The West Indies-Pakistan second Test begins at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Sunday, August 2, 2026, with the two-match series on the line.

West Indies claimed the opener in Tarouba by 90 runs, extending Pakistan’s away Test losing streak to eight matches and entering the decider as clear favourites.

Pakistan will be without opener Shan Masood, ruled out with a fractured finger, with Abdullah Shafique replacing him in the squad.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has also called up batter Saud Shakeel as additional cover, a move expected to give all-rounder Aamer Jamal a more settled spot in the order after batting at different positions in the first Test.

The Test runs from August 2 to 6, with play starting at 10 am local time (2 pm GMT) each day.

West Indies need only a win or draw to seal the series, while Pakistan must win outright at Port of Spain to level it 1-1.

Mohammad Ali took four wickets in West Indies’ first innings of the opening Test, one of the few individual bright spots for Pakistan’s bowling attack across the four-day defeat in Tarouba.

In the first Test, seamer Khurram Shahzad drew West Indies’ top-scorer Kavem Hodge into an edge that captain Salman Agha snapped up at slip inside the first three overs of the third day.

The first Test defeat extended Pakistan’s away Test losing streak to eight consecutive matches, a run that has put fresh scrutiny on the team’s batting depth and away-from-home form.

Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain has a long history as a Caribbean cricket venue, having hosted Test matches since 1930 and remaining one of the region’s most storied grounds.

West Indies enter the second Test as clear favourites, having outplayed Pakistan across the four days of the series opener in Tarouba a week earlier.

Photo by Dominic Sayers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

The International Cricket Council named 12 host venues and unveiled the official tournament brand for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 on Thursday, July 30, 2026, with South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia set to jointly host the tournament.

South Africa will host the tournament across eight venues: the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, Centurion in Tshwane, Newlands in Cape Town, Kingsmead in Durban, St George’s Park in Gqeberha, Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, Boland Park in Paarl and Buffalo Park in KuGompo City.

Zimbabwe’s Harare Sports Club, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and the Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls will also stage matches, along with Namibia’s Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek.

The 14-team, 57-match event will run from October to November 2027. ICC chair Jay Shah said the reveal of the host cities and brand ‘signals the start of a journey that will unite fans around the world.’

ICC chief executive Sanjog Gupta said the newly revealed brand reflects ‘the energy, ambition and spirit of the event,’ with each host city set to offer a unique fan experience.

The announcement, coming more than a year before the opening match, gives host boards a long runway to finalise stadium upgrades, transport plans and ticket sales.

This will be the first men’s ODI World Cup hosted on African soil in 24 years, following South Africa’s staging of the 2003 edition alongside Zimbabwe and Kenya.

The tournament brand and logo were unveiled alongside the venue list at a ceremony designed to build momentum for the event more than a year ahead of the opening match.

South Africa’s eight venues include several grounds with a long Test cricket history, including Newlands in Cape Town and the Wanderers in Johannesburg, both regular hosts of international matches.

Zimbabwe’s inclusion as a co-host marks a significant moment for the country’s cricket board, which has worked to rebuild its international standing in recent years.

Photo by EGilham, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Shubman Gill has risen to No. 1 in the ICC’s ODI batting rankings, overtaking New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell for the top spot.

The India batter’s ascent came after strong scores in the recent ODI series against England, where he made an unbeaten 80 in the first match and 77 in the third ODI at Lord’s.

Mitchell has dropped to second place following a subdued run that included 65 in an opening ODI against West Indies and two subsequent scores of 28.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continue to hold third and fourth spots in the updated rankings.

Separately, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi jumped 230 places in the T20I batting rankings to reach 48th position, up from 278th ahead of a series against Zimbabwe.

The jump followed his 151 runs across a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, which included two half-centuries.

Gill’s rise to the top of the rankings comes while he continues to serve as India’s ODI captain, a role he has held since October 2025 after replacing Rohit Sharma ahead of the Australia tour.

The rankings update comes after India’s recent tour of England, during which several batters put in strong performances in the white-ball leg.

England won the three-match series 2-1, having lost the opening ODI in Birmingham before winning both the Cardiff and Lord’s matches. Joe Root was named Player of the Series for his tally of 249 runs across the three games.

Gill’s rise to No. 1 comes even as India lost the series, underlining how individual form and team results do not always move in the same direction over a short white-ball series.

Gill has held the India ODI captaincy since October 2025, when he replaced Rohit Sharma for the tour of Australia, and has since led the side through series against New Zealand and Australia.

(Image: Photo: Bollywood Hungama, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)