Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Saint Lucia is considered the best wicket for fast bowlers in the Caribbean islands. West Indies spearhead Kemar Roach is licking his lips to bowl here in the second Test against Bangladesh starting on Friday, saying, “This is the best Caribbean wicket. This wicket has a lot on offer for fast bowlers.”

In the previous Test in Antigua, Bangladesh were bundled out for just 103 in the first innings as they failed to cope against the West Indies pace attack led by Roach. The visitors eventually lost the match by seven wickets.

In Bangladesh’s pre-match press conference, naturally, the pitch in St Lucia was the main focus. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan said the key for his team would be to not lose the match in the first session of the game, as they did in the previous Test.

“We have to only focus on the first two hours of tomorrow (Friday). Whether we bat or bowl, we have to do well. After that, we can play according to the match situation.”

Shakib also feels that the wicket will give batsmen opportunities to score on Day 1.

“It will be better for batting on Day 1 compared to the Antigua Test. There will be pace and bounce but I don’t think there will be too much sideways movement.”

The skipper also dictated what the approach of his players should be on a wicket like this.

“In these types of wickets, naturally more runs are scored. Cross-batted shots come in handy. We have to adapt to the pace and bounce. There are similar wickets in New Zealand and in some other countries. As our players are used to playing in such conditions, they shouldn’t face too many problems.”

Right before touring West Indies, Bangladesh played a two-Test series against Sri Lanka at home where their batters struggled against pace bowlers. Before that, in an away Test series against South Africa, the batters were bamboozled against spinners.

Although the recent record shows a less than rosy picture, Shakib sees this as a challenge for the batters to prove their mettle in difficult conditions.

“If you look at the last three Tests, you could say that we are struggling against pace. In the three Tests before that, we were struggling against spin. So, in difficult conditions, we never succeed to hang on. We have an opportunity to do it here, it’s also a challenge.”