Batting the key as Windies square off with Pakistan

Fri, Apr 21, '17

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Not for the first time, West Indies’ unpredictable and error-prone batting will attract all the attention when the Caribbean side face Pakistan in the opening Test of the three-match series at Sabina
In search of their first series win over their opponents in 17 years, West Indies have placed the burden on an inexperienced batting line-up with Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood and Kieran Powell, the only three to have played more than 20 Tests.
Even then, the trio have played just 77 Tests among them and scored a mere nine hundreds, further underlining the tenuous nature of the batting line-up and captain Jason Holder was quick to emphasise the importance of the batsmen stepping up during the series.
Pointing to the side’s batting effort in their last Test when they beat the Pakistanis in Sharjah last November, Holder said West Indies needed to consistently hit those standards.
“We finished off the year last year quite well. We won that game in Sharjah – we batted well and we also got 20 wickets,” he told reporters here yesterday.
“In the past, we’ve been able to get 20 wickets but we haven’t been able to consistently put runs on the board. That’s obviously one area we need to pay attention to.