Inzamam is back to lead the side

Faisalabad: Brian Lara’s West Indies team enters Thursday’s ODI against Pakistan refreshed from some much-needed rest after playing virtually non-stop international cricket for the past three months.

“It’s good that the guys spent most of the time in their rooms, but we’ve been on the road for pretty good time and now we have to focus on the four remaining games,” Lara said of his team’s five-day break Wednesday, on the eve of their second ODI.

The West Indies lost the Test series 2-0 before the opening match of the five-game limited-overs series was washed out at Rawalpindi, on Tuesday.

Prior to travelling to Pakistan, the West Indies played a triangular series at Kuala Lumpur in September before competing in the ICC Champions Trophy in India.

Despite losing the Test series, the West Indies has performed well in the shorter version of the game, reaching the finals in Malaysia and at the Champions Trophy, losing to world champion Australia on both occasions.

“We are well positioned in the one-day game,” Lara said.

“We’ve performed really well not just in the Champions Trophy, but we’ve been playing good cricket in 2006.”

The only concern for Lara is the loss of two key players — batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo — for the one-day series.

While Sarwan suffered a hairline fracture on his right foot when he was struck by paceman Umar Gul’s yorker in the third Test, Bravo has also flown back to the West Indies for personal reasons.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Yousuf is doubtful for the one-dayer while captain Inzamam-ul Haq will return to lead after serving a four-match ban.

Teams

Pakistan (from): Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Rao Iftikhar, Rana Naved, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Runako Morton, Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Dave Mohammed, Denesh Ramdin

Umpires: Daryl Harper (Australia), and Aleem Dar (Pakistan). TV: Zameer Haider (Pakistan)

Match Referee: Alan Hurst.

(AGENCIES)