Published: Jan 12, 2017, 04:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 12, 2017, 04:04 PM (IST)
Antigua: The historic Kensington Oval ground will host its ninth Test cricket match in 10 years when Pakistan tours the West Indies later this year. The game will be the second of three Tests on the March 31 to May 10 tour, which will also include three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and two Twenty20 Internationals (T20I), reports CMC. Both sides also met in a full tour in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) late last year, with the Caribbean side losing all three formats. West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Operations Manager Roland Holder said he expected the tour to be a challenging one. “Any series against Pakistan always poses an interesting contest for the West Indies,” said Holder on Wednesday.
Kensington missed out on a Test last year when India toured the Caribbean but hosted Tests for every year between 2008 and 2015. The venue’s most recent Test was in 2015 when the West Indies beat England by five wickets inside three days, to snatch a 1-1 draw in the three-Test series. Sabina Park in Jamaica will play host to the opening Test starting April 2, the fourth Test to be staged at the venue in as many years. The second Test bowls off at Kensington on April 30 while the third Test starts at Windsor Park, Dominica, on May 10.
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Windsor Park has already hosted four Tests since staging its first back in 2011. Meanwhile, Pakistan are also scheduled to play a three-day warm-up match at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica beginning on April 15 before the first of three Tests begins at Sabina Park on April 22 The tour will also give a chance to the Caribbean side to make amends for their 1-2 Test series loss to Pakistan in the UAE last October-November.
