LOWLY West Indies will forfeit as many as 10 ratings points should the Denesh Ramdin-led regional outfit lose both Tests in the two-match cricket series starting at the Arnos Vale Complex in St Vincent, tomorrow.
The Windies are currently ranked eighth on 74 ratings points, some 53 ahead of the Bangladeshis, who have 21 on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table.
But because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, the West Indies will drop points if they fail to win the series convincingly or are swept aside by their opponents.
A 1-0 series win will earn Bangladesh 13 ratings points and will cost the West Indies eight ratings points, while a 2-0 series win will help Mushfiqur Rahim’s side gain 15 ratings points.
In the event of a drawn series, Bangladesh will benefit by gaining seven ratings points, while the West Indies will drop four ratings points.
In contrast, the West Indies can earn a maximum of one ratings point if they win both Tests whereas in this scenario, Bangladesh will drop two ratings points.
Meanwhile, Shivnarine Chanderpaul will go into the series as the highest-ranked Test batsman from either side, in sixth place.
Other batsmen to feature inside the top 50 and likely to appear during the series are Darren Bravo (22nd), Chris Gayle (29th), Mominul Haque (33rd), Tamim Iqbal (42nd), Nasir Hossain (46th) and Ramdin (49th).
In the rankings for Test bowlers, Kemar Roach, in 11th position, is the highest-ranked bowler from either side.
Shane Shillingford (21st), Sulieman Benn (30th), Jerome Taylor (49th), Mahmudullah (61st), Robiul Islam (62nd) and Shannon Gabriel (66th) are some of the other bowlers who may feature in the series.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha expects the Tigers to fight hard to force a draw in the opening Test.
In the last series between the two sides in the Caribbean back in 2009, Bangladesh had comprehensively beaten a second-string Windies side, after the first-choice players boycotted the series but the situation is different now.
“Our realistic goal would be to draw the game. If we play well, bat well, we will be in the game. Our bowling stock is limited. We must look to bat deep and bat long, score runs and be in the game,” he said.
