Third Test preview: West Indies v Pakistan

After the West Indies remarkable fightback to win the second Test of the series both sides have it all to play for in the series decider set to get underway on May 10 in Dominica.

Windsor Park will host only the fifth Test in its history and will be the stage on which the West Indies will seek to prove that their win in Barbados was no fluke.

For Pakistan the last result was down to yet another final day collapse and would have brought back the ghosts of their spectacular implosion at the MCG against Australia.

Much of the second Test was a dour affair with scoring rates hovering between 2 and 3 runs per over and both sides will be looking for improvements in all areas of the game in particular the fielding.

For the hosts Shannon Gabriel personified the West Indies recovery as he had a shocking start to the Test bowling 6 no-balls in a day before recovering to put in a match winning performance claiming 5/11 in the second innings.

Another big plus from the second Test would have to be Shai Hope finally making good on his promise as a Test batsman registering his first fifty and falling narrowly short of a maiden ton for the Windies.

The West Indies batting still looks suspect and reliant on lower-order heroics from Roston Chase whose second Test century kept the West Indies in the game, but the same can be said for Pakistan who sport some world class batting talents in Babar Azam and veterans Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq but need to find a way to prevent batting collapses.

Pakistan’s bowlers have proven difficult for the West Indies to handle but it will be intriguing to see if leg-spinner Shadab Khan gets another run after an underwhelming Test debut.

This will be the big farewell for two legends of the game in Misbah and Younis and while that will motivate Pakistan to achieve their first series win in the Caribbean, the West Indies will not want to role over as they have a chance to claim their first series win over an established nation since 2005 with their last two series victories coming against Bangladesh.

Key Players

Hope has proven that he can translate his undoubted talent into performance in the longest format and the West Indies will want him to stand up and lead the young middle order.

Gabriel is a traditional Windies quick who conjures up images of the glory years but he needs to reign in his no-ball problem and become a consistent match-winner.

Misbah and Younis will both be playing their final Test and will surely be determined to drag Pakistan to victory at any cost.

Mohammad Amir has been getting back to his best in this series and if his progress continues the West Indies could be in for a Testing time in Dominica.

Squads

West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Vishaul Singh.

Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (w), Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.

Last five head-to-head results

2017 Second Test: West Indies won by 106 runs in Bridgetown
2017 First Test: Pakistan won by 7 wickets at Sabina Park
2016 Third Test: West Indies won by 5 wickets in Sharjah
2016 Second Test: Pakistan won by 133 runs in Abu Dhabi
2016 First Test: Pakistan won by 56 runs in Dubai

Details

May 10-14

Morning session: 10:00-12:00 (14:00-16:00 GMT)
Afternoon session: 12:40-14:40 (15:40-18:40)
Evening session: 15:00-17:00 (19:00-21:00)

Umpires: Bruce Oxenford, Richard Illingworth
TV Umpire: Richard Kettleborough
Match Referee: Chris Broad