Pakistan are looking to become the latest international side to create history on Caribbean soil, when they begin their search for a maiden Test series victory against West Indies, starting on Thursday at the Guyana National stadium.
On six previous visits, starting back in 1958, the Pakistanis have come awfully close, but they have failed each time
The visitors share the unenviable record of being one of the two Test-playing nations not to hold a Test series victory in the Caribbean along with Sri Lanka.
Pakistan have won just four of the 21 Tests they have played in the Caribbean, but there is huge optimism that Misbah-ul-Haq's side, brimming with confidence having won the preceding one-day international series 3-2, can put this little matter to rest.
The Pakistanis have far fewer concerns about their line-up than their opponents.
Though they have lost former captain Younis Khan to a family bereavement, there are strong signs that the batting still has backbone with the likes of Misbah, Mohammad Hafeez, and Umar Akmal.
The visitors' bowling has been boosted with the arrival of Umar Gul, whose fast bowling will give the attack a greater edge, but the spin bowling of Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, as well as Hafeez could prove decisive against typically leaden-footed West Indies batsmen.
All of this means that West Indies will have their hands full trying to protect their cherished record at home against the visitors - and the internal turmoil that has bedevilled the side will not make things any easier.
The Windies have not won a Test series, let alone a Test, in just over two years, and it would require an amazing performance, or an incredible change of fortune for them to turn the tide against Pakistan.
The hosts trimmed their squad to 13 following a warm-up match over the weekend, and predictably, fast bowler Fidel Edwards has been recalled following a two-year absence, and veteran left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul has also been included.
Australia-born left-hander Brendan Nash, the vice captain, has also been included.
He has been pigeon-holed as a player for the longer format of the game, and has not played an international match since the weather-ravaged Test series in Sri Lanka last year.
The return of Marlon Samuels to Tests for the first time in three years, following a two-year international ban for inappropriate contact with an alleged Indian bookie, will also be closely followed.
He warmed-up for the task with a double hundred in the practice match over the weekend, but his batting during the ODIs seemed to betray him.
Since the ground opened four years ago just ahead of the 2007 World Cup, the pitch plays typically slow and low, but Sri Lanka, batting first, piled-up a big first innings total, and pressured West Indies for the remainder of the only Test that has been played, resulting in a 121-run victory.
As always, the match will be contested with one eye on the skies due to Guyana's famously fickle weather, with a 60 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms predicted in the long-range weather forecast.
Teams from
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Brendan Nash (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Carlton Baugh Jr, Darren Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith.
Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Abdur Rehman, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Hammad Azam, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Salman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Taufiq Umar, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Younis Khan.
