ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has pointed to the lack of experience in the West Indies side as the reason behind their recent losing streak.
He was speaking after the Caribbean side plunged to their eighth straight loss on the tour here Tuesday with a 133-run defeat in the second Test at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
“That’s bit disappointing and if you see their strength in international cricket they were always a force but now they are having a downfall,” Misbah was quoted as saying.
“They are a young side with some players performing well in bits and pieces at the moment. They will become a good side but at the moment they are lacking experience.
“Everyone wants to see a strong West Indies side like we had in the past. Right now it’s really a big disappointing factor for all of their fans.”
Tuesday’s defeat also saw them concede the three Test series as they now trail 2-0, with one game remaining in Sharjah starting Sunday.
West Indies were also whitewashed in the preceding Twenty20 and One-Day International series, losing both by 3-0 margins.
Only Marlon Samuels of the current Test side has played more than 50 Tests with the remainder of the squad – barring Darren Bravo and Kraigg Brathwaite having all played less than 25 Tests.
In comparison, Pakistan boasts the likes of Younis Khan with nearly 10 000 runs from 109 Tests, Misbah with almost 5 000 runs from 67 Tests and Asad Shafiq who averages nearly 44 from 47 matches.
West Indies captain Jason Holder, who has played just 22 Tests, agreed that inexperience was a factor in his side’s poor run and said it would take time before the young players properly learnt the ropes in international cricket.
“It is a young and inexperienced squad so it will take time to get the results we have been looking for,” the 24-year-old pointed out.
“We have been in the position of inconsistency for the last number of years so I don’t feel any pressure.”
He added: “It will take some time for these boys to get nourished and developed and we have to give them that opportunity to do so.”
West Indies have now lost 10 of their last 13 Tests without a single win, and have not won a Test series in three years.
