BRATHWAITE...once we can be disciplined and obviously put partnerships on the board, anything is possible.
With Shamar Joseph, Kavem Hodge and Justin Greaves all set to make their Test debuts, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite stressed the importance of discipline to his young charges, as the Caribbean side heads into a tough two-match series against Test world champions Australia in Adelaide.
Having travelled with seven uncapped players in their 15-man squad, it was always expected that West Indies would field at least three debutants in the series, which forms part of the ICC Test Championships, and with Joseph, Hodge and Greaves all showing their worth in the drawn three-day warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI, it comes as no surprise that they secured spots in the starting team.
In fact, only five members of the current squad -Brathwaite, Joshua Da Silva, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Tagenarine Chanderpaul -were a part of the squad that toured Australia last summer, while Chanderpaul (eight), Gudakesh Motie (four), Alick Athanaze (two), and Kirk McKenzie (one) have a mere 15 Tests between them, which underscores the inexperience of the current West Indies outfit.
Still, Brathwaite, who is only 13 Tests away from the 100-mark milestone, is backing his side to prove competitive against the formidable Australians, provided they maintain their discipline for long periods.
The Domincan-born Hodge and Barbadian Greaves will bat at five and six behind Brathwaite and the left-handed trio of Chanderpaul, McKenzie, and Athanaze, while Shamar Joseph will join Roach and vice-captain Alzarri Joseph in a three-pronged pace attack.
"All I want to see from the team is fight. Obviously, we have a lot of guys that are relatively new to Test cricket, and they have got to show their worth to the world. It is understandable that we are the underdogs, but my thing for the guys is show the world what you can do and make West Indians proud," Brathwaite said.
"We're obviously playing against the number one team, but I believe we do have the potential. It all revolves around discipline - how long we can be disciplined for as a bowling unit, because we don't want to go in fours and fives obviously. So, once we can be disciplined and obviously put partnerships on the board, anything is possible. But we've got to work extremely hard, and we have to believe in ourselves," he added.
Brathwaite is well aware that they are faced with a daunting task of trying to secure West Indies first win in Australia in over 27 years, but he is hopeful that the knowledge imparted by Brian Lara at training over the past few days, will serve as inspiration to spur the debutants, in particular, to great heights in Adelaide.
"It's always amazing to have Brian around. He has a good set of runs here at Adelaide, so if he could give some of the guys [an idea of how to score] that would be great. But obviously, his wisdom is always good, his advice. He's been through many situations, especially here in Australia and against Australia. My advice to the guys will always be to tap into him," Brathwaite said.
The opening Test will be live on SportsMax this evening from 7:30E Caribbean (6:30 JA).
West Indies XI: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach
Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Stokes fit to return for second Pakistan Test
England captain Ben Stokes is fit to play in the second Test against Pakistan and returns alongside pace bowler Matthew Potts.
Stokes suffered the hamstring injury in August and has missed the last four Test matches, including England's record-breaking win last week as they beat Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs.
He replaces Chris Woakes in the side for the second Test, with Potts, returning for the first time since the Sri Lanka series in August, replacing Gus Atkinson, who misses out on his first Test since making his debut in July.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have made radical changes to their own line-up, dropping star batter Babar Azam along with pace bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
It has also been confirmed that the second Test, beginning on Tuesday, will be played on the same pitch used for the first in Multan.
England are targeting a victory that would confirm their second consecutive series win in Pakistan, with the hosts looking to end a two-and-a-half-year winless streak at home.
England XI for the second Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
Stokes looking 'great' as England captain prepares for Pakistan return
Ben Stokes is expected to come back into England's side for the second Test against Pakistan, with the all-rounder returning to his peak fitness.
England captain Stokes has been out since the start of August with a hamstring injury but was seen in the nets bowling at full pace ahead of the next Test, which starts on Tuesday in Multan.
Former team-mate and bowling coach James Anderson says Stokes is firing on all cylinders as he prepares to return.
"He looks great. He has worked really hard on his fitness and looking as strong as I've ever seen him," Anderson, England's all-time leading wicket-taker, said to BBC Sport on Sunday.
"He's had a good bowl in the nets and looks good to go."
Anderson acknowledged that managing Stokes' workload could work favourably for England, who will expect spinners Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashar, as well as part-time option Joe Root, to do most of the bowling.
"When we're talking about Ben's workloads and his bowling, it might play into our hands with that, with the spinners potentially playing more of a part," Anderson added.
England did not miss Stokes in the first Test, battling to victory by an innings and 47 runs despite conceding 556 to Pakistan in the first innings last week.
Joe Root's stunning 262, coupled with Harry Brook's remarkable 317, led the fightback before left-armer Leach took 4-30 from just 6.5 overs in Pakistan's final-innings collapse.
Questions remain whether the same pitch will be employed in Multan, where cracks were already showing, instead of a new surface.
"Going off the last game, we did see it go up and down, mainly down, towards the back end," Anderson continued.
"The cracks started opening up. I'm no groundsman, but I don't think you can make cracks go back together that easily, certainly in three days.
"You'd expect it to do something off the cracks and with it being dry and hot again, you'd expect the spinners to play more of a part.
"We don't know what we’re going to get. It could be another pitch, or they have repaired this one really well and it's flat again."
Brandon King and Evin Lewis lead West Indies to comfortable five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in first T20I
Brandon King and Evin Lewis powered the West Indies to a commanding five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening match of their three-match T20 International series in Dambulla on Sunday. The duo's explosive partnership at the top of the order laid the foundation for the West Indies to chase down Sri Lanka’s total of 179 with five balls to spare.
Chasing 180 for victory, King and Lewis put on a blistering 107-run opening stand off just 55 balls, propelling the West Indies to 74 runs in the powerplay and setting the tone for the remainder of the chase. King, who was named Player of the Match and Match MVP, top-scored with a stylish 63, while Lewis smashed a quickfire 50. Their partnership effectively nullified the efforts of Sri Lanka's middle-order batters Kamindu Mendis (51) and Charith Asalanka (59), who had earlier helped the hosts to a competitive total.
Sri Lanka’s bowlers briefly slowed the West Indies' momentum in the middle overs, with Matheesha Pathirana taking 2 for 27. However, the West Indies remained in control throughout, and despite the loss of a few wickets, they had enough firepower in their batting lineup to seal the win. Sherfane Rutherford finished the game in style, hitting a boundary off the first ball of the final over to bring the West Indies home at 180 for 5.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had posted 179 for 7, thanks to the 82-run partnership between Asalanka and Mendis. The West Indies bowlers did well to keep Sri Lanka in check, with Romario Shepherd picking up 2 for 39 and Shamar Joseph being the most economical, conceding just 27 runs from his four overs.
West Indies will take confidence from this victory as they head into the second match of the series, with Brandon King and Evin Lewis’ dominant opening partnership proving to be the key in their comfortable win.
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