'Losing Sarwan, Bravo will test us' - King

Despite the absence of Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo in the five-match ODI series against Pakistan, Bennett King, the coach of West Indies, was confident of his side coming good. "It'll test us as a team without two of our key one day performers over the past six to 12 months in Sarwan and Bravo," he told WindiesCricket.com.

Sarwan was ruled out with a minor hairline fracture of the right foot, sustained when he was hit by an Umar Gul yorker during the Karachi Test, while Bravo was released from the squad to return home "to be with persons close to him who are unwell".

Both have been key to West Indies' recent successes, but King was forced to see the prospects that their absences threw up. "It allows opportunity to others trying to stake their claim for World Cup berth," he said. "The players coming in [Ian Bradshaw, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith] bring with them freshness and energy after what's been a long tour for us.

"Sarwan is considered one of the leading batters in the one day game and he has proved that over a long period of time and has been a key to our past successes," King added. "Bravo was adapting to different roles within our side and it's unfortunate that we can't build on those but where one door shuts another one opens."

Despite dropping the Tests 0-2, King looked forward to the challenge of the one-day series. "Every game gives us opportunities to move up the rankings of the ICC points table and to build our one day reputation," he said. "Pakistan presents formidable opponents especially at home, they beat us 3-0 in the West Indies [in 2005] but we feel that we've improved since our last meeting both individually and as a team."