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ICC 2005 With West Indies

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
My first series in charge of the West Indies is a tricky ODI Series at home to Pakistan. On top of the 12 established players I also choose to include all-rounders Dwayne Smith and Omari Banks, as well as pace bowler Fidel Edwards.

West Indies Squad for the ODI series at home to Pakistan



The team to face Pakistan in the opening fixture at St. Johns, Antigua was:

Chris Gayle (o)
Devon Smith (o)
Brian Lara (cpt)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ridley Jacobs (wk)
Ryan Hinds
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Smith
Ryan Cunningham
Tino Best

with Ryan Cunningham making his ODI debut. I considered namimg Jermaine Lawson but decided to give Cunningham his debut, hoping Tino Best and Dwayne Bravo can make the early break through with the ball.

We won the toss and decided to bat first, getting off to a great start thanks to openers Gayle and Smith. By the time Smith was run out on 37 we'd put 92 on the board inside 20 overs. From there, things didn't quite go to plan. Skipper Brian Lara managed just 12 before being trapped lbw by Mujtaba and Gayle fell 15 short of a ton when well bowled by Mughai. Chanderpaul managed a quick fire 46 and only a couple of late boundaries and good running between the wickets from Sarwan and Bravo helped us to post a total of 239-6 from our 50 overs.

West Indies Batting Card



Pakistan began their reply with openers Saeed Bin-Nasir and Waja Wasti, neither of whom play particularly aggressive cricket. Wasti was dealt with early, caught in the slips by Devon Smith off the bowling of Tino Best for just 6. The master Inzanam ul-Haq was soon to follow, cleaned bowled by Bravo for just 4 with the score at 21-2. The visitors were finding the run chase hard going and it became even harder as two wickets in successive bowls from slow left-armer Ryan Cunningham left them floundering at 143-5 with 16 overs remaining. Unfortunately, the game soon slipped from our grasp. Dwayne Smith had a game he'll be hoping to forget quickly, going for 58-0 from his 9 overs. Tahir Mughai and Saqlain Mushtaq were given too many chances to find the boundary and they toppled our total with three overs remaining.

West Indies Vs Pakistan Scorecard (inc WI Bowling Figures)



The defeat left us 1-0 behind the in the three-game series, with the second fixture taking place in little over one week's time.
 

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
If we were to have any hope of winning this series than a win in the second ODI fixture was crucial. I wasn't too happy with my bowling attack. Dwayne Smith made way for Jermaine Lawson, an all-rounder who bowled poorly last week replaced by a genuine fast-medium bowler with 15 wickets at 25.13 in this previous ODI appearances. Ryan Cunningham also made way, despite playing so well last week. The wicket looked as though it would offer no help to the spinners so in came Fidel Edwards.

West Indies Team Vs Pakistan (2nd ODI)



The pitch at the Port of Spain, Trinidad was looking pretty dubious by the time we rocked up. We lost the toss and were immediately put into bat. In all honesty, had we won the toss then I think we'd have chosen to bat ourselved, so we could have no complaints in that department. The openers again got us off to a solid if unspectacular start before Mushtaq trapped Gayle lbw for 34 in the 24th over (78-1). What following made difficult viewing for the West Indies public, as wicket after wicket fell in a frantic ten over period. Spinner Asif Mujtaba was the orchestrator, taking 34-4 including the prized wickets of Lara (5), Chanderpaul (19) and Devon Smith (47). Thankfully tailenders Lawson and Edwards managed to hang around and add 35 runs to the total, limping to a disappointing 173-8.

West Indies Batting Card



Pakistan's attempt to reach 174 (3.5rrr) got off to a slow start and jogged along at the RRR until Wasti was caught in the deep by Ryan Hinds off the bowling of Fidel Edwards for 26 (58-1). We continued to keep a strangle hold on the run-rate but with making proper in roads into the Pakistani batting order they had plenty in reserve to reach their total. Lawson and Bravo both bowled tightly however only Ryan Hinds managed to snag a wicket and Pakistan completed a series victory thanks to Yousuf Youhana's second boundary in the 48th over.

West Indies Vs Pakistan Scorecard

 

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
The third and ODI series fixture took place the following day in the Port of Spain. Ryan Cunningham replaced an out of form Tino Best, whilst the off-spin of all-rounder Omari Banks was chosen ahead of Ryan Hinds' slow-left-arm.

On a hard, dry track with the sunny beaming down we won the toss and decided to have a bat. Our pride was at stake in the face of a 3-0 whitewash and the game was just four overs old when Chris Gayle nudged a wide one from Mughai and was snaffled in second slip by Khan with the score at 20-1. Mughai also claimed the prized wicket of Brian Lara, completing a disappointing series for the world's number one batsman. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devon Smith took the total past 100 before opening up and creaming the ball to all parts of the ground. Chanderpaul was finally out for 66, with Khan again taking a catch at slip off the bowling of Mujtaba. Smith performed admirably, bringing up his hundred in the 49th over. We finished on 215-4. Once again it was a total that looked difficult to defend.

