Test captain Roston Chase has stated that the West Indies are “very confident” and “exactly where we want to be” ahead of Sunday’s second and final Test match against Pakistan in Port of Spain. Furthermore, Chase aims “to make home our fortress, where we make it very difficult for teams to come to the Caribbean and beat us” after leading the West Indies to two victories in three Test matches in a single month.
The confidence is justified. Pakistan was defeated by 90 runs last week, while Sri Lanka lost the first Test of the series by an innings and 217 runs, while the second Test was tied. Even if the West Indies are not in the contention for a last spot, all of that has resulted in improvements on the WTC table, and another victory in the second Test will propel them beyond England to seventh place.
We sat down with the plan and decided that this is where we want to be after the previous year, in which the West Indies won one and lost eight. We’re precisely where we want to be, as I mentioned. At the Queen’s Park Oval on Friday, Chase told reporters, “We want to level up.”
“We want to simply go through the procedures that we’ve sat down and discussed going into this second test, not taking anything for granted. We want to come and do things as well as we can. And strive for that second triumph.
“We feel quite fortunate and content with the outcomes we’ve been experiencing at home thus far. However, I want to make home our stronghold, where we make it extremely tough for teams to visit the Caribbean and defeat us. Since these are our own circumstances, we are more familiar with them than the opposition.
Therefore, I believe that we want to make the most of home advantage, and we’ve been doing that successfully thus far. As I mentioned earlier, we’re fortunate to have won this second game and to keep up our current level of play.”
The fact that Pakistan has now lost eight consecutive Test matches away from home—in Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, and now the West Indies—gives the West Indies more confidence. The Queen’s Park Oval’s pitch may make spin more significant than it was in Tarouba’s Brian Lara Stadium, which might be problematic. The West Indies’ main spinner is Jomel Warrican, followed by Chase.
However, Chase was unable to bowl in the first Test due to a finger injury.
Regarding the wounded right index finger, Chase stated, “It’s getting better.” “I’m hoping to be prepared to bowl by Sunday. Today, I bowled two overs [in the nets]. It still hurts a little. However, I believe that by Sunday, I should be able to bowl four or five overs on a regular basis.
Pakistan would be pleased if spin does play a role. They used Ali Usman as their only spinner in Tarouba, but they also have Salman Agha and Sajid Khan in the lineup. Joshua Bishop, a left-arm spinner who is uncapped and underutilised, is another option available to the West Indies should they need it.
