Skipper Walsh and fellow-Jamaican Rose have been confined to bed with ``stomach bugs'' while Ambrose has been suffering with a back problem. The lanky Antiguan, the backbone of the Windies attack for the last few years, went wicketless in the last week's First Test as the Caribbean side suffered their worst defeat ever-an innings and 17 runs -at the hands of Pakistan.
It seems virtually impossible to fight back and even the series without at least two of the main strike bowlers, especially on a wicket which is expected to assist the quickies.
After the shocking decision to omit Waqar Younis from their squad for the first Test, the Pakistanese have recalled their ace fast bowler, who has captured 231 wickets in 46 Tests.
They have called up uncapped Shoaib Akhar to strengthen their fast bowling attack as the wicket promises to be greener and bouncier than the one at Peshawar last week.
The Windies will want to have the services of all of their pacers. Walsh and Rose, hit by some ``really bad'' food poisoning are definitely ``not yet 100 percent'', coach Malcolm Marshall said. But he added that Walsh is a fighter and is more than likely to start the match even if he still has some way to go towards full recovery.
Marshall also pointed out that Ambrose has been seeing a specialist for his painful back problem and the small hotel beds have added to the problem.
The quality of the accommodation has also been such a problem for the West Indies. They boycotted their three-day warm-up game against a local bank side earlier this week, complaining that the hotel allocated to them was sub-standard.
With the bowlers under the weather, extra pressure will be placed on star batsmen Brian Lara, Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. All three were in sparkling form in the recent limited-over series-in which the Windies lost all four matches-but that form seemed to have deserted them in the First Test defeat.
They will need to regain it if their team is to have any chance of winning the series. But with their current problems, manager Clive Lloyd and coach Marshall may well be content with keeping alive the team's chances of salvaging a series draw.
TEAMS: Pakistan (from): Wasim Akram (captain); Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Ejaz Ahmad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Momammed Wasim, Moin Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq. WI (from) Countney Walsh (capt), Brian Lara, Sherwin Campbell, Stuart Williams, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper, Philip Simmons, Roland Holder, David Williams, Ian Bishop, Curtly Ambrose, Franklyn Rose, Mervyn Dillon, Rawl Lewis, Philo Wallace.