Daren Sammy said West Indies want to carry their 1-0 series win over Sri Lanka into the first Test against Pakistan, with Mohammad Ali at the center of a squad trying to turn one result into a longer run of improvement. Sammy framed the match as part of a process that has already run through three difficult Test series.
The coach said West Indies are trying to climb the ICC World Test Championship standings, and he pointed to the recent Sri Lanka series as a boost after earlier tests against Australia, India and New Zealand. “We could see some light coming through, especially with the Sri Lanka series. Now we have Pakistan,” he said.
Daren Sammy and West Indies
Sammy said the first three Test series under his charge were against Australia, India and New Zealand, which he described as “three really challenging ones.” He added that the opening stretch gave the players time to “fine-tune the team and have them gel well together.”
His view of the job was broader than one opponent or one result. “Everything is a process,” he said, adding that his approach has been to understand the direction he wants to go through conversations with the director, the captain and the players, and then keep the group focused on that plan.
Pakistan and the ICC World Test Championship
The Pakistan series matters because West Indies are trying to improve their position in the ICC World Test Championship, and Sammy presented the Sri Lanka win as a step, not an endpoint. West Indies won that home series 1-0, giving them a result to carry into a tougher run of fixtures.
For now, the immediate test is whether they can make that progress visible against Pakistan. Sammy did not dress up the assignment. He said the team had reached a point where it could see “some light coming through,” but he also kept returning to the same point: the work is still ongoing.
Sir Garfield Sobers
The opening Test against Pakistan will be West Indies’ first since the passing of Sir Garfield Sobers, and Sammy said the team will try to honour his legacy across the series. “We just lost a great one in Sir Garry. What he contributed to the Test game... because of him, we got so many followers, so many lovers of cricket. He contributed so much to that,” he said.
Sammy added that West Indies will try to put in performances “that he would be proud of.” That leaves the team with a clear measure for the series: extend the Sri Lanka result, protect the momentum, and show whether the recent improvement can hold when Pakistan arrives.
