FAISALABAD, Dec 6: The much-awaited one-day series between Pakistan and the West Indies will finally get underway today when both teams clash in the second One-day International at the picturesque Iqbal Stadium after the first match at Rawalpindi was abandoned on Tuesday due to heavy rains.

Both the teams appear hungry for a win here despite being deprived of match practice in the past four days due to inclement weather prevailing throughout the country.

Pakistan’s hopes of getting off to a winning start in the ODI contest, however, were somewhat dented on the eve of the match with reports that the prolific Mohammad Yousuf might miss the game since the bearded batsman needed to be at the side of his wife who has taken ill in Lahore.

“I don't think he will be able to play as he has not joined the team as yet,” Pakistan manager Talat Ali said on Wednesday.

“His wife is expecting and is very ill and he wants to be with her,” he said. He added that Yasir Hameed was a possible replacement if Yousuf did not join the team in time.

Pakistan and West Indies will start the clash in contrasting style at the Iqbal Stadium which will also host its first day-night match under floodlights on Thursday.

Pakistan will be aiming to improve their recent ODI record after their dismal show in England where they drew five-match series 2-2 and more recently in Indian where they failed to make the semis of the ICC Champions Trophy. In all, Pakistan could only win nine ODIs this year out of a total of 20 which is definitely a matter of concern for them in view of the impending World Cup challenge.

As for the West Indies, they have had an impressive 2006 as far the limited overs version of the game is concerned. They won 15 out of a total of 25 one-dayers they played this year. Playing back-to-back finals this year in Malaysia and India, both against world champions Australia, undoubtedly makes the West Indies a formidable rival for any side.

The groundsmen here have made Herculean efforts to keep the playing field as dry as possible despite some heavy rain showers earlier in the week. The Iqbal stadium on Thursday will be host an ODI after almost three years since the time Pakistan beat New Zealand here in 2003.

A confident-looking Brian Lara said on the eve of the match that his team had put the 2-0 loss in Tests behind them and were completely focussed for the limited overs contest. “The Test series loss was disturbing indeed, but we have now embarked on a new mission and are looking forward to the ODIs. We have performed well in the one day games in recent years and aim to give the home side a tough time,” the master batsman told reporters in a press conference at the Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday.

Lara, who needs just 52 more runs to complete his 10,000 runs in ODIs, said his team was charged up for the series as the wash out at Rawalpindi had given them enough time to prepare for the one-dayers.

“Though rain in Rawalpindi restricted us to our hotel rooms for most part of our stay there, we spent a good time chalking up a strategy for the Faisalabad match,” he said.

Lara did not agree that his team would miss Ramnerash Sarawan and Dwayne Bravo despite the fact that the two were useful cricketers. “Their absence would give a chance to the youngsters to show their prowess,” he said.

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said his team was not complacent at all after the Test series victory and were looking ahead to a exciting battle with the West Indies in the ODIs. He added that the West Indies was one of the best teams in the world in limited overs cricket and a victory against them would be quite an achievement.

The Multan-born batsman, however, expressed his happiness over the exoneration of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in the doping case but ruled out their immediate inclusion in the national side. The skipper said that since both the pacers were not match-fit and had not played any cricket in the last two months, they will need a few domestic games to come in the groove. He, however, said that both the two fast bowlers would definitely accompany the Pakistan team in South Africa.

Lara also hailed the decision in Shoaib and Asif case and said the cricketing world should respect the decision which had come from the people whose integrity was beyond any doubt.

Teams:

Pakistan (from): Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Sami, Rao Iftikhar, Rana Naved, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Runako Morton, Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor, Dave Mohammed, Denesh Ramdin.

Umpires: Daryl Harper, Australia, and Aleem Dar, Pakistan. TV Umpire: Zameer Haider, Pakistan. Match Referee: Alan Hurst, Australia.