(Trinidad Express) Jomel Warrican is expecting turning wickets in the upcoming Test series in Pakistan but is urging his team-mates to take a balanced approach.
Both matches will be played in Multan and left-arm slow bowler Warrican said the team’s just-concluded warm-up match told them a few things about what to expect.
“Clearly they’re going to be spinning conditions; outfield going to be very quick as well,” he told CWI Media in an interview. “We going to have to be tuned in and ready to counteract the spin.”
Hosts Pakistan have a good record at the venue, winning three of the five Tests played there to date.
However, the one game they have previously played there against the West Indies in 2006, was drawn.
Warrican is adopting a positive attitude to the contests. “You’ve got to embrace it and enjoy that challenge, and to help us defeat Pakistan in the series or if not, compete or draw the series; whichever outcome happens,” he said.
“Me being one of the top three spinners (in the WI team), is a case that you have to enjoy the challenge and embrace it and perform to the best of your ability.”
To achieve a good result in the series, Warrican said he and his fellow bowlers couldn’t afford to, “get carried away with the conditions.” He added: “You got to stick to the basics, you got to be disciplined, put the ball in the right areas and just wait for something to happen sometimes and just not get too caught up in overly aggressive cricket; get carried away thinking that it’s spinning conditions and we as spinners have to be a hundred per cent aggressive; but just have a balance, sticking to the basics and be very, very disciplined.”
The series is the last in the ICC World Test Championship cycle. Defending champions Australia and South Africa have already qualified for June’s final at Lord’s. West Indies and Pakistan are right at the bottom of the WTC list, ninth and eighth, respectively.
But Warrican still has ambitions for this series. “For us it will be really neat for us to finish strong…just to finish the series with a win and just finish the World Test Championship with a bang,” he said.
The spinner added that the warm-up match against the Pakistan Shaheens had been useful.
“I think the guys and myself took the opportunity to get familiar with the conditions and prepare well for the Test series starting on Friday,” he said.