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By Ishaan Kapoor — 25 June 2026 — 3 min read

West Indies prepare for home Test series

The West Indies Senior Men’s team is preparing for two home Test series this summer, facing Sri Lanka and Pakistan. These series are part of the ICC World Test Championship, with matches scheduled in Antigua and Trinidad. The team aims to secure crucial victories on home soil before concluding the current cycle with an away series against Bangladesh in November 2026.

The West Indies will host Sri Lanka at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, a venue where they have historically performed well, with only two defeats in 13 Test matches. The team also holds an unbeaten record in Test series against Sri Lanka on home soil since 1997, having successfully defended this record across five series contested in the Caribbean.

Of these five encounters, the West Indies have won twice, and three series have ended in draws, including their most recent meeting in 2021. Head coach Daren Sammy emphasized the team’s specific training to prepare for the conditions in Antigua, aiming to match Sri Lanka’s skill set.

Bowling strength and batting improvements

A significant boost for the home side is the return of fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, who were absent from tours to India and New Zealand in 2025. The pace attack has been a key strength for the West Indies at home, demonstrating strong performance since the start of 2024. During this period, their bowling average of 23.13 is noted as the best by any full member nation on home soil.

The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium has historically favoured fast bowlers. Kemar Roach has claimed 54 wickets at this venue with an average of 17.07, while Alzarri Joseph has taken 24 wickets at an average of 24.95. Roach enters the series with 294 Test wickets, needing six more to reach the 300-wicket mark, a milestone achieved by only four other West Indian bowlers.

Jayden Seales is also nearing a significant milestone, needing five wickets to reach 100 Test wickets. He has taken 95 wickets in 26 Tests. If he secures these five wickets within the next 212 deliveries, he could surpass Mohammad Asif as one of the fastest bowlers to 100 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled. Joshua Da Silva, Seales’ franchise captain and the wicketkeeper for the series, expressed excitement for both Seales and Roach’s prospects.

The team’s batting has also shown improvement, with batters scoring five centuries in eight matches in the ongoing cycle, compared to two centuries in the previous thirteen matches of the 2023-2025 cycle. Batting coach Floyd Reifer noted a change in the players’ approach, focusing on individual plans and enhancing areas of strength.

Day 1 action and student engagement

The battle for the Sobers-Tissera Trophy commenced at 10 a.m. local time on Thursday. On the opening day, the West Indies fast-bowling trio of Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, and Kemar Roach made early breakthroughs against Sri Lanka’s top order. Sri Lanka later recovered, with Dhananjaya de Silva scoring a half-century and forming a partnership with Sonal Dinusha.

The first two days of the match have been designated as student engagement days in partnership with Cricket West Indies and the Ministry of Education and Creative Industries. Primary school students were welcomed on day one, and secondary school students are scheduled for day two.

During the first day’s play, Dhananjaya de Silva reached his 20th Test half-century, contributing to a 50-run partnership with Sonal Dinusha. Sri Lanka reached 150/5 after 34 overs, with Sonal Dinusha unbeaten on 19 at that point.

Source: windiescricket.com