Pakistan v West Indies - Series Summary

Having never beaten Pakistan in eight previous ATG Tests, West Indies became just the fifth side to come from behind to win a series after four Tests of entertaining cricket and fluctuating fortune. Pakistan threatened a repeat of their 4-0 success in the Caribbean after a comprehensive victory in the first Test in Karachi, but following a classic drawn Test in Faisalabad, West Indies welcomed back skipper Garry Sobers after he had missed the first two matches with injury, and his influence told as the tourists rallied to win the final two matches and take the spoils.

Although six different players recorded centuries for West Indies, only Haynes and Lloyd batted with any consistency, and Viv Richards endured his most disappointing series for some time, averaging just 33 from his eight innings. It was a similar story with the ball, as only Michael Holding threatened on a regular basis, but timely performances from Marshall and Walsh in the third Test and Gibbs in the fourth provided a cutting edge when it really mattered, and Marshall and Holding also compiled two vital partnerships with the bat in Peshawar that ultimately proved pivotal in the outcome of the series.

Pakistan opened with a bang, running up their highest ever team total in the first Test as Javed Miandad broke his own individual batting record in the process, but it was very much a case of 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' for Javed over the course of the remaining three Tests, and whilst the likes of Zaheer, Majid and Asif Iqbal all had their moments with the bat, there was never the consistency that was required for long term success, with the opening partnership of Hanif Mohammad and Saeed Anwar a particular disappointment. Asif and Imran both contributed on a regular basis with the ball, but received little support; Qadir and Akram were disappointing, whilst Waqar's performance was a complete let-down after his recent demolition job in New Zealand.

West Indies have now won three series on the trot as their rise back up the rankings continues, but despite recently setting a record of 15 Tests without defeat, Pakistan have failed to win any of their last three series, proving that it's tough at the top in the world of ATG cricket.

Pakistan Batting
Javed Miandad 443 runs @ 63.29, Zaheer Abbas 324 @ 46.29, Majid Khan 300 @ 42.86, Asif Iqbal 247 @ 41.17, Imran Khan 240 @ 40.00

Pakistan Bowling
Imran Khan 20 wkts @ 25.00, Asif Iqbal 10 @ 29.40, Wasim Akram 11 @ 34.82, Abdul Qadir 11 @ 34.91, Waqar Younis 12 @ 43.83

West Indies Batting
CH Lloyd 328 runs @ 54.67, DL Haynes 412 @ 51.50, GStA Sobers 146 @ 48.67, MA Holding 178 @ 44.50, CG Greenidge 331 @ 41.38

West Indies Bowling
MA Holding 16 wkts @ 26.38, CA Walsh 12 @ 33.42, LR Gibbs 14 @ 34.29, MD Marshall 15 @ 34.80

WEST INDIES WON THE SERIES 2-1


Players of the Series: Asif Iqbal & MA Holding