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Match facts

May 5, 2009
Start time 16.30 (14.30GMT)Gautam Gambhir has had a tournament to forget so far•Associated Press

Big Picture

Taking on the pre-tournament favourites isn’t an enviable task at the best of times, but when you are propping up the table and are in a must-win situation, it is harder still. Kolkata Knight Riders have that exacting job, when they face the Delhi Daredevils at Kingsmead on Tuesday. They may not have the results to show, but Kolkata have upped their game after the pasting from the Mumbai Indians in Port Elizabeth, and each of their last three matches could have swung either way going into the final two overs.With seven sides involved in an intense scrap for the semi-final places, Delhi will look to get a leg-up in the table after the match against a lagging Kolkata, particularly after the slip-up against Chennai Super Kings. What is pleasing for Delhi is that they are among the top teams despite two of their key players, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, performing well below par. A less-than-threatening Kolkata attack presents a great opportunity for the pair to stamp their influence on the tournament.

Form guide (completed matches, most recent first)

Delhi Daredevils – LWLWW
With Gambhir and Sehwag not quite hitting top gear, the Delhi middle-order has stepped up. AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan have put in match-winning performances, and Dinesh Karthik made a stylish half-century against Chennai. The overseas bowlers have also been on form, Dirk Nannes and Daniel Vettori consigning Glenn McGrath and Farveez Maharoof to the bench.Kolkata Knight Riders – LLLLL
Brendon McCullum’s continuing troubles with the bat are contributing to Kolkata’s sustained poor form but Brad Hodge’s two battling half-centuries are heartening signs for a side which has struggled to post competitive totals.

Watch out for

Brad Hodge has been one of the reasons Kolkata have not been completely outplayed in their last two games. His ability to pace an innings, combining quicksilver running with savage-hitting, has made him a crucial part of a lightweight batting order. His tidy offspinners are an added bonus.Even when AB de Villiers fails with the bat, as he did in the previous game against Chennai, he makes an impact with his safe catching and livewire fielding. After a couple of low scores, he’ll be looking to make amends against Kolkata.

Team news

Delhi are still to take a call on Sehwag’s fitness. If he hasn’t recovered from his finger injury, David Warner will keep his place. Otherwise, Warner will miss out, with Daniel Vettori likely to come back. Legspinner Amit Mishra’s place is likely to be under scrutiny after two ineffective performances.Delhi Daredevils (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag/ David Warner, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Mithun Manhas, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Daniel Vettori/Amit Mishra, 9 Ashish Nehra, 10 Pradeep Sangwan, 11 Dirk Nannes
Struggling Kolkata have the added headache of finding a replacement for the explosive Gayle. With Moises Henriques failing to take his chances, either Sri Lankan allrounder Angelo Mathews or Mashrafe Mortaza could get a game. Ashok Dinda also had a forgettable outing against Punjab, and might be benched.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable) 1 Brendon McCullum (capt), 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Brad Hodge, 4 Wriddhiman Saha, 5 Morne van Wyk (wk), 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Laxmi Ratan Shukla, 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Murali Kartik, 10 Ashok Dinda, 11 Ishant Sharma

Stats and trivia

• Brad Hodge is the only Kolkata batsmen to have made a half-century, and he also has the best bowling average (14.00) in the side.
• Delhi’s batsmen, in contrast, have one hundred and six half-centuries.

Head-to-head

Kolkata won the first match between the two sides last year, in front of a packed Eden Gardens, despite a batting failure after Shoaib Akhtar’s dramatic debut, when he ripped through Delhi’s top order. The return game was washed out without a ball being bowled.

The ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has lauded the progress shown by Afghanistan, whose senior side recently qualified for one-day international status, and whose juniors this week reached the final of the Asian Cricket Council Elite Cup, a precursor to the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers later this year.Afghanistan Under-19s were beaten in the final by Hong Kong, but Lorgat was impressed with what he saw.”It was a good tournament and very impressive to see such young talent on display from all 10 teams taking part,” he said. “We have all been impressed by the Afghanistan team, which progressed from Division 5 of the World Cricket League to coming fifth at the World Cup Qualifiers in less than a year. It is particularly heartening to see the next generation of Afghan cricketers performing so well. By beating defending champion Nepal in the semi-final, I think the players have really come of age and we can expect big things from them in the future.”In the final, before an enthusiastic crowd of 3000, Afghanistan reached 215 for 9 with Asgher Hotak (70) and Murad Ali (68) impressing. In reply, however, Hong Kong romped home with three overs to spare thanks to 94 from James Atkinson.”There was a great atmosphere for the final with so many Afghans in the crowd to support their team,” Lorgat said. “Events like this don’t happen without considerable planning and hard work from so many volunteers. It shows to me the marvellous spirit of cricket when people give up their free time and devote it to the game in this way.”I would like to congratulate Hong Kong on this victory and I wish them and Afghanistan the best of luck in the Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers later this year. If the Under-19s from Afghanistan show the same willingness to learn as their senior counterparts, they will be a very useful side by then.”

United Arab Emirates left-arm spinner Fayyaz Ahmed has been reported during the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2009 for a suspected illegal bowling action, particularly while bowling the doosra. Ahmed, 25, was reported by the umpires after UAE’s five-wicket victory over Canada in Krugersdorp on Wednesday.”[We] are of the opinion that Fayyaz Ahmed, left-arm orthodox bowler, bowls with a suspect action which is accentuated when bowling the doosra,” the umpires wrote in their official report . “We therefore request that the necessary action be instituted to deal with this matter.”Ahmed has been tidy but not threatening with the ball in the tournament so far, taking three wickets at 65.00 apiece in six matches at an impressive economy-rate of 3.75 per over. He will not be barred from bowling but the ICC has written to the Emirates Cricket Board to assess Ahmed’s action, and report back to them on the results and what action has been taken.

The Lions pulled off a tense nine-run win over the Eagles on the fourth day of their match in Johannesburg, their second of the season. The Lions bowled out the Eagles, chasing 190, for 180 an hour before tea. Boeta Dippenaar and CJ de Villiers added 49 for the ninth wicket but fell at the doorstep of victory – with ten to win, Cliffe Deacon and Craig Alexander took a wicket each in the space of four balls. Alexander finished with 4 for 28 in 11.3 overs and was well supported by Friedel de Wet (3 for 54). The second session had been tense, with the Eagles resuming on 124 for 7, with 66 still to get. Garnett Kruger got Charl Pietersen to edge one to the wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, who took his fifth catch. de Villiers raced to 35 off 40 balls before he was trapped lbw by Deacon to leave the Eagles 180 for 9. Then the match reached a crescendo.It had been a low-scoring affair all throughout. The Lions were bowled out for 160 in their first innings, after which the Eagles took a seven-run lead. The Lions made 196, with Vaughn van Jaarsveld’s 88 the only half-century. In the end, the tougher side won a thriller.The Titans and Warriors played out a draw after bad light forced an early close on day four of their game at SuperSport Park. The Warriors were 84 for 3 in their second innings, leading by 101, when poor light intervened a half hour after tea. Earlier Heino Kuhn scored 203, moving from an overnight 182, as the Titans made 531 in their first innings, 17 short of the Warriors’ first innings total of 548 for 6.Kuhn was the second double-centurion of the game after Ashwell Prince hit a record 254. Kuhn’s epic innings spanned 550 minutes and he faced 395 balls while striking 25 fours and two sixes. Other notable contributions to the innings were Jacques Rudolph (53), AB de Villiers (64), and Farhaan Behardien (45). The highlight for the Warriors was Prince, who batted nine hours and 20 minutes for his highest first-class score, which included 28 boundaries and eight sixes. Prince was involved in five partnerships of 50 runs or more, including two century partnerships, with Mark Boucher (127) and with Johan Botha (116). Boucher and Botha both recorded half-centuries, while Prince was out after facing 356 balls when he drove Ethy Mbhalati to Morne Morkel at midwicket.The Dolphins and Cobras also played out a draw on the fourth day in Pietermaritzburg. The Cobras were 300 for 2 in their second innings, a lead of 215, when the captains agreed to call the match off with an hour still remaining. The highlight of the day were centuries from Alistair Gray and Stiaan van Zyl, who put on 200 for the second wicket. Grey fell to the second new ball, edging left-arm seamer Yusuf Abdulla to second slip for 131, his second century of the season. Van Zyl progressed to his second first-class century in 272 minutes off 191 balls with 13 fours and finished unbeaten on 103. Play was delayed during the morning session for just over a half hour because of bad light and the Cobras eventually resumed their second innings on 35 for 0 trailing the Dolphins by 50 runs. Andrew Puttick fell for 25 but Gray and Van Zyl then ensured that the Cobras wiped out the deficit. It was a better display then their first innings, in which only Henry Davids (113) and Ryan Canning (55) got going as Adbulla took five wickets to keep the Cobras to 281. The Dolphins’ innings owed plenty to the opener Imraan Khan, set to make his debut for the South Africa in the third test against Australia on March 19, who scored 145. It was the only century of the innings as JP Duminy picked up 5 for 108.The result means that both the Dolphins and Cobras have yet to win a game in this year’s SuperSport Series.

