Teams square off with notable absentees
ESPNcricinfo's preview of the first ODI between West Indies and Pakistan in Gros Inlet, St Lucia
Match Facts
April 23, Gros Islet, St LuciaStart time 0930am (1330 GMT)
The Big Picture
Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kieron Pollard, Umar Gul, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal. The list of players missing from West Indies' home ODI series against Pakistan, for all manner of reasons, is long. It's been a somewhat incongruent start to the tour for Pakistan, who have enjoyed the far smoother preparation, having planned to rest Gul and Younis ahead of the subsequent Test series, while also cutting ties with the iron-gloved Kamran. The only kind of disquiet was created by the captain Shahid Afridi's change of heart over making the trip to the Caribbean.Form guide
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Lendl Simmons showed plenty of vim at the top of the order for West Indies in the Twenty20 prelude to this match, and will need to keep that up in the absence of Gayle. The circumstances of Gayle's departure indicate that he might not be back, so Simmons has the chance to make the opening spot his own.Team news
West Indies expressed the desire to try a younger side against Pakistan in this series, but their manner of doing so caused all kinds of ructions surrounding the future of Gayle and Sarwan. Samuels, older and wiser, is back in the team, while Simmons will have the task of replacing Gayle at the top of the order. Pakistan have also plumped for youth, though in the case of Younis and Gul theirs is only a temporary absence. Hammad Azam is the man charged with replacing Abdul Razzaq as the allrounder.Pitch and conditions
The St Lucia surface lost pace noticeably over the course of the Twenty20 match that opened the tour, meaning more of the same can be expected in the first ODI - Ajmal and Bishoo take note.Stats and trivia
- West Indies have not beaten Pakistan in a bilateral ODI series since a 2-0 success in Pakistan over three matches in November 1991 - the second match was tied.
Quotes
"I have served West Indies for many years, but I was disrespected a lot, and I have been playing under a lot of pressure. I can't sleep properly. I need to get this off my chest. I want everybody to print what I said, I want to clear the air and I want them to ease up. WICB… back up offa my back."Chris Gayle is the most high-profile absentee from the series, for the most high-profile reasons, too.
Shahid Afridi might have been missing too if not for second thoughts.
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo