Golden opportunity for West Indies to improve Test rankings in the upcoming tie against Zimbabwe

West Indies has already missed the bus for direct qualification to the ICC World Cup of 2019 scheduled to be held in England and Wales. The Caribbean side now plays Zimbabwe in a two-Test match series and therefore the side would be looking to improve on their rankings even though the African side would be buoyed by the presence of their stars Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis.

The Maroon Caps would be well aware of the fact that would have to make optimum use of the opportunity knowing that they will be visiting the country yet again in March for the World Cup Qualifiers of 2018.

Windies are currently ranked eighth in Test and missed out the ticket to direct qualification for the World Cup as they were ranked ninth prior to the cut-off date of the qualification. That said, they would look to carry on the momentum from the show in England where the likes of Shai Hope and Brathwaite were exemplary.

The two batsman would also intend to improve on their Test batting rankings. Meanwhile, Pace bowlers Shannon Gabriel (21st) and Kemar Roach (26th) are their leading bowlers while leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo is ranked 28th as far as West Indies’ bowling department is concerned.

As for the points at stake, the Windies can at best gain one point with a 2-0 win to go up to 76 points while a 1-0 series victory will see it remain at 75 points and eighth place. However, even a drawn series could see it slip behind Bangladesh on decimal points. On the other hand, Zimbabwe can move up to 21 points with a 2-0 series win.

Series scenarios:

Windies win 2-0:

Windies 76 points, Zimbabwe 0 points

Windies win 1-0: 

Windies 75 points, Zimbabwe 2 points

Series drawn: 

Windies 72 points, Zimbabwe 9 points

Zimbabwe win 1-0:

Windies 69 points, Zimbabwe 17 points

Zimbabwe wins 2-0:

Windies 67 points, Zimbabwe 21 points