West Indies Batting Card



Pakistan needed little over four runs an over, 4.3 to be precise. Jermaine Lawson and Fidel Edwards opened the bowling and kept the Pakistani openers on their toes, increasing the required run rate but failing to make an early breakthrough into the Pakistan top order. Cunningham, Omari Banks and Chris Gayle all bowled overs of spin, whilst Dwayne Bravo toiled from the other end with his medium pacers. It was Bravo that made the initial breakthrough, though by that time Pakistan had already posted 144 as an opening partnership. With fourteen overs remaining they required 72 runs. As in the earlier clashes, with plenty of men left in the changing rooms, they were in little danger of losing this one. Fidel Edwards had Inzaman ul-Haq cleaned bowled with 40 needed off 8 overs but incoming batsman Yousuf Youhana smashed three fours in five balls to quickly tip the game in Pakistan's favour. Not even the late wicket of Wasti, three short of his century, could raise the spirits around the ground. Pakistan took the trophy and with a 3-0 series victory.

West Indies Bowling Figures



West Indies Vs Pakistan Scorecard

 

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
I had a number of difficult decision to make when selecting the squad for the 1st Test Match with Pakistan, starting 26th May in Bridgetown, Barbados. Ryan Cunningham, Omari Banks and Ryan Hinds were all cut from the ODI squad, leaving us with a squad something like this.

West Indies Squad Vs Pakistan (1st Test)



The pitch at Bridgetown, Barbados looked as though it would offer some spin so Dave Mohammed started in place of the extra seamer, Fidel Edwards.

West Indies Team Vs Pakistan



West Indies Vs Pakistan (1st Test - Bridgetown, Barbados)

Pakistan came into the game on the back of their 3-0 series victory in the ODI's, though in test cricket they had faultered in recent months. Defeat in Sri Lanka left them in 4th place in the International Test Rankings, though at the moment anything higher than 8th would be an achievement for the West Indies. I felt that on paper our batting line-up was more than capable of out doing that of Pakistan's, though their bowling line-up could certainly make a similar claim against ours.

Having won the toss and chosen to have a bat, you don't expect to arrive at the lunch table three down with just 64 on the board. Gayle, Smith and the out of form Lara all fell early and only some dogged batting from Chanderpaul and Sarwan saw us into the break just three wickets down. Unfortunately it didn't last too much longer. Soon after lunch, Chanderpaul was caught close in off the bowling of Mushtaq for 30 (98-4). Ridley Jacobs steadied the slip but again failed having made a start (30 - 162-5) though at the other end Sarwan looked a class apart, skilfully manouvering the ball around the outfield to sit comfortably on 71* at lunch (166-5).

The first day certainly belonged to Pakistan. Sarwan and Bravo lasted little longer than five overs after the interval before Kaneria's spin took care of them. Dave Mohammed and Dwayne Smith took the total past 200 but the aggression of Waqar Younis and the control and spin of Kaneria and Mushtaq proved too much to handle. Younis wrapped the first innings up late on, 226 all out thirty four minutes prior to the close of play.

 
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Nuts

Cricket Spectator
West Indies v Pakistan, 1st Test, 2nd day

Pakistan saw out the final six overs of day one without losing a wicket and began day two chasing down 226 on a track that was starting to favour the bowlers. Jermaine Lawson and Dwayne Bravo both applied the pressure early and both claimed early scalps, Bravo taking a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Bin-Nasir for 6 (18-1) and Lawson trapped Inzaman ul-Haq in front for 3 (43-2). Yousuf Youhana soon followed his captain back to the pavillion, caught by Chanderpaul at mid-on off the bowling of Dwayne Smith for 12 (56-3). Waja Wasti was fairing slightly better, playing some nice strokes and finding himself on the verge of a half century in the final over before lunch. However it was not to be. Chris Gayle came on to bowl three overs before the interval and had him caught behind. The session certainly belonged to the West Indies.

We emerged after lunch looking to make the most of our strong start, and thankfully, we did. The wickets tumbled and were spread throughout the team, all six bowlers took at least one. The Pakistani innings was wrapped by by Tino Best, taking two wickets in two bowls, though one was the run out of Moin Khan. We began our second innings with a 12 run lead, and it was still only the evening session of day two.

We reached the close of play having lost just one wicket, Devon Smith found Wasti off the bowling of Masood. Brian Lara and Chris Gayle were at the crease with the score at 39-1, a lead of 51 going into day three.

West Indies Bowling Figures (Pakistan 1st Innings)

 
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Nuts

Cricket Spectator
West Indies v Pakistan, 1st Test, 3rd day

Day Three couldn't have gotten off to a worse start as Brian Lara waffted Saqlain Mushtaq to second slip where he was well caught by Wasti for 4 with the score as 40-2. In came Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who swiftly departed just as quickly, guilty of gloving a bouncing ball from Waqar Younis behind to Moin Khan. Sarwan wasn't far behind either, cleaned bowled by Masood (57-4). Ridley Jacobs and Dwayne Bravo also failed to make lunch, and suddenly the tail was exposed. At the other end, Chris Gayle must have been tearing his hair out. At lunch, he stood on 49* having occupied the crease for over three hours. He simply needed someone to stick in there with him.

