“It’s a new series, a new opportunity,” West Indies Test coach Andre Coley’s words for the forthcoming two-match series in Pakistan.
“We’ve been able to keep ourselves in Test matches on the back of our bowling,” Coley said ahead of the Test series in Pakistan.
During 2021, in Kingston, last series was played between both teams, Pakistan and West Indies played which was drawn 1-1, but after November 1990, West Indies have not won a Test match in Pakistan.
It’s a valid point that after that game, there were only seven matches played between them. And also after the 1990 draw series, West Indies played their best in Multan, in November 2006.
The series is a part of the World Test Championship cycle, but also it is not that much valuable for any team in terms of context. Australia and South Africa have qualified for the final, while Pakistan and West Indies are on the eighth and ninth positions respectively, on the nine-team table.
It’s also an opportunity for Coley to resign before Daren Sammy takes his place.
“Once you play a series or a match there’s an opportunity in itself,” Coley stated at a press interaction on Tuesday. “It’s not about us creating history, it’s about using the learnings from 2024 and that consistency that was inserted for the last 12 months, being more set around the brand of cricket we want to play.”
“Different people in the squad who would have missed out on opportunities before can use this as an opportunity to do better and do it in conditions that could be different in some instances.”
“When you talk about Test cricket, it’s not only the opposition’s skill that provides tests, but the different conditions, different environments, and different game situations provide those tests. And that’s why you want to play at this level and in this format, to test yourself over four-five days. The game could change so rapidly.”
Last year, the impressive eight-run win against Australia in Brisbane in January was the best win by West Indies in Test cricket, but unfortunately it was only one of two wins collectively in the entire WTC cycle. And Coley pointed to the lack of performance by the batters and bowlers.
“Obviously, Jayden [Seales] is back to full fitness, Shamar Joseph making his debut in 2024, Alzarri Joseph… Kemar Roach has been a standout in terms of his leadership, on and off the field, with his skill and mentorship. [Gudakesh] Motie and [Jomel] Warrican have been consistent when given an opportunity,” Coley explained.
“The standout has been that we’ve been able to keep ourselves in Test matches on the back of our bowling, and what the young bowlers have done. It’s time, going forward in 2025, that the batsmen now, having been given certain opportunities to test their skills, to learn and translate those into performances.”
The first Test between Pakistan and West Indies will take place in Karachi, from 16th January, and Multan will host the second Test match from 24th January. Also West Indies will play a three-day tour game in Islamabad from 10th January.
