Andre Coley hopes West Indies batters back up the good work of the bowlers

“It’s a new series, a new opportunity,” West Indies Test coach Andre Coley said ahead of the two-match series in Pakistan.

The last series between the two sides, in Kingston in 2021, was drawn 1-1, but West Indies have not won a Test in Pakistan since November 1990. It’s also true that there haven’t been too many of these – only seven since that game – but the best West Indies have done since that 1990 series is a draw, in Multan in November 2006.

As such, the series is part of the World Test Championship cycle, but doesn’t mean much for either team in terms of context: South Africa and Australia have qualified for the final, while Pakistan and West Indies bring up the rear, eighth and ninth respectively on the nine-team table. It’s also a chance for Coley to sign off on a positive note before Daren Sammy takes over.

“Once you play a series or a match there’s an opportunity in itself,” Coley said at a press interaction on Tuesday. “It’s not about us creating history, it’s about using the learnings from 2024 and that consistency that was inserted for the last 12 months, being more set around the brand of cricket we want to play.

“Different people in the squad who would have missed out on opportunities before can use this as an opportunity to do better and do it in conditions that could be different in some instances.

“When you talk about Test cricket, it’s not only the opposition’s skill that provides tests, but the different conditions, different environments, and different game situations provide those tests. And that’s why you want to play at this level and in this format, to test yourself over four-five days. The game could change so rapidly.”

The magical eight-run win, scripted by Shamar Joseph, against Australia in Brisbane in January was by far West Indies’ best result in Test cricket last year, but it was one of only two wins for them in the entire WTC cycle so far. And Coley pointed to the inconsistencies of the batters for the team not being able to build on the work by the bowlers.

“Obviously, Jayden [Seales] back to full fitness, Shamar Joseph making his debut in 2024, Alzarri Joseph… Kemar Roach has been a standout in terms of his leadership, on and off the field, with his skill and mentorship. [Gudakesh] Motie and [Jomel] Warrican have been consistent when given an opportunity,” Coley said, counting off his main bowlers, of whom the two Josephs are not in Pakistan. Anderson Phillip is, and Kevin Sinclair is the third spinner.

“We’ve seen a couple of innings where our batters have… Kavem Hodge scoring his first hundred, Alick Athanaze missing out on at least three; there have been instances where we have had significant partnerships from a batting perspective. But they haven’t really been very consistent and put ourselves in match-winning totals.

“The standout has been that we’ve been able to keep ourselves in Test matches on the back of our bowling, and what the young bowlers have done. It’s time, going forward in 2025, that the batsmen now, having been given certain opportunities to test their skills, to learn and translate those into performances.”

The first Test will be played in Karachi, from January 16, and the second in Multan, from January 24, with West Indies playing a three-day tour game in Islamabad from January 10 to get used to the conditions. ESPNCricinfo