• The Pakistan Project: Read our five-part series on the rise of Pakistan's Test team
Ahead of Thursday's start to the Pakistan v West Indies Test series in the UAE, Paul Radley runs through the items of note surrounding the contests.
The series can be watched on Ten Cricket.
The basics
• Series schedule: First Test, Thursday to Monday, 3.30pm, Dubai; Second Test October 20-October 25, 10am, Abu Dhabi; Third Test October 30-November 3, 10am, Sharjah
• Squads: Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Imran Khan, Mohammed Amir, Mohammed Nawaz, Rahat Ali, Sami Aslam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar
West Indies Jason Holder (c), Kraigg Brathwaite (vc), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican
• History: Played 46; Pakistan wins 16; West Indies wins 15; Draws 15; First Test 1958 — Drawn at Bridgetown; Last Test 2011 — Pakistan won by 196 runs at Basseterre
• Officials: Umpires Richard Illingworth, Paul Reiffel and Michael Gough (TV)
The battles
• Yasir Shah v Darren Bravo: Bravo is the one West Indies batsman on tour so far to have shown the appetite to tackle the challenge of the slow pace of the pitches.
His method is generally watchful, but he is a judicious six-hitter, too. Trying to match the 110-metre effort he managed in the second ODI in Sharjah might be a brave move against Yasir and Pakistan’s spin battery, though.
• Misbah-ul-Haq v Jason Holder: Holder proved in the recent home series against India he can be a glutton for punishment. It took him 336 deliveries to take a wicket.
His powers of perseverance will be a virtue here. Seam bowling is generally not much fun in the UAE, and no one among the opposition is more obdurate than Misbah. The dual between the two captains could be telling — albeit light on frills.
• Babar Azam v Devendra Bishoo: Babar averaged over 100 in the T20 series, and reached three figures three times in the 50 over matches that followed. If anyone could be forgiven for feeling sure of the themselves on Test debut, he can.
Bishoo has been un-scarred by Azam as yet. The legspinner avoided punishment in the limited overs series, by the failsafe method of not playing in it. He also took five wickets, with the pink ball, in the warm-up match.
The plots
• Supporters: Test cricket is apparently about to be saved. Whether a pink ball and some posh floodlights will be enough to finally put backsides on seats at Test venues in the UAE remains to be seen.
Playing the game at more amenable hours for working people makes perfect sense, though. “It can pull the crowds, because people can come from their offices to watch at these times,” Asad Shafiq, the Pakistan batsman, said of the 3.30pm starts.
• The old ball: Literally, look out for it. The leather used for the Kookaburra ball is dyed a less luminous shade of pink, then painted in an iridescent tone to increase its visibility.
So when the initial sheen is knocked off, it stands to reason it might be less easy to see. Given the future of Test cricket is said to depend on day-night matches, there is a lot riding on whether spectators are able to see the ball or not.
• A new star: Younis Khan's injury-enforced absence for the first Test has hastened the promotion of Babar Azam into the Pakistan team. He has been beating down the door by way of his form, with three sparkling centuries against the same opposition in the ODIs.
“We just pray it continues like this for him,” Azhar Ali, the Pakistan opener, said. “He plays so stylishly and comfortably, he is easy on the eye. We wish him all the best.”
• Arthur looking flustered: Even in times of plenty, the course of Pakistan cricket seldom runs smooth. At one point in the T20 series, when West Indies needed more than six per ball to win, Mickey Arthur, the coach, was tearing his hair out because of abject death bowling.
When quizzed about it after, Sarfraz Ahmed, the captain, flashed a smile that suggested: “Maybe Mickey should get used to this sort of thing.” Pakistan might not be tested much in this series, but the nerves of their coaching staff still could be.
pradley@thenational.ae
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