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West Indies v Pakistan | 1st ODI | Guyana | April 7th, 2017 | Pre-Match Thread

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Pakistan’s fielding coach Steve Rixon is confident that his team will combat any possible change in conditions at the National Stadium, Providence when they face the West Indies in a three-match One-Day International Series beginning on Friday.

Since cricket began playing at the facility in March 2007, the he pitch was the topic of much criticism for being too slow and low. However, four of the six pitches located on the square of the cricket field were re-laid and the curators have voiced that it will offer much pace and bounce.

If this comes to fruition, it will be a vast change from what the team experienced during the 2013 tour, where both sides’ spinners wreaked havoc in the two matches.

“To us whether it bounces or is slow, it is not going to make much difference; we cater for both, we played against both and very well, we don’t have any problems whether it is turning or has little bounce in the wicket so bring it on whichever way,” the Australian confidently stated.

When the two sides played last year in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan steamrolled the West Indies 3-0 and so far on this tour, they have the more confident team geared to win any series.

For the continued success over the Caribbean side, the coach felt that his side have just handled conditions better. “We played our conditions very well, the guys have played well and the conditions served up here we have enjoyed and we played quite well; the one day cricket too won’t be any different and to win after the UAE was not quite a surprise, it was certainly a learning curve for the West Indies boys and they will come back stronger,” Rixon contended.

While the management is confident, the series holds key in their qualification for the 2019 World Cup where they are precariously ranked at eighth place on 89 rating points just five ahead of West Indies.

Pakistan have already lost 1-4 this year in an away series to Australia and will be looking to bounce back under new captain Sarfraz Ahmed who will be using the series as preparation for September’s Champions Trophy in England.

“It has been a major concern for us since the start of our tour and our major focus is on the one-day game; it is something we have not played well over the years and it is something we are looking at heading into the champions trophy,” the fielding coach explained.

He added, “We have set our targets on this one day series for the moment, we were 9th when we first started so we got ourselves in a better position, we have to continue to play well and get ourselves ready for the championship trophy.”

Meanwhile, West Indies have stated that they will have an aggressive approach to leg-spinner Shadab Khan who has troubled them in the T20 series.

In response, Rixon urged the home side to bring it on, adding that “they [West Indies] have got some fine batsmen, we saw that with [Evin] Lewis the other day, allot of the guys have been improving over the years; it is exciting time for West indies cricket, so I would like to think if they continue playing the cricket that Caribbean produces it will be the right way to go.”

Pakistan Squad reads: Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Asif Zakir, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain & wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Fahim Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Asghar.

http://guyanatimesgy.com/pakistan-unfazed-about-possible-change-in-conditions-at-providence/
 
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Captain <a href="https://twitter.com/SarfarazA_54">@SarfarazA_54</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258">@babarazam258</a> during a slip practice session <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIvPAK?src=hash">#WIvPAK</a> <a href="https://t.co/oJAFN6pBoi">pic.twitter.com/oJAFN6pBoi</a></p>— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/849734943106359297">April 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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weather forecast okay for afternoon so we probably will get a result
 
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Captain <a href="https://twitter.com/SarfarazA_54">@SarfarazA_54</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258">@babarazam258</a> during a slip practice session <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIvPAK?src=hash">#WIvPAK</a> <a href="https://t.co/oJAFN6pBoi">pic.twitter.com/oJAFN6pBoi</a></p>— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/849734943106359297">April 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Sarfraz talking English :91:
 
Our fielding drills need to be more intense. I'll never forget the sight of Inti when he was coach during 09 T20 WC simply whacking balls into the air for fielders to catch like your dad with the kids in the local park on a Sunday morning.
 
I hope we bowl first so that our spinners would clean them up quickly and chase down the target, light rain is likely
 
Our fielding drills need to be more intense. I'll never forget the sight of Inti when he was coach during 09 T20 WC simply whacking balls into the air for fielders to catch like your dad with the kids in the local park on a Sunday morning.

An yet we won the cup..
 
West Indies and Pakistan are temperamentally so similar that when they are in their element, they almost guarantee a thriller. The genesis of the rivalry goes a long way back, and the nuances were on show during the recently concluded Twenty20 International series. There were many twists and turns through the four matches before Pakistan took the series 3-1. In fact, the last time the two teams played a One-Day International series in the West Indies in 2013, there were many close games including a tied encounter.

Another chapter will be added to the rivalry during the three-match ODI series, which kicks off at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday (April 7).

Considering that West Indies has not beaten anyone in a bilateral series outside of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ireland since winning against New Zealand at home in July 2012, Pakistan could be tagged as favourite. While both teams would be aiming to win the series to consolidate their positions on the International Cricket Council’s ranking table in their bid to qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, there is a lot more at stake.

