ST JOHN’S, Antigua – There is a sense of anticipation surrounding the West Indies Senior Men’s team as they prepare for two home Test series this summer against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, with each series being played in Antigua and Trinidad, respectively.
Both form part of the ICC World Test Championship and the Men in Maroon are eager to secure crucial victories on home soil before concluding the current cycle with an away series against Bangladesh in November 2026.
The West Indies will welcome Sri Lanka to familiar territory, with both the venue and history favouring the home side, as the West Indies have only recorded two defeats in 13 Test matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The Caribbean side also boasts a strong record against Sri Lanka on home soil, having remained unbeaten in Test series against the visitors since their inaugural tour of the region in 1997. The West Indies have successfully defended that record across the five series contested in the Caribbean since then.
Of those five encounters, the West Indies have emerged victorious twice, while the remaining three series have ended in draws, including the teams’ most recent meeting in 2021.
Preserving the unbeaten record is also a key motivational factor for head coach Daren Sammy.
“I think we’ve trained specifically to prepare ourselves for the conditions we may face. You know, what we expect here in Antigua and what we must do in order to match the Sri Lankan skill set and get the better of them. “We’ve looked at the surface, and we have a fair idea of how it’s going to play. All our preparation has been tailored towards that,” Sammy revealed.
A major factor behind the hosts’ confidence will be the return of fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph who missed tours to India and New Zealand in 2025. The pace attack has become one of the West Indies’ greatest strengths at home, producing outstanding figures since the start of 2024.
During that period, a bowling average of 23.13 is the best by any full member nation on home soil. They will also take the field at a venue that has historically rewarded their fast bowlers. Kemar Roach has claimed 54 wickets there at an exceptional average of 17.07, while Alzarri Joseph has taken 24 wickets at 24.95 at his home venue.
The match could also mark a significant milestone for Roach. The veteran seamer enters the series with 294 Test wickets and stands just six away from becoming only the fifth West Indian bowler to reach the coveted 300-wicket mark in Test cricket.
The series could also prove memorable for Jayden Seales, who enters the contest just five wickets shy of the 100-wicket milestone in Test cricket. The 23-year-old has claimed 95 wickets in only 26 Tests and is within striking distance of joining an elite group of fast bowlers to reach the landmark at a remarkable pace.
If Seales can secure those five wickets within the next 212 deliveries he bowls, he would surpass Mohammad Asif among the fastest bowlers to 100 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled. Asif reached the milestone in 4,542 deliveries; a mark Seales now has firmly in his sights.
Among West Indians, only Ian Bishop currently features in the top ten on that list, giving Seales the opportunity to join distinguished company while adding another chapter to his promising career.
Seales’ franchise captain Joshua Da Silva who has earned a recall squad and who will be the wicketkeeper for the series, is excited at the prospects for both Seales and Roach.
“The senior pro (Kemar Roach) is the senior pro. We know what Kemar has done, what he’s capable of doing and what he continues to do,” Da Silva said. He further added “I’ll be really excited for him to see him cross that milestone. The energy and the grit and determination, the banter that he has on the field, it’s relentless and it just shows why he is the cricketer that he is.”
There have been marked improvements in the team’s batting fortunes in the ongoing cycle with the batters scoring five centuries in eight matches in comparison to only two scored in the previous thirteen for the 2023-2025 cycle.
Batting coach Floyd Reifer says there has been a distinct change in approach towards batting from the players.
“Over the last year we have put in a lot of work with the batters on their individual plans, and as a group and coaching staff we have pinpointed areas which needed to be improved on. Areas of strength we have sought to enhance, and we continue to see a better attitude towards batting and batting for long periods.”
The battle for the Sobers-Tissera Trophy gets underway at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday, with schoolchildren from across Antigua set to be part of the occasion.
In partnership with Cricket West Indies and the Ministry of Education and Creative Industries, the first two days of the match have been designated as student engagement days. Day one will welcome primary school students, while day two has been reserved for secondary school students.
