Head-to-head record:
West Indies lead 64-48 (Tied: 2)
In World Cups: West Indies lead 6-2
In the sub-continent: West Indies lead 16-12 (Tied: 1)
* West Indies have lost five of their last six matches to Pakistan and have won only three of their last 16 matches since 2005.
* Pakistan (WWLWWW) have qualified top of Group A, beating holders Australia but losing to New Zealand.
* Pakistan’s batting will be a source of concern. Their highest opening partnership has been 28, and they have had the weakest opening pair among all the qualifiers. They and Australia are the only teams in the tournament without a centurion.
* Their bowling is another story with captain Shahid Afridi (17 wickets and an economy rate of 3.54) leading from the front. Umar Gul (13 wickets/4.17) has also been outstanding
* West Indies (LLWWWL) finished bottom of Group B and have not beaten a test-playing nation apart from Bangladesh for nearly 21 months.
* Devon Smith (293 runs) heads the batsmen while Kieron Pollard has the highest strike rate (158.4) among batsmen who have scored at least 100 runs during the tournament.
* Kemar Roach (13 wickets/3.88) and Sulieman Benn (12 wickets/4.97) have been the leading bowlers.
* Shere Bangla National Stadium favours teams batting second (18-28 in favour of chasing) with a period from January 2009 to March 2010 when 17 consecutive matches were won by the team chasing.
DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – West Indies will attempt to accomplish what they have failed to do over the last 20 months, when they face Pakistan in the first quarter-final of the World Cup here today.
The Caribbean side has not beaten a higher ranked side in 20 months, dating back to June 2009 when they defeated India in a four-match series they lost 2-1, and their quest for a semi-final spot will mean breaking this worrying trend.
West Indies played true to the form books in the preliminary round, losing to top ranked sides South Africa, England and India while dominating minnows Netherlands, Ireland and Bangladesh, to finish fourth in Group B.
Captain Darren Sammy said while he was aware of his side’s track record, previous results were irrelevant in the all-important quarter-final round.
“We have put the first round behind us. Whatever happened in the preliminaries it doesn’t matter. Right now is where it really counts,” the all-rounder told reporters here yesterday.
“We did what we had to do to get through to the quarter-finals and that’s where it counts. You could be number one or number eight, if you don’t win in the quarter-finals you’re out, basically that’s it.”
West Indies will be aware they will have to improve their batting especially, if they are to reach their first World Cup semi-final since Richie Richardson’s side clinched a spot in the final four of the 1996 showpiece, also held on the Asian subcontinent.
They have batted poorly, failing to overhaul hardly imposing totals against England and India in their two final preliminary games.
Chasing 244 against England, they slumped from 222 for six to 225 all out, losing their last four wickets for three runs. Their woes continued against India as they capitulated from 154 for two to 188 all out, with their last eight wickets tumbling for 34 runs as they pursued 269 for victory.
“We just crumbled. We lost our way. And as I have said before, it’s something we have to do away with and very quickly,” Sammy lamented. “We can’t keep losing wickets in patches like that. It affects the outcome of the match. “We keep finding ourselves in positions where we can win matches. [At this] quarter-final stage we must grab onto the opportunity that we create to win games.”
West Indies will be encouraged by the return of talismanic opener Chris Gayle and ace strike bowler Kemar Roach who both missed the last match against India.
In Roach’s absence, seamer Ravi Rampaul snatched for five for 51 to present some selection headaches for the team’s management.
“Both Roach and Gayle participated in our practice today, Roach bowled and Gayle batted and I liked the way they looked,” Sammy said.
“Obviously everybody in good spirits. Ravi had an excellent start for us in his first game but I know we will come up with the right combination and go out there and win us the quarter-final.”
Another source of encouragement will be the Shere Bangla National Stadium where they annihilated Bangladesh by nine wickets earlier this month, after bowling them out for a World Cup low 58.
“We’re in a position like all the other teams. It’s the quarter-finals, it’s do-or-die, we must come out with our A-game. It’s a ground where we executed our plans perfectly [before]. We feel loved by the people and we’re ready for tomorrow,” Sammy said.
“We’ve played here before. We were the perfect demonstration of plans being executed. The guys are aware of that and we will be taking confidence from that.”
Pakistan, who finished top of Group A, are expected to field the same XI that handed Australia their first World Cup loss in 12 years last Saturday.
“We want to go with the winning combination. We will see, but I think we are happy with this winning combination,” captain Shahid Afridi said.
“We worked hard before this World Cup. We are taking the practice sessions very seriously. I think we are feeling more confident now, it’s a good sign before the quarter-final.”
The day/night match bowls off at 2:30 pm (4:30 am Eastern Caribbean time).
