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Windies has the advantage: Lara

Lahore: West Indies captain Brian Lara said on Tuesday that his team would have an advantage over Pakistan in the three-Test series after the South Asian team's key fast bowlers were banned for failed doping tests.

A Pakistan Cricket Board tribunal on November 1 barred Shoaib Akhtar for two years and Mohammad Asif for one after they tested positive for the banned steroid Nandrolone.

"I think there's no reason to hide the fact that we do have an advantage," Lara, 37, said.

"No team likes to lose its key players and Pakistan will be weakened," he said. "What happened to Asif and Shoaib is a sorry situation. It's very unfortunate."

Long gap

The West Indies team arrived on Monday for its first Test series in Pakistan since it was blanked 3-0 in 1997. The West Indies refused to tour Pakistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The two teams played a Test series at a neutral venue in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Lara, who has played 128 test matches and 283 one-day internationals, led West Indies to the final of the Champions Trophy in India before succumbing to world champion Australia in the final by eight wickets at Mumbai, India on Sunday.

"The Champions Trophy was one-day cricket and it's important to transform into Test cricket which is more challenging," Lara said. "The guys have the potential to do well in Tests and we hope its a good series.''

West Indies has won just one of its last 14 Test matches.

"We are seeking improvement in the Test arena and playing in the subcontinent gives the players an opportunity to do well," he said.

Coach Bennett King echoed Lara's words.

"We want to improve in Test cricket because it is real cricket and it tests your skills," King said. "Boys have been doing well in one-day cricket but we need consistency in the Test arena."

Lara determined

Lara made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lahore 16 years ago — venue of the first Test starting from Saturday — and wanted to enjoy his last series in Pakistan.

"This is my last tour (to Pakistan) so I want to leave a legacy and want to enjoy this trip," he said.

In the absence of Akhtar and Asif, Lara singled out leg-spinner Danish Kaneria as the key bowler in Pakistan's lineup.

"Pakistan has other good bowlers and Kaneria is one of them," Lara said. "He has recently been successful against us but we have the players to cope with it."

Tour schedule

West Indies begins its tour with a two-day warm-up game against Patron's XI at Lahore on Wednesday.

The two sides play the first five-day Test match from Saturday at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, the headquarters of PCB. The second Test in Multan is scheduled for November 19-23 while the third Test will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi from November 27.

The Test series will be followed by the first one-day international on December 5 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which would be followed by limited overs matches on December 7 in Faisalabad and on December 10 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The two remaining ODIs will be in Multan and Karachi on December 13 and December 16 respectively.

Team: Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Omari Banks, Dave Mohammed. — AP

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