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Saint Lucia: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said he expects his new-look side to continue making strides on their tour of the Caribbean.
Waqar was speaking ahead of a series of five one-day internationals against West Indies which opens on Saturday at the Beausejour Cricket Ground.
The former fast bowler said he was excited about his side's performance at the World Cup, where they made the semifinals, and expected them to replicate that performance over the coming weeks in the Caribbean.
"The boys have done a wonderful job especially in the World Cup," he said.
We knew if we played well, cricket interest would come back in the country. The only way we could have done that was to do well.
For the trip to the Caribbean, the Pakistan selectors injected some fresh blood into the side, and Waqar said he was looking forward to good performances from them.
"We have brought some young cricketers on this tour," he said. "It's a rebuilding sort of phase.
Pakistan stumbled at the first major hurdle of this tour when West Indies beat them by seven runs in Thursday's Twenty20 international.
But Pakistan easily defeated West Indies in the World Cup quarterfinals in Dhaka.
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.
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.
Umar Akmal will also be hoping to raise his game in this series. A joy to behold at the batting crease, Umar must continue to grow and mature in the knowledge that the likes of Misbah-ul-Haq and the absent Younis are ageing all the time.
Teams from
West Indies: DP Hyatt, DJG Sammy (C), CD Barnwell, D Bishoo, DM Bravo, ADS Fletcher (WK), AR Nurse, R Rampaul, KAJ Roach, AD Russell, MN Samuels, LMP Simmons, K Santokie, DJ Bravo (VC), KA Edwards, A Martin, DS Smith, CS Baugh (WK)
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (C), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanveer Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Sadaf Hussain, Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Salman (WK)
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.
Pakistan won the only two matches between the two nations to be played in St Lucia, by 40 and 22 runs during the 2005 series won 3-0 by the visitors.
West Indies' short-term batting coach Desmond Haynes has made the most runs in limited-overs matches between the two countries, racking up 2390 at 41.92 in 65 matches, though his strike-rate of 60.86 now appears a little dated.
Samuels' last ODI appearance was also in St Lucia, against Sri Lanka in April 2008. He finished 3 not out as the match was wiped out by rain.
Match facts
Saturday April 23, 2011
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)
