West Indies captain Roston Chase is eyeing a breakthrough victory in the ICC Test Championship cycle as the regional side prepares to launch its series against Sri Lanka in the first Test at North Sound, Antigua on Thursday.
In 13 matches at the venue, West Indies have only recorded two defeats, with Sri Lanka also never winning a test series on regional soil.
Speaking ahead of the opener, Chase expressed confidence that his team could begin the series on a winning note.
“We’ve played a number of matches already, but we haven’t quite got over that hurdle in winning the game as a team. So that’s the first goal that I would like to see us achieve and then to win the series as well.
“At home we have a very good record against Sri Lanka, being unbeaten at home,” Chase said.
West Indies pacers Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales can also achieve a number of significant milestones during the upcoming series.
Roach has so far taken 294 Test wickets and should he reach the 300 wicket mark, he would become only the fifth West Indian bowler to reach that milestone.
Seales meanwhile has so far taken 95 wickets in 26 Tests and is within striking distance of joining an elite group of fast bowlers, to reach the 100 wicket landmark at a remarkable pace.
Captain Chase says West Indies knowledge of local conditions could be key during the series.
“That is the advantage for us and we tend to utilise it very well. The last series we had against Australia, the bowlers were on fire and they really utilised the Caribbean wickets that we have to offer.
I think that’s where our strength lies and we’ll be looking to utilise that as much as possible,” Chase explained.
Both teams have rarely played the format in recent times, with Sri Lanka absent from white ball cricket for a year, while West Indies last played the format in December 2025.
Moving forward Chase wants to see more consistency from the team’s batting unit.
“I think we got five centuries [recently], so it shows that guys have been putting up their hands, but I just think we need to do it a bit more as a collective unit so that we can get bigger scores. I think once we are able to consistently put 280-300 on the board, I think we’ll be a force to be reckoned with as a test-playing nation,” he stated.
(KH)
