The West Indies will be looking to make optimum use of the conditions during an upcoming two-Test series against Zimbabwe, knowing they will be visiting the country again in March for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.
Picking up that valuable experience in the two Tests in Bulawayo, as well as the chance for players to improve their individual rankings will be incentive enough for the Windies to do well, even though they may not have much to gain in the ICC Test Team Rankings.
The West Indies, ranked eighth in Tests, missed out on direct qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 as they were ranked ninth in ODIs at the cut-off date of 30 September but they would be looking to build on the promise showed in the Test series in England which they lost 2-1.
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As for the points at stake, the Windies can at best gain one point with a 2-0 win to go up to 76 points while a 1-0 series victory will see it remain at 75 points and eighth place. However, even a drawn series could see it slip behind Bangladesh on decimal points. On the other hand, Zimbabwe can move up to 21 points with a 2-0 series win.
Series scenarios:
· Windies win 2-0: Windies 76 points, Zimbabwe 0 points
· Windies win 1-0: Windies 75 points, Zimbabwe 2 points
· Series drawn: Windies 72 points, Zimbabwe 9 points
· Zimbabwe win 1-0: Windies 69 points, Zimbabwe 17 points
· Zimbabwe win 2-0: Windies 67 points, Zimbabwe 21 points
As for the ICC Test Player Rankings, there will be a lot of interest regarding the return to international cricket by Zimbabwe players Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis.
Taylor, a 31-year-old former Zimbabwe captain who had announced his retirement during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in favour of playing County cricket in England, held a career-high 16th position among batsmen in October 2014. He was ranked 26th when he played his last Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong the following month. Pace bowler Jarvis held a career-high 40th rank and last played a Test in 2013 before turning his attention to County cricket.
The highest ranked batsman for the home side is Craig Ervine, who has scored two centuries in his last four Tests for a career-best 43rd rank. Sikandar Raza too is at a career-best 50th place while their highest-ranked bowler is captain Graeme Cremer (57th position), who has taken 16 wickets in his last two Tests.
For the Windies, opener Kraigg Brathwaite is the leading batsman in 18thposition while Shai Hope has risen to 30th place from 102nd, scoring 356 runs in the last two Tests of the series in England, which included a century in each innings at Headingley.
Pace bowlers Shannon Gabriel (21st) and Kemar Roach (26th) are their leading bowlers while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo is ranked 28th.
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