Nash keen to take first-class form into Tests

Brendan Nash, the West Indies vice-captain, is confident he will take strong form in to the first Test against Pakistan, which starts in Guyana on Thursday. Nash is considered a Test specialist and therefore didn't take part in the recent one-day series against Pakistan, but in his most recent first-class innings, he made 207 for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago.

That came early last month, during the final stages of the regional four-day competition, and Nash finished the tournament as the third-leading run scorer. He enters the Test series with the extra responsibility of being vice-captain to Darren Sammy, and Nash believes that he can help the home team beat Pakistan, despite West Indies being without veterans like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo.

"I'm feeling really good the way I'm batting," Nash said. "The last time I batted in a first-class match I got over 200. Admittedly, that was a little while ago, but I have carried that form with me. Pakistan have a good team, they have some good bowlers, but I believe I am experienced enough and capable enough to handle myself. We have a good team and things are taking shape, so we believe we will do very well against the Pakistanis.

"We saw some great cricket in the warm-up match and we had a good training session today. We will have another session as we prepare for the match and everyone is looking forward to Thursday. As the vice-captain I have added responsibility and I'm always happy to help the others in the team in any way I can. That has been my style from the first day I joined the team."

Nash, 33, last played for West Indies back in December, during the rain-affected tour of Sri Lanka. He made two half-centuries from his three innings, and he said he was happy with his form leading in to the Pakistan matches.

"I'm feeling mentally and physically ready for the series," he said. "I am hitting the ball really well and I'm where I want to be in the lead-up to the Test series. I played in the WICB regional four-day tournament and I managed to get some good runs. I felt I batted really well. I'm happy to be part of the team unit for the Test series here against Pakistan.

"I'm looking to get onto the field. I love Test cricket and I really enjoy playing for the West Indies so I'm happy to be back among the boys again. We have a few new players who I have not had the joy of playing a Test match with, so that's exciting for me. We have good camaraderie in the team and we are all focused on the two Test matches upcoming."