LAHORE, 11 November 2006 — West Indies captain Brian Lara hopes his team will put up a better show in the longer version of the game and with red ball when they play first Test against Pakistan which begins here at the Gaddafi Stadium today.
The Caribbeans are playing a full series-three Tests and five ODIs-in Pakistan after a gap of nine years. They last played here in 1997 when Pakistan won the Test series, 2-0 and one-day internationals, 3-0.
They won their last away series against Pakistan in 1980, although the two teams played a two-Test and three ODIs series on a neutral venue — in Sharjah(UAE) in 2002 after having refused to play in Pakistan for security reasons. Pakistan won the Test series 2-0.
For the master batsman, with a unique batting record, the first Test in Lahore will be a nostalgic occasion as Lara will be again playing at this ground where he made his Test debut 16 years ago, scoring 44 against a Pakistan team which included such heavyweights as Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Yunus and the legendary leg-spinner Abdul Qadir. It is going to be a memorable series for the West Indies captain, who is now 38, as it might be his last Test series.
Despite his team’s rather disappointing Test record in the last decade or so, Lara is quite optimistic about his team’s chances. With the likes of (Shivnarain) Canderpaul,(Ramnaresh) Sarwan, (Chris) Gayle and (Dwayne) Bravo in the squad and with Pakistan’s pace attack blunted due to absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, he hopes to cash in on Pakistan’s loss.
“Our aim is to put pressure on Pakistan and they can crack under pressure with two of their key bowlers absent,” Lara said yesterday.
Lara, whose side have won just one of their last 14 Tests, warned his team need to be at their best.
“Pakistan has done well recently and it would be great to pull off a series win after so many years, but to do that we will have to be at our best,” said
Lara, who along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the only West Indian to have toured Pakistan before. Both were part of the West Indies last tour in 1997 when Pakistan whitewashed them.
Lara said dashing opener Gayle and Chanderpaul have recovered from stomach bugs which forced them to miss the two-day tour opener which ended here in a draw on Thursday.
The West Indies captain said the Gaddafi Stadium pitch would deteriorate and would be low and slow, which might help the spinners. Pakistan would be heavily depending on Danish Kaneria, the most experienced spinner in both sides, to respond and deliver for his team.
Pitch experts here believe that the strip — brown and devoid of grass- will be dominated by the batsmen. Bowlers, pacemen in particular, may not relish the surface and are likely to struggle against a formidable array of batting ion both sides.
