November 10, 2006	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1427

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LAHORE, Nov 9: The opening match of the three-Test series between Pakistan and West Indies, which starts on Saturday here at the Gaddafi Stadium, is likely to be dominated by batsmen.

One glance at the grass-less, brownish strip on Thursday suggested that bowlers, especially the pacemen, are likely to struggle for wickets as was the case in the listless Lahore Test against India last January when Pakistan batsmen Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Indian skipper Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag all hit centuries.

The signs are clear that Pakistan, who of late have been lacking in confidence, are keen on taking a safety-first approach at the beginning of the series after their recent failures on the England tour and the ICC Champions Trophy in India. Also, the unavailability of strike bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who have been slapped with bans by the PCB Anti-doping Commission is another key factor in the home side adopting a defensive approach.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and coach Bob Woolmer both had a long look at the pitch during the team's training session on Thursday.

West Indies, meanwhile, did not get a chance to see the 22-yard strip because they were busy in the two-day fixture against PCB Patron's XI at Bagh-i-Jinnah about five kilometres from the Gaddafi Stadium.

West Indies, who normally base their bowling attack around fast bowlers, are likely to go in the Test with two specialist spinners - Dave Mohammed, the unorthodox slow-left-armer, and the tall off-spinner Omari Banks.

West Indies were boosted late on Thursday by news of Chris Gayle making satisfactory recovery from a bout of food poisoning which the in-form opener suffered soon after the ICC Champions Trophy final against Australia in Mumbai. If Gayle comes through in Friday's fitness test, the visitors will have a luxury of using his more-than-capable off-spinners in Test as well.

Pakistan, hoping that the pitch will suit slow bowlers, are relying heavily on leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to carry the workload. With the makeup of the playing XI yet to be finalized, there is an outside chance of slow left-armer Abdur Rehman also earning his first Test cap.

If Rehman fails to make the team, the home side can call upon the off-spinning all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez to support Kaneria.