All roads lead to the Providence National Stadium today as the West Indies takes on Bangladesh in the first of three One Day Internationals (ODI).
The hosts, West Indies, have already won the Test and T20I series and will be eager to begin the ODI series with a win.
Although there will be an eye on the weather, Providence has a reputation of being arguably the fastest drying facility in the region and has lived up to that billing over the last few matches where rain threatened.
For West Indies, local boy, Keemo Paul tested positive for COVID-19 and has been replaced by his countryman, Romario Shepherd.
The Berbice-born all-rounder ended as the leading bowler in the T20Is with six wickets and a best of 3-21.
Shepherd will complement a strong bowling attack which features the likes of
Alzarri Joseph, Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales with all-rounder, Kyle Mayers providing another seam option.
Traditionally, spin has been king at Providence and could result in favour of left-arm spinners, Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie featuring together.
The Windies batting has also been given a jolt of confidence given the form of captain, Nicholas Pooran, who is coming off a career-best T20I innings in his most recent match as well as the exploits of Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks in the format.
Keacy Carty has shown promise in his two innings with scores of 43 not out and 33 so far in his country but would be buzzing to get his first half century or century in ODIs.
However, all eyes will be on the West Indies vice-captain, Shai Hope, who currently averages 51.2 and sits among the top 10 highest career averages in the format. The wicketkeeper/batsman is also the only West Indian in the top 10 ODI batting rankings.
Hope’s average spikes to 94 when playing against Bangladesh, the highest among any teams, after scoring three of his 12 centuries against this opposition. At Providence, he has, however, scored just one-half century in six innings.
If West Indies are to score heavily, they will have to navigate past Bangladesh’s top ranked bowler, Mehidy Hasan who sits eighth in the ODI bowling rankings.
Bangladesh, who are searching for their firsdt win, will be without Shakib Al Hasan and their top-ranked batsman, Mushfiqur Rahim.
They will, however, be boosted by the inclusion of Tamim Iqbal who will also function as captain as they look to mark a series victory after series wins over Afghanistan and South Africa.
Recent history has also been in Bangladesh’s favour with three series’ wins over the hosts in a row including two of their three matches at Providence and their last five matches, four of which came chasing.
Both teams will get the chance to play freely since it does not form part of the ODI Super League. The first ball bowls off at 9.30 hours.
