Philo Wallace: My First Test (6 November 1998)
Philo wallace is known to be a bit of a wicket-keeper, but assuming the gloves in his first Test is something he will never forget
06-Nov-1998
6 November 1998
Philo Wallace: My First Test
by Philip Spooner
A Different World For Wallace
Philo wallace is known to be a bit of a wicket-keeper, but
assuming the gloves in his first Test is something he will never
forget.
He was called upon to keep wicket after Trinidadian David
Williams came down with a upset stomach on the third morning of
the second Test against Pakistan at the Pindi Stadium,
Rawalpindi, last year.
"Obviously, it was something that I did not expect to happen,"
said the big Barbadian opener. "but I was chosen as the second
keeper for the tour so it was a matter of doing the job I was
called on to do."
Wallace learned his glove work while a schoolboy at Ellerslie
and also performed the job for Spartan Club and Barbados so when
he donned the gauntlets for two sessions he was not out of
place.
"It was a big challenge and I was happy that I did a pretty good
job. I kept wicket in the four-day practice match before the
Test against Dr. Adbul Qadeer Khan's XI so I was in tune," he
remembered.
"I was never really nervous or anything like that. In the early
stages it was a bit hard, but as I got into it things got
smooth."
It was smooth sailing behind the stumps for the 28-year-old, but
not so in front.
In the West Indies first innings of 303, he was
leg-before-wicket to left-arm seamer Wasim Akram for five and
did little better in the second, leg-before again for eight,
this time to Akram's pace partner Waqar Younis.
In the second innings, the West Indies, under the leadership of
Courtney Walsh, capsized for 139 and Pakistan won by an innings
and 29 runs, after making 471.
Inzamam-ul-Haq (177) and Aamir Sohail (160), added 323 for the
third wicket as Pakistan showcased their dominance in a 3-0
series whitewash.
Wallace missed the other games when the Windies lost by an
innings and 19 runs at Preshawar and ten wickets at Karachi.
"That first Test was more than an eye-opener," Wallace
confessed. "I thought I was fully prepared for the challenge
having made 142 in the four-day game, but Test cricket is a
different ball game altogether."
He recalled the wicket being very helpful to the seam bowlers on
the first morning, making the ball almost unplayable.
"Those guys had the ball doing everything you could think about.
I tried to come to grips with the situation but was not
successful."
Wallace, however, was not happy with his dismissal in the first
innings. He said the ball came from his thigh pad when he was
adjudged LBW.
"I tried to play to the on-side and it was clearly too high to
be out, but that's the way things go sometimes.
"I was not too worried about my failures, however, as