New Zealand are expecting good news over two of their injury worries – Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram. Taylor suffered a hamstring injury during the Chappell-Hadlee Series in Australia while a spate of injuries in the recent past have kept Oram out.Both players have been picked in the Twenty20 squad to play India and are feeling good, but Oram is not likely to bowl before the ODI series and Taylor will undergo a final fitness test before the first Twenty20 international on Wednesday.Oram returned home mid-way through the tour of Bangladesh in October and missed the Test series in Australia because of a back injury. A calf strain kept him out of the home Test series against West Indies and an Achilles injury cut short his participation in the one-day series that followed. The team does not want to risk another injury by bowling him right away but feel he adds enough value as a batsman alone.New Zealand coach Andy Moles was confident that Oram would be bowling very soon. “Oram is one of the top allrounders in the world, especially in the shorter forms of the game. He is one of those explosive players who can win games of cricket. Any New Zealand team with Jacob Oram in the team has the capacity to win games not only when you are playing well, but also when you are behind in the game, you can catch the game up with his immense hitting.”We are hoping that come the ODIs, he will be bowling. He is bowling in the nets and looks good for the moment, but we are very very wary of pushing him too early. We want him to be the allrounder for the foreseeable future, not just for one or two games.”Taylor, on the other hand, was hopeful after his sprinting exercises on Saturday. “[I suffered] the whole time that I was in Australia,” Taylor said. “I think it was related to my back. I injured two groins, then my right hamstring and then my left hamstring in the last game.”The hamstring is coming along okay at this stage. I sprinted for the first time at 95% on Saturday but probably will have a final fitness to get a green signal for Wednesday.”