Dwayne Smith gave it a go before Gayle himself fell on 66, cleaned bowled by the irrepressible Younis. The lead stood at 150. Dave Mohammed did his best, adding 12 before dancing down the track and attempting to slap Kaneria over cover, managing only to find the safe hands of Bin-Nasir. Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson offered only minimal resistance and Dwayne Bravo was left stranded on 30*. The Pakistan attack had proved simply too good and our lead stood at just 182. Admittedly, the track favoured the spin of Mushtaq and Kaneria, so there was still hope for Dave Mohammed and Chris Gayle. One thing was for sure, the opening bowlers would need to perform with the new ball if we stood any chance of salvaging this one.

West Indies Batting Card (2nd Innings)



There were fourty minutes left of the second session when Pakistani openers Wasti and Bin-Nasir arrived at the crease, and the winning total stood at 183. Tino Best and Jermaine Lawson were given the chance to shine with the new ball, and Lawson's searing opening spell forced Wasti into top-edging a bouncer to square-leg were Brian Lara was happy to claim a comfortable catch. Soon after tea Dwayne Bravo was brought into attack and his slower ball deceived Inzaman ul-Haq enough for the big man to nick the ball onto his pad and then onto leg stump. 32-2. There was still hope!

The final session of the day was the most intriguing. With Bin-Nasir and Yousuf Youhana at the crease the visitors were looking comfortable, but a fine spell of bowling from both Tino Best and Chris Gayle reduced the scoreline to 113-5 at the close of play. Day Four looks set to be a cracker, with a result either way still possible. If either Imran Farhat can be dislodged early, then we're down to the tail, and then anything is possible.

West Indies Bowling Figures (End of Day Three)

 

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
West Indies v Pakistan, 1st Test, 4th day

There was a big crowd packed into the ground at Bridgetown for what looked to the be the fourth and final day of a low scoring test match. The game was perfectly poised. Pakistan needed 70 runs, The West Indies needed 5 wickets. Pakistan had Imran Farhat and Moin Khan at the crease, two excellent batsman. The West Indies had the pitch well and truly in their favour. The ball was 44 overs old and Tino Best got the day's play underway with a fine maiden that included two searing bouncers and a delivery that pitched close to Khan's toes before the batsman jammed the bat down to guard his wicket.

Khan and Farhat played the pitch perfectly, and after seeing off Best with the new ball, slowly but surely crept towards the required total. Dave Mohammed faired slightly better than Gayle with the ball, and managed to remove Khan thanks to some smart keeping from Ridley Jacobs. However, Pakistan needed just 12. Saqlain Mushtaq hit the winnings runs and Pakistan took the first test to lead the two game series 1-0. This wasn't the start we'd had in mind.

West Indies Vs Pakistan - 1st Test Scorecard

 

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
West Indies Vs Pakistan - 2nd Test, 1st day

I named the same squad for the second and final test with Pakistan, there just isn't enough competition for places at the moment. Fidel Edwards is chosen ahead of Dave Mohammed. I'm banking on Chris Gayle being able to bowl any spin required. We had to win this one or the series went to Pakistan.

The toss at Kingston, Jamaica was one I was delighted to win and we padded up immediately. The morning session was a comfortable one until the final ball before tea, when Devon Smith flashed at one that angled across him. Wasti got down well to take a great catch off Waqar Younis' bowling and we went into lunch 72-1. Smith scored 21. Chris Gayle looked to be in fine form, so it was a disappointment when Masood got one to come back into him and umpire Darrell Hair showed him the finger (60, 117-2). Brian Lara continued regardless and brought up his first international 50 of the summer midway through the afternoon session. At the other end Chanderpaul was also going along strongly, and tea saw us looking comfortable at 194-2.

Lara and Chanderpaul batted throughout much of the evening session as well, bringing up the 100 partnership off the bowling of Mughal. Lara's century arrived in 175 balls with eleven fours and one six before Younis wrapped him up with Lara leaving a ball pitching outside off that jagged back to take middle-and-leg. Chanderpaul soon added a century of his own, and with Ramnaresh Sarwan saw us through to the end of the day's play with the score at 307-3. For once, it'd been our day.

West Indies Batting Card - Day One

 

Nuts

Cricket Spectator
West Indies Vs Pakistan - 2nd Test, 2nd day

The first session of the day was a complete disaster. From 304-3 at the start of play, we were all out for 378 before lunch. Shivnarine Chanderpaul must have wondered what was going on, left stranded on 145*. Still, it gave us hope of doing something similar with the ball. Lawson had Bin-Nasir caught behind with his first ball of the match and the defence had begun. By tea, Pakistan were three down with 100 runs on the board. Bravo, Lawson and Edwards had a wicket apiece. Inzaman ul-Haq and Waja Wasti were both back in the pavilion. The final session of the day initially belong to the visitors as Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan brought Pakistan back into the game. Two quick wickets saw both depart and a close of play scoreline of 192-5, a lead of 186 runs.
 

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