Indies could only muster 175 all out off 38.4 overs, as their top order batsmen failed to come to grips with the varied Pakistan attack led by left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and speedster Hasan Ali.
Only veteran stroke-maker Marlon Samuels showed any enterprise with a top score of 46 while tail-ender Sunil Narine was the next best with 23.
Speaking following the opening ODI loss, Holder once again reiterated that the Windies poor showings had been as a result of a lack of execution and nothing to do with conditions.
“I felt it was good conditions for cricket. I just don’t think we executed well with the bat and that’s just plain and simple,” the 24-year-old all-rounder said.
Holder has repeatedly called for one of the top order to bat deep into the innings and the onus will lie on Samuels, Darren Bravo or ultra-patient opener Kraigg Brathwaite, to take up this challenge.
Not only is the series at stake but also the West Indies’ ODI international ranking which will determine their place at the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England.
The hosts are already assured of a place in the showpiece with the remaining seven automatic spots to be filled by the top seven teams in the ODI rankings.
At current, West Indies are ranked eighth but are only five points ahead of Pakistan in ninth on 87 ratings points, and defeats in the remaining ODIs will see the Caribbean side’s lead cut to two points.
West Indies will contemplate including 19-year-old fast bowler Alzarri Joseph to add pace to their attack especially since the medium pace of Holder and Carlos Brathwaite, along with the slow medium of Kieron Pollard proved ineffective against the Pakistani batsmen.
The game bowls off at 3 pm (7 am Eastern Caribbean time).
SQUADS:
PAKISTAN – Azhar Ali (captain), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Sohail Khan.
WEST INDIES – Jason Holder (captain), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels.
