Pakistan v West Indies ODI Series ..... A Bit Rusty In The Desert



Starts Wednesday 12th November 11.00 GMT
Abu Dhabi

Weather

2008 has been a year to forget for Pakistani cricket. They seem to have spent more time in the courts settling disputes then on a cricket pitch.

Recent months has seen them lurch from one crisis to the next

Mohammed Asif was banned for use of a banned substance in the IPL. Shoaib Akhtar has had disputes in court with the Pakistan Cricket board and most recently, one of their best players; Mohammed Yousef has defected to the rebel ICL and has been dropped.

There was also a very public and humiliating dumping of the coach Geoff Lawson, replaced now by old Pakistani hero, Intikab Alam.

Pakistan have not played any tests at all in 2008, and not many other games at home because of the security situation there dissuading Australia, New Zealand and South Africa from touring there as had been scheduled.

The only real competitive cricket they have played against top teams has been the Asia cup games in July, and more recently, a Twenty20 tournament in Canada, where they lost in the final to Sri Lanka.

It was against this background that Pakistan agreed to play West Indies in 3 match this series, on a neutral ground in the desert state of Abu Dhabi.

It’s fair to say that they go into this series a bit short of match practice and I expect them to be a bit rusty, especially in the first game.

But it’s not all bad news for them. Unlike their opponents, they have played on this ground before. They beat Sri Lanka 2-1 Last year and drew 1-1 with India in 2006. The last time they met West Indies in a gulf state was in Sharjah in 2002 when they also won 2-1.

So history suggests that Pakistan will feel at home here more then the Windies and this experience could be crucial in this series.

Further good news for Pakistan is the return from injury of one of their premier pace bowlers, Umar Gul.

He, along with the impressive Sohail Tanvir, he of IPL fame with Rajistan Royals, and Akhtar gives Pakistan a formidable pace bowling attack.

Backing them up will be the spinner Fawad Alam and big hitting all rounder Shahid Afridi.

On the batting front, the loss of Yousef will be a blow, however, with Younis Khan, Malik, Butt, Misbah Ul Haq, Akmal and Afridi still around, there is still plenty of firepower.

The West Indies come into this series on the back of the Stanford series of matches, where, playing as Stanford Superstars, some of the team walked away as instant Dollar Millionaires.

Away from the money though, they will have been pleased with the way they performed as a team after spending 6 weeks together in a boot camp to build up for that event.

One of the failures of Windies teams in recent times had been their lack of focus and inconsistent performances. They will now feel that they are on the way to better things and they will be full of confidence going into this series.

On the batting front, Windies boast a very impressive top 4 of Gayle, Marshall, Chanderpaul and Sarwan. Xavier Marshall was a revelation the ODI series against Australia and it will be interesting to see how he goes here.

The problem for Windies though is going to be the inexperienced middle order that follows the illustrious top 4.

Findley, Nash and the wicketkeeper Baugh are not exactly household names and if Windies do not get off to a decent start from the top 4, they could struggle to post, or chase a competitive total.

On the bowling front, the experience Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell is offset by the inexperience of Miller, Roach and the spinner Dave Mohammed.

Of the two teams, I feel Pakistan have by far the best balance, the most experience, especially on this pitch, and the more potent bowling firepower.

I feel that Pakistan, though vulnerable due to that rustiness, are still the most likely team to win at least 2 out of the 3 games to win the series, and so my suggested bet is:

In the Outright Series Win Market:

BACK Pakistan for 4 points @ 1.67 at Skybet.

Bigjoe