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Pakistan was always in control of both Tests.� In both Tests, the Pakistani batsmen set match winning first innings totals before the bowlers humbled the West Indians.� The West Indian batting continued the trend of batting collapses they have established over the last two years.�
In all, the West Indian batsmen made ten ducks out of the fourth wickets they lost during the series.� They suffered batting collapses in every innings.� Generally, they lost their last five or six wickets for less than 100 runs.
Pakistan earned 13 ratings points to take their rating to 1081 points.� They retain third place in the ratings and have now opened a comfortable 32-point lead over fourth placed England.� Pakistan now holds its highest rating since February 1999.
Pakistan has also strung together six consecutive Test victories in a row.� This is the longest winning streak that Pakistan has ever achieved.� Pakistan next meets Sri Lanka, who currently has eight consecutive Test wins, in the final of the Asian Test Championship.� Either way, at least one nation will see their record streak end.
The outcome from this series for the West Indians is a complete contrast to that of Pakistan.� The West Indians retain eighth place in the ratings, but their rating has fallen to 1006 points.� This is their lowest rating since February 1948 and their fifth lowest rating in history.�
West Indies has lost 112 ratings points over the last three years and has dropped from second to eight during that time.� The West Indians now find themselves 16 points behind seventh placed New Zealand and increasingly losing touch with the middle ranked nations.� Unless they manage to pull out of the ratings nosedive they have been on since 1995, the West Indians could find themselves as hopelessly out of touch of the rest of the competition as Zimbabwe are now.
The West Indies also has an unfinished streak, although not one to be proud of.� They have lost their last five Tests in a row with their last win coming in July 2001.� The biggest question in world cricket is 'Just how low will they go?'� Clearly, they are a long way away from their best form in the 1980s and early 1990s.� For those who remember those golden teams, the current state of West Indian cricket is quite saddening.
Another worrying trend is the increasing number of Test series whitewashes.� The last five Test series to be completed have ended in whitewashes.� Eight of the ten Test nations have been involved in these matches.�
The International Cricket Council (ICC) should be concerned at the growing number of series ending in whitewash results.� Clearly, the increasing number of two Test series, which have become a new trend since the ICC introduced their Test Championship, contribute to the trend.� However, a third Test in the series in Sharjah would in this case have been unlikely to break the trend.
The ICC needs to target assistance to the struggling Test nations and implement plans to bring the average level of strength closer together.� The alternative could be a falling off in the recent popularity of Test cricket.� While seeing a home nation thrash the visitors can be initially entertaining for a crowd, repeat performances do not often keep the crowd paying to see the games.� Conversely, even fewer would pay to see their home team thrashed by the visitors.� The result will be a fall in income from crowds, sponsors and revenue to cricket boards.
The Test series in Sharjah was the first Test series officially moved to a neutral ground.� The only similar occasion was when South Africa and Australia played with England in a ?World Championship? of Test cricket in 1912.� The series held almost 90 years ago was not so much a neutral venue for the visitors as a tournament in itself
Low crowd numbers marked the series just finished.� The Pakistani officials must be regretting the need to hold the series away from their high gate taking home grounds.� The loss of revenue compounds the existing financial problems The Pakistan Cricket Board faces after India and New Zealand cancelled their tours of Pakistan in the last 12 months.
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