Darren Sammy backs West Indies to build on Sri Lanka success ahead of Pakistan Tests

West Indies coach Darren Sammy believes his side is heading in the right direction after its series win over Sri Lanka and is confident of making further progress against Pakistan. He also confirmed Shai Hope will keep wickets with Amir Jangoo still injured.

Tarouba: West Indies head coach Darren Sammy has shown confidence in his side, saying that he could see ‘the light coming through’ as they gear up to face Pakistan in the two-match home test series starting from Saturday.

West Indies, who are placed at eighth position in the World Test Championship points table, are coming to the contest after registering a 1-0 series win against Sri Lanka. According to the former player, the win gives hope of a revival to the Caribbean side, who are looking to move up the table with a win against the ninth-placed Pakistan.

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“We could see some light coming through, especially with the Sri Lanka series. Now we have Pakistan. Looking at the world rankings, we’re probably four or five points behind getting into the top six of the table [they are eighth and just three points from getting to No. 6]. The team knows what we’re looking to achieve. And each player understands the role that they’re playing in us achieving that,” he said ahead of the match as quoted by Cricinfo.

“So, for me, my process has always been simple: understand what the direction we want to go, with my conversations with the director, conversations with the captain and the players, and how we go about doing it. So if you see me looking calm all the time, it’s because I understand what we as a group are trying to do and not the noise from the outside,” he added.

Sammy has also confirmed that Amir Jangoo is yet to recover from the shoulder injury he got during the New Zealand series, and Shai Hope will take the gloves.

“With the injury to Jangoo, it brings another ask of probably Shai Hope to take on the mantle of the gloves again, I’m speaking to him. I’m trying to ask him for a couple more favours, because you’ve got to also consider his workload, keeping in mind the other two formats and asking him to score some real runs. It’s a conversation we’ll have,’ Sammy said.

The series opener at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, to be played from July 25 to 29, will mark a historic moment, as it becomes the first men’s Test match to be ever staged at the venue and the 13th ground in the region to host international red-ball cricket. The second Test will take place at the historic Queen’s Park Oval from August 2 to 6.