Coley hopes WI can build on last year’s performances

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CMC):

West Indies Test head coach Andre Coley wants to see the regional team improve on their 2024 performances when they take on Pakistan in a two-match Test series later this month.

It will be the West Indies' first tour of Pakistan in 18 years, with the home side winning that three-match Test series 2-0 back in 2006.

The visitors will play a three-day warm-up match on January 10, with the first Test scheduled to begin on January 16 in Karachi.

Speaking ahead of the Test series, Coley said the team's focus was on putting their best feet forward in their first series of 2025.

"A new series, a new opportunity. We haven't played a Test match or a Test series in Pakistan for a few years, so we're all looking forward to it and the challenges it will pose.

"Creating history, there's always an opportunity; once you play a series or a match, there's an opportunity in itself. The focus shouldn't be on creating history, it's about using the experiences from 2024 and that consistency that we have been searching for over the past 12 months, being more consistent on how we want to play the game and the brand of cricket that we want to play," Coley said.

Additionally, Coley said the tour presented opportunities for new players to make a stake for a place in the team.

"There are different people in the squad who would have missed out on opportunities before, and they can use this as an opportunity to be better, and do it in conditions that, in some instances, can be different," Coley said.

He said the team was preparing for whatever conditions they encounter in Pakistan.

"So, for us it's about us preparing, so that when it is a pace- or spin-friendly track, we are equally prepared to give a good account of ourselves here.

"I believe everyone is looking forward to it. It's always good to play in different conditions," Coley said.

Meanwhile, Coley said while the two-match Test series will be his last as head coach of the West Indies' Test team, that is not his main focus.

Last month, Cricket West Indies announced that West Indies white-ball head coach Daren Sammy would take over from Coley following the completion of the Pakistan series.

It will bring an end to a challenging tenure for Coley, who failed to win a single Test series during his 20 months in charge, having been appointed in May 2023.

When asked how he felt about it being his last series in charge, Coley said he would reflect on his time at the helm following the completion of the Pakistan series.

"I believe that right now, at this juncture, I'm not necessarily focusing on that. What is most important is the series in front of us, Pakistan," Coley said yesterday.

"When the Test championship is finished, then I'll have more time to actually reflect on what is happening because the tenure hasn't ended yet.

"There's still work to be done against Pakistan, and I'll continue to give the players the level of confidence that they need going into this series, so that's not really my focus at the moment."