This will be Sarfraz Ahmed’s first series since his appointment as Pakistan’s full-time ODI captain. He has been very particular about the brand of cricket Pakistan should play under him. With him set to become the captain in all three formats once Misbah-ul-Haq retires from international cricket after the three Tests that will follow this series, these three ODIs are yet another chance for Sarfraz to send across his message.

One of the keys to Pakistan’s T20I series win was its fearlessness on the field. Sarfraz was not afraid to give Shadab Khan the ball at crucial junctures. The teenaged leg-spinner responded with ten wickets at a strike-rate of 9.5 and an economy of 4.73. In a low-scoring series, it proved decisive. Equally influential was Hasan Ali, who returned figures of 4-2-12-2 with his pace bowling in the final game of the series.

Both Shadab, who broke into the Test squad and could pair up with Yasir Shah very soon, and Hasan would be eager to continue their form. Their immediate knowledge of the local conditions will allow Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan to settle down quickly.

There will also be plenty of attention on Kamran Akmal, who is returning to the ODI fold after almost four years. He has had a terrific domestic season in white-ball cricket, and showed his experience in the third T20I where he made 48 off 37 balls before being caught off a full toss. If Akmal, who has played 154 ODIs, clicks in the upcoming series, it will go a long way in helping Pakistan address its top-order concerns.


Like Shadab and Hasan, Chadwick Walton was another player to impress in the T20Is. His 80 runs in the series earned him selection for the first two ODIs as West Indies’ reserve wicketkeeper, behind Shai Hope.

West Indies, though, will be without Carlos Braithwaite. Stuart Law, the coach, said Brathwaite had been asked to work on his bowling and fitness, and that playing for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League would help him develop him as a cricketer.

“I thought the opportunity was there for Carlos to go away and work on a few aspects of his game, namely his fitness and bowling, and getting back to bowling how he wants to bowl,” Law had said recently. “That’s why he has been left out, and it’s just coincided that the IPL is there and we have no cricket after this series and he has not been a part of the last Test series.

“So, the selectors gave him the option of going to the IPL as well, which I think is a good thing,” he added. “(He will) get to talk to guys like Rahul Dravid, learn how to play spin, get plenty of practice, and work on his fitness and bowling.”

The last time Pakistan won a bilateral ODI series outside Asia, barring in Zimbabwe and Ireland, was way back in November 2013 when it prevailed in South Africa. Misbah was the captain, and Sarfraz was not even a part of the squad.

So much has changed in Pakistan cricket since then, and it would want to change it further with a winning start to Sarfraz’s ODI captaincy career.

Teams (from):
West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jonathan Carter, Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Kieran Powell, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), Ahmed Shehzad, Asif Zakir, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz.

Source: https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/364194
 
The team is going to be:

1 Shehzad.
2 Kamran.
3 Babar.
4 Hafeez.
5 Malik.
6 Sarfaraz.
7 Shadab.
8 Imad.
9 Amir.
10 Wahab.
11 Hassan.
 
Average 1st inns total at Providence Stadium is 220.

Teams batting first tend to win as chasing not easy on this surface so toss is vital.
 
Anyone have any idea whether the rain has stayed away from guyana?
 

Let's see what improvement we see today. His old ball skills, reverse swing and yorkers are even bigger worry, he did not talk about them, not to mention pace has to be up by 5 clicks(145+ avg)... He is key for rise of Pakistani ODI and Test team. I hope pairing of Amir and Hasan works out good for us, looking forward to how that pair will evolve in this ODI and test series, lot is riding on that pair...
 
Let's see what improvement we see today. His old ball skills, reverse swing and yorkers are even bigger worry, he did not talk about them, not to mention pace has to be up by 5 clicks(145+ avg)... He is key for rise of Pakistani ODI and Test team. I hope pairing of Amir and Hasan works out good for us, looking forward to how that pair will evolve in this ODI and test series, lot is riding on that pair...

I think this is a very important year in Amir's career, with 3 fast bowlers dropped from the test team and people criticising Amir as well, the sword is hanging over Amir's head. If he doesn't perform well this year, I fear he might get dropped next year.
 
Let's see what improvement we see today. His old ball skills, reverse swing and yorkers are even bigger worry, he did not talk about them, not to mention pace has to be up by 5 clicks(145+ avg)... He is key for rise of Pakistani ODI and Test team. I hope pairing of Amir and Hasan works out good for us, looking forward to how that pair will evolve in this ODI and test series, lot is riding on that pair...

[MENTION=5869]yasir[/MENTION] Bhai I think Hassan will be a fantastic pair to Aamir. Very skilled bowler
 
I think this is a very important year in Amir's career, with 3 fast bowlers dropped from the test team and people criticising Amir as well, the sword is hanging over Amir's head. If he doesn't perform well this year, I fear he might get dropped next year.

Who are you going to replace him with?

Sohail Khan????? The guy can't bowl more than four overs


Muhammad Irfan Jr.???? Right handed Sohail Tanvir


who else?


It is easy to say drop this guy drop that guy when the quality in domestics is far worse than the player in question
 
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