Continuity will be the watchword for West Indies head coach Daren Sammy as his side prepares for the second Test against Bangladesh in Sylhet, which gets under way on Thursday night Barbados time.
The West Indies lead the two-match series 1-0 after securing an eight-wicket victory in the opening Test.
The teams enter the contest in contrasting form. West Indies have lost just one of their last five Test matches, while Bangladesh have managed only one victory over the same period.
Recent history also favours the Roston Chase-captained side. In the last five Tests between the teams dating back to 2022, West Indies have won four, with Bangladesh claiming the other.
The hosts also have cause for concern, having failed to win a Test since their victory over Australia in Darwin in August.
Conditions could also favour the visitors. The Sylhet pitch traditionally offers more pace and bounce than the surface in Dhaka and, while rain and bad light disrupted the opening three days of the first Test, the forecast for the second match is favourable.
For Sammy, the second Test presents an opportunity not only to build on West Indies’ encouraging form this year but also to highlight the progress made under his leadership.
“Obviously, the first year we were finding the right balance in terms of players and roles allotted to them. I think we’ve settled in quite nicely. Brandon [King] and John [Campbell] at the top of the innings have probably been our best opening pair in a long time.
“Shai [Hope] is not there, but when he started, he was batting at six before moving into number four, with Justin Greaves and Roston Chase also moving up the order. A lot has happened to bring the team to a settled position.”
Sammy said his players simply need to maintain the standards they displayed in the opening Test.
“The way the guys played [in the first Test], we just want them to continue [because] consistency in performance is what brings results for you in any format of the game.”
While spin dominated the first Test, with vice-captain Jomel Warrican claiming a nine-wicket match haul, Sammy said the West Indies squad had enough depth to adjust to whatever conditions they encountered.
“If tomorrow comes and it seems like a seam-friendly wicket, we have Kemar Roach who we had to switch last game who would come in. If it remains the same and they cut off all the grass just before, then we have equally capable players to come in and balance the squad,” Sammy asserted.
The head coach described the prospect of securing a 2-0 away series victory over Bangladesh as a significant achievement.
“As you know, Bangladesh before this series was fourth in the Test championship. They’ve played some really good cricket, well coached by Phil Simmons, so to come here and do that would be massive.
“When I took over and we looked at the first three to four series, we had Australia at home with a new team, then India in India, and then New Zealand away in New Zealand. That was a really tough baptism to my Test coaching career.”
Sammy said those early challenges had been discussed within the West Indies dressing room, with the expectation that the team would be more settled and competitive by the time it faced Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“This is where we would make inroads and we’re right on course to finish with the goal we had in mind in this Test cycle,” Sammy concluded.
(KH)
