All the Pakistan bashing would make you think that the WI have no right to win anything. I would repeat something that I said after India beat the WI in WI last year. WI in tests at home have not been as much of a pushover as you would think. If I`m not wrong, NZ, Eng, Pak and SL have all been unable to beat them on their last tours to WI. England have had two 1-1 draws in the Carribean since 2005. Pakistan are yet to beat them in tests in the Carribean. SL and NZ too lost test matches on their previous tours to the WI. Its only India, SA and Australia who have been unbeatable for the WI test side. Also, they did beat Pakistan in the UAE, something most teams have struggled with. For all those on 'Game On Hai' who think that its a foregone conclusion to beat the WI side (just because they are weaker than the sides of the golden era), Pakistan have not beaten them in Carribean since the post Walsh-Ambrose era. Its not something that only the current side has struggled with. Even Inzy and Yousuf-led Pakistan sides which were much stronger did not manage a series win there.
Now, coming to the current WI side, they have shown a lot of discipline in test cricket. India won the tests in the WI 2-0 but the WI bowling were disciplined and did not give it away easily. They could`ve easily won the tests in the UAE 2-1, if Bravo had batted for half an hour more in the D/N test. The WI bowling looks to be in decent hands. Gabriel and Joseph both have the goods. They need one of Roach, Taylor, Cummins to step up and that would make them serious competition in tests. Bishoo is just okay for a test bowler and Chase is decent enough to do a holding job. Coming to the batting, its not too bad either. Most of them seem to have test match temperament and the lower middle order in Chase, Dowrich and Holder is solid. Darren Bravo/Blackwood could find their way into this side as well.
Compare that to the Pakistan side of today and would you still call this an upset? Just because Pakistan has had good pace attacks in the past does'nt automatically make them a better bowling side now. Aamir is not looking the part in tests and Abbas is a honest trier. Wahab is overrated. Pakistan side, supporters and the cricket pundits must finally wake up and smell the coffee. You do not have the same pace attack anymore. For instance, look at how India bowled in the WI on similarly dead pitches. Umesh Yadav, Shami and Bhuvi were all lethal on these very tracks. So the excuse of slow pitches must not hold. The fact of the matter is that sides like India, NZ and even the WI have better pace attacks than Pakistan, at the moment. Yet, the Pakistani cricketing pundits at Game On Hai keep referring back to the 90s and still believe that just because they are Pakistani, they must be better pace bowlers by default. I`m not even getting started on the batting which will also be without the services of their two most prolific test batsmen. Where are the strokeplayers? You cannot just hang in there and expect to win test matches, especially when your bowling is no longer the same. The harsh fact is that Pakistan is only in this series because of Yasir Shah. If not for him, they would be in for a pounding, even at the hands of this WI side.
Before you guys dismiss this as something coming from an India supporter, I`ve watched a lot of Pakistan cricket (close to 20+ years) and the lack of quality has never struck me. The first step towards improving is to acknowledge that you are not good enough. I saw Game on Hai today and the doc was furious that Pakistan lost to a 'nikammi' side and Md.Wasim said that the Pakistan are a far superior side to the WI and only lost because their support staff did not plan enough. However, the fact is that do Pakistan actually have a more talented test side than the WI, at the moment?
The only way to beat India is to bowl them out for less than 50.. Anything more will be too tough for this batting squad. I will be more than satisfied wjth this team if we can atleast beat India.