If Kevin Pietersen ever needs another sponsor he could do worse than go to Mastercard. On Friday, he will find out how much he is worth to an IPL franchise, something in the region of US$2 million is expected, but to England he remains priceless. Given the way he has regained his focus after losing the captaincy, it is even difficult to be too harsh for the ungainly sweep that brought his downfall.Without him it’s hard to know where England would have gone on the opening day of the series. Even Pietersen himself was rooted to his crease against the West Indies spinners for much of his innings, but unlike his team-mates there was always a sense he knew what he was doing.He was really ticking by the time he took Sulieman Benn for 14 in three balls to move to 97, but trying to reach his century in the grand manner offered a top-edge to Denesh Ramdin. It’s harsh to criticise Pietersen, he brings so much to the England team, and is such a thrilling batsman to watch, that falling when playing your natural game shouldn’t be a crime. But then there is the match situation to consider, and he rekindled memories of his charge down the pitch to another left-arm spinner, South Africa’s Paul Harris, at Edgbaston last summer when he had played supremely to reach 94.”It’s the way I play, I got to 97 playing that way so it just wasn’t meant to be. No drama,” Pietersen said, although he did then admit two-thirds of his innings were not in his usual style. “On that wicket you have to play situations and I think that’s what I’ve done over the last few years instead of going out there and being dominant.”His battles against Benn added another chapter to his recent duels against left-arm spinners. During the India tour he had his memorable contest with Yuvraj Singh, who dismissed Pietersen in the one-day and Test series. His bravado was severely tested when Yuvraj was brought on in the third over in Mohali with England 2 for 2, but he responded in typical style making 144 and then calling Yuvraj a “pie-chucker”. Benn is much better than that, and for much of the day looked it as he had Pietersen repeatedly prodding uncertainly outside off stump.Each time he marched off for a session break Pietersen wore a serious expression of someone intent on erasing any lingering doubts about his mindset. After tea something clicked and he began to move through his range of shots while also engaging in a touch of eye-balling with Fidel Edwards.Three more runs would have given him back-to-back centuries following his hundred in Mohali and given what has happened in between it would have been another remarkable demonstration of his willpower. An innings of 97 still does that, but when Pietersen gets out playing such a shot there is a lingering feeling of what might have been.”I love scoring runs and I love playing for England,” he said. “If someone had said to me a month ago when everything was kicking off in England that I’d get 97 today I would have said thank you very much.”He did far more than some of his colleagues managed in a top-order display that did nothing to quell the doubts over their productivity. Andrew Strauss was clearly nervous, but there’s no need to panic about a scratchy 7. However, if Alastair Cook produces too many more shots like his pull to mid-on then serious questions will be asked. That then brings us to Ian Bell.Having typically batted so nicely to reach 28 he played for turn when there wasn’t any against Chris Gayle and limply offered the edge. The hang-dog expression which follows so many of his dismissals remained as he trudged off, but he seems unable to do anything to ease the pressure on himself at the moment. It can be a vicious circle; he would no doubt love to just play with complete freedom – and the command of Pietersen – but is battling his inner demons so much that he can’t sustain his concentration.Aside from Pietersen, the batsman who benefited most today was Owais Shah and it’s difficult to believe that he would have become as stuck against the spin with his wristy strokeplay. Paul Collingwood struggled to score during his 61-ball innings – a stay that included the first TV referral involving an England batsman – and fell playing an ugly sweep to give Benn nothing more than he deserved.However, at the end of a tough day England emerged with honours about even, although typically Pietersen saw it in a more positive light. “It is very tough, you can’t play as nicely as you would like to on day one of a Test, but the way the wicket’s playing and a slow outfield I’d say we are pushing 280-300,” he said. “I think we are in a pretty good position, losing five wickets today and knowing that we won’t have to bat last.”First, though, England need to add as many as they can to this total. Like Pietersen, every run will be priceless.

Reaction in the aftermath of the abandoned Sabina Park TestMichael Atherton: “It was clear before the game that the pitch was uneven and corrugated and it was only going to get worse. The umpires took the decision to call it off and I think it was the right decision. The pitch was dangerous. The safety of the players was paramount. The senior umpire was in constant touch with the match referee. I was called out and had a chat with Brian Lara, and the officials. Both captains said that conditions were unfit for Test cricket. I don’t want to get into worst pitches, but I repeat it was dangerous. That’s why the decision was taken.”Alec Stewart: “When you were batting there were balls doing more than they should have done. You knew you were going to take hits. It was just a case of when and how many.”Ian Botham: “The pitch is not worthy of international cricket. It’s a disgrace. Someone is going to get seriously hurt.”Wayne Morton (England physio): “There was a bit of war out there and you always fear for a batsman’s safety. You don’t often see too many apologies from West Indian fast bowlers but they seemed pretty embarrassed by it. It was a very busy morning, possibly the busiest I’ve ever known. You always fear for batsmen’s faces, particularly on a wicket behaving like it seemed to be doing this morning. There are medals for bravery to be taken, but at the end of the day we want to play on a level playing field. I’m not too keen on losing players with fractured digits or serious injuries every morning.”Brian Lara: “Cricket has to be played on a fair surface.”Michael Holding: “I’ve never seen a pitch as dangerous as that. The people responsible should be brought to task. This pitch isn’t fit for Test cricket or even club cricket for that matter. It’s completely substandard. Our fast bowlers don’t want to seriously injure anyone at all. It’s an embarrassment.”Barry Jarman (match referee): “Venkat got in touch with me and said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I think it’s horrific.’ I told him, ‘You do what you want to do and you’ll get support from me.’ I spoke to Mike and Brian and they said, ‘We both agree it’s too dangerous and someone’s going to get seriously hurt’. The pitch is just nowhere near up to standard.”

