Photo: West Idies Test captain Jason Holder
Jamaica’s most historic international cricket ground, Sabina Park, will host its 50th Test match today when the West Indies takes on Pakistan in the first of a three match Test Series beginning at 10am.
Two other Test venues in the region have reached that milestone, The Kensington Oval in Barbados and the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago.
To date 50 Jamaicans have represented the West Indies in Test matches and nine of them have scored centuries. There has been a total of 94 Test centuries, 2 triple centuries and 13 double centuries at the ground where the ‘Ends’ have been named after the legends Michael Holding and Courtney Walsh, as well as the southern stand being named after another legend, George Headley.
The West Indies and Pakistan will be facing each other for the 50th time in Tests, a fitting number to mark the great occasion. The last time the two teams met was in October of last year where Pakistan won the three match series 2-1 and the West Indies, led by captain Jason Holder, will be looking to reverse that result.
It will be a tough task for the region’s team however, as the confidence of the visitors will be very high having just won the preceding T-20 Series, 3-1 and the ODI Series 2-1.
The young West Indies unit will need to forget the results so far and get focused on the longer format of the game as they seek to turn the tide on the Pakistanis.
“We haven’t been able to consistently put runs on the board and that’s one area that we obviously need to pay attention to,” Holder admitted to journalists yesterday.
“We stress on consistency; one thing we talk about in the dressing room is momentum, and if we have the momentum we need to hold out as long as possible and not shift it back to the Pakistanis,” he stated.
Pakistan Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, will be playing his final Test series before retiring and plans to be a major party of this historic moment.
“It is always important if it’s your first series or your last series. I think you want significant contributions from your point of view and you want as a batsman to prove a point all the time throughout your career, especially when you play in the last series. So, it’s important that you just stand up for the team and contribute heavily.”
Jamaican players who have represented the West Indies throughout the years will be honoured on Sunday and patrons are being asked to dress in retro outfits as part of the celebrations.
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