Hungry for a Test series win, the West Indies face Zimbabwe in the first of two matches, starting in Bulawayo on October 21.
The West Indies have lost two series this year: 1-2 at home to Pakistan and by a similar margin away to England.
Their performance in the United Kingdom was satisfactory. After an embarrassing loss in the first Test, they rebounded to win the second convincingly; the hosts won the decider easily.
Never beaten West Indies
Zimbabwe have never beaten the West Indies in a series but will consider this their best chance to do so. They had a good tour of Sri Lanka in July, winning the One Day series 3-2 and losing the lone Test in five days.
Their stocks have been boosted by the return of batsman and former captain Brendan Taylor and fast bowler Kyle Jarvis, who were out of Test consideration due to contracts with teams in English County Cricket.
Several in-form players
West Indies have several in-form players, most notably the Barbadian middle-order batsman Shai Hope who made two centuries on the UK tour. Fastbowlers Shannon Gabriel from Trinidad and Tobago and Kemar Roach of Barbados are also expected to do well in Zimbabwe.
After leaving Zimbabwe, the West Indies will head to New Zealand for two Tests, One Day Internationals and T20s against the hosts.
They return to Zimbabwe in January for their most important assignment, a qualifying tournament for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales. The winner and runner-up will advance.