The most eagerly-contested domestic tournament in recent memory will hope for a fitting finale as the Punjab Stallions take on the Federal Areas Leopards at the National Stadium in Karachi on Wednesday.The first-ever Pentangular ODI Cup has been a rousing one, and some basic ingredients have come in handy in providing a much-needed boost to domestic cricket in Pakistan.The lack of international action has meant that all the big names have not only taken part, but have performed with considerable gusto. Shoaib Malik may not have convinced all with his Pakistan captaincy, but as leader of the undefeated Punjab Stallions, he has been immense: he is both the tournament’s leading scorer and wicket-taker.Enthusiastic televison coverage has also helped, and even though the audience at the venues have been small, TV has has considerably upped the interest around the country. The accompanying marketing campaign has been a triumph of persistence over creativity, but a triumph nonetheless.Above all, the tournament has come at a time of isolation, of introspection; domestic cricket has been given the attention because there is no other cricket and it has been found to be not that bad and often pretty exciting.There have been thrilling, closely-fought matches among the five well-matched teams. Even though the Baluchistan Bears and Federal Areas Leopards have had to draft in guest players, there have been thrilling encounters like the Federal Areas virtual semi-final clash against NWFP, and the Sind-Baluchistan match.One of the few one-sided matches was the tournament opener between the two finalists, when Punjab prevailed by 98 runs and many will hope that a repeat is not on the cards. The portents however are promising in what should be a delicious match-up.Punjab’s batsmen, led by Malik, have been the galacticos of the tournament. Salman Butt’s elegance has come through often enough, Azhar Ali has provided handy support and Kamran Akmal has chipped in with the odd cameo. Nasir Jamshed, in fact, has been the only real blip.They come up against the tournament’s most incisive bowling attack. Federal Areas captain Shoaib Akhtar has gone for runs but the nous, pace and above all, fitness, has been there. He has been supported well by Sohail Tanvir and Rao Iftikhar Anjum and in the unlikely event they all fail, Yasir Arafat and Saeed Ajmal are around to stabilise matters.But the most intriguing battles, as ever in cricket, will be the specific ones. Punjab’s Mohammad Talha has been the tournament’s most exciting pace bowler. A skinny, young tearaway bowler with a bounding, energetic run-up, his performances have drawn the attention of selectors.

He will be up against the upright, compact and equally young figure of Umar Amin, the left-handed opener who has batted mostly at number four for Federal Areas. Amin’s hundred against Baluchistan remains the innings of the tournament and as with Talha, his potential has not gone unnoticed by the selectors.The spiciest battle is that between the captains. The friction between Malik and Shoaib is Pakistan’s worst-kept secret. Part of the reason both captains have been so committed to this tournament, goes the cynics’ tale, is that they have wanted to score points over each other.In fact, Pakistan’s captaincy never lies easy on any head and the battle between at least four captains or potential national captains – Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Malik and Shoaib (Umar Gul was the fifth) – has been a tasty subplot all along.Ultimately, though, the only thing Pakistanis will hope for from the final, after a year of total darkness, is some light from that most unexpected source – domestic cricket.

