Toss West Indies chose to bowl vs Pakistan
West Indies elected to field in the first Test at Sabina Park on a day that promises a passing shower or two in the afternoon session, against Pakistan, whose openers' fragility has been a point of focus of late. The home side went for Kieran Powell to open the batting alongside Kraigg Brathwaite, meaning Shai Hope had to warm the bench. Experience won out over youth in the fast bowling ranks, too, as Alzarri Joseph made way for Kemar Roach, with Jomel Warrican the lead spinner.
Pakistan's combination was more straightforward, with an unchanged top seven from the series in Zimbabwe. That meant Faheem Ashraf got into the side, fending offspinner Nauman Ali, with Yasir Shah the sole specialist spinner in the XI. Mohammad Abbas was chosen to partner Shaheen Afridi with the new ball, with Naseem Shah missing out.
This is the first engagement for either side in the second cycle of the World Test Championship, with 120 points at stake over two Tests at Sabina Park.
West Indies: 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Kieron Powell, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Jason Holder, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Jayden Seales, 11 Jomel Warrican
Pakistan: 1 Abid Ali, 2 Imran Butt, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000
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