Team news

Punjab Stallions: (probable) 1 Shoaib Malik (capt) 2 Nasir Jamshed 3 Azhar Ali 4 Salman Butt 5 Adnan Raza 6 Sarfraz Ahmed 7 Mohammad Talha 8 Junaid Zia 9 Mansoor Amjad 10 Abdur Rehman 11 Umar Akmal (wk)Federal Areas Leopards: (probable) 1 Shoaib Akhtar (capt) 2 Raheel Majeed 3 Babar Naeem 4 Umar Amin 5 Afaq Raheem 6 Usman Saeed 7 Mohammad Salman (wk) 8 Sohail Tanvir 9 Yasir Arafat 10 Iftikhar Anjum 11 Saeed Ajmal

Michael Clarke is the youngest member of Australia’s batting line-up but maturity is not an issue for the man most likely to be the team’s next captain. Clarke’s 110 in Adelaide was his fourth Test century this year and his calm and measured manner was a contrast to the aggressive approach taken by Brad Haddin in his superb 169.Being dropped from the Test team in 2005-06 was a wake-up call that still resonates with Clarke, who has scored a century in every series since regaining his position full-time in the 2006-07 Ashes. Clarke said his patience had increased considerably in the past couple of years.”Today’s a great example,” Clarke said. “Hadds walked out to bat and every ball he hit, struck the middle of the bat. My job was easy: it was to get a single and get up the other end and let him go for his life. Three years ago I would have been trying to compete with him. I would have thought ‘he hit a four, I’ve got to hit a four’. That just comes with age.”Clarke was on 48 when Haddin came to the crease but the wicketkeeper was so destructive that by the time the pair had put on a 100-run partnership, Haddin’s contribution was 70. Haddin finished the day with the highest Test score by an Australian in two years and Clarke said it was terrific to see one of the newer permanent members of the team thrive.”I’ve seen Hadds bat like that a lot for New South Wales in four-day cricket and one-day cricket and it was great to see him do that today,” Clarke said. “And it takes courage, having a few failures, to walk out after losing two wickets early and back yourself from the first ball and he deserves the rewards.”It was the first time Haddin had passed 50 in his nine-Test career. He said by the end of the recent tour of India he was starting to doubt and put too much pressure on himself but he felt it was important to keep playing his natural game. Haddin said the overwhelming feeling when he clipped Tim Southee through midwicket for four to bring up the milestone was a relief.”It’s a pretty emotional time,” Haddin said. “You’ve played first-class cricket now for ten years and I know it’s a bit of a cliché but you dream of those days of scoring a hundred for Australia. I think we’ve all done it in some form in the backyard or whether it be on the beach, so it was a pretty emotional time.”It was also a very useful period for Australia, who posted a first-innings total of 535 and by the close of the third day had a lead of 230. New Zealand ended the day with ten wickets in hand and Clarke said while Australia were hopeful of winning the Test and completing a 2-0 series victory on the fourth day, the job would not be simple.”It’s going to be tough to bowl New Zealand out,” Clarke said. “I think the wicket’s going to be very flat. There’s not too much spin, so the next two days are going to be hard for us in the field and our bowlers are going to have to work really hard.”

Match facts

November 12
Start time 15.00 (1100 GMT)

Big Picture

Offshore series – especially bilateral – in neutral venues have traditionally not been taken all that seriously. It may not be so in the case of three one-day internationals between Pakistan and West Indies in Abu Dhabi’s swanky Sheikh Zayed Stadium. A cricket-starved Pakistan have had their share of political, financial and player-related woes and Shoaib Malik’s side are in Abu Dhabi with a brand new coach and management team, hoping for an upturn in cricketing fortunes.Pakistan have played only five ODIs against strong opposition in 2008 – four against India and one against Sri Lanka. Australia, South Africa and New Zealand refused to tour because of security concerns at various times over the year, leaving Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to pop over for five ODIs each. Pakistan duly whitewashed both, though disappointed during the Asia Cup with sterner opposition. When the Champions Trophy was shelved later in the year, and then when West Indies refused to tour, Pakistan had no option but to accede to Abu Dhabi as a venue.In the midst of these worries came personnel fiascoes. Mohammad Asif was banned earlier for testing positive again for the banned substance nandrolone during the IPL; Shoaib Akhtar has been involved in legal battles with the Pakistan Cricket Board; Mohammad Yousuf defected to the unofficial ICL; Geoff Lawson was sacked as coach and to top it off, there have been persistent reports of unease between senior players and Malik.For West Indies, the high of winning the lucrative Stanford 20/20 for 20 match against England would hopefully have come off for most in the squad. Their coach, John Dyson, thought the six-week camp ahead of the Twenty20 match “was an overkill” and the lack of preparations for the team as a whole unit might hurt them in Abu Dhabi.Winning the Scotiabank tri-series in their previous one-day assignment, against Canada and Bermuda, might not have undone the humiliation at home in the ODI series against Australia where they were thrashed 0-5. West Indies will look at the ICC Cricketer of the Year, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and in-form Chris Gayle to lead from the front.

Form guide (last 5 ODIs, most recent last)

Pakistan WLLWW
West Indies LLWWW

Watch out for

Shoaib Akhtar has approached full match fitness and the management was impressed by his performances in the Pentangular Cup. David Dwyer, the team trainer, has also worked closely with Shoaib, who has played little cricket this year. And unlike a couple of other coaches, Intikhab Alam has no plans to ask him to reduce his run-up.Xavier Marshall caught the eye during the home series against Australia earlier this year, and then blasted the most sixes in an ODI against Canada in August. Marshall’s 12 sixes broke a 12-year-old record of 11 in an innings, set in 1996 by Sanath Jayasuriya and equalled six months later by Shahid Afridi. Opening the innings with Gayle, Marshall has the ability to really tee off.Umar Gul has fully recovered from the rib injury he picked up at the Asia Cup in July, taking 6-39 in his only Pentangular Cup this season. With Asif nowhere near the scene, Gul will shoulder plenty of the fast-bowling responsibility.

Team news

Pakistan have to decide between two specialist openers or a makeshift pair. Intikhab wants specialists but Malik prefers Kamran Akmal, who has opened in 38 ODIs and scored all of his four centuries from there, to make room for another bowling option. The bowing pretty much picks itself, with Shoaib being paired with Sohail Tanvir, followed by Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum. Pakistan have plenty of spin options, but Shahid Afridi and Fawad Alam will get first dibs ahead of 31-year-old offspinner Saeed Ajmal.Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Kamran Akmal (wk), 3 Younis Khan, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Fawad Alam, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Rao Iftikhar Anjum.West Indies will, as always, rely on an explosive top order to kickstart the innings. Gayle warmed up the series with smashing half-century in the Stanford final against England, while Marshall and Ramnaresh Sarwan are quick scorers. The middle order, bar Chanderpaul, is thin. Shawn Findlay and Brendan Nash have played seven ODIs between them, while Carlton Baugh was only recently reinstated to the ODI side for the tri-series in Canada. West Indies will have to decide between adding a third pace bowler or including Dave Mohammed as spinning partner to slow left-armer Nikita Miller, the leading wicket-taker during the first-class season with 42 victims . Kemar Roach, a young right-arm fast bowler, may get the nod.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Xavier Marshall, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Shawn Findlay, 6 Brendan Nash, 7 Carlton Baugh (wk), 8 Daren Powell, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Kemar Roach.

Pitch & conditions

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium has the reputation for being a batsman’s ground, with the average runs per wicket being 29.18, scored at 5.04 an over. However, seamers and spinners have also found some extra help when the floodlights come on. It is warm in the day time, so most sides prefer having a bat.

Stats & Trivia

Afridi pulled out an adrenaline-fuelled special for an adoring crowd in 2007, smacking Malinga Bandara for 32 runs in an over. Afridi raised his fifty off 22 balls – remarkably, he has made five quicker ones – and that over constituted as the second-most expensive in ODI history.

Quotes

“We may have played less cricket but I don’t believe in such negatives. This is a very important series for us because after this we have India touring us and for that we need better rhythm.”
“This is our first time (here) and the team is eager to do well on foreign soil. We believe this could be the start of a very good away tour. Pakistan is a good cricket team and it will be a challenge for us, but we will be fighting hard against them all the way.”Gayle believes his players will do everything to improve their positions on the ICC’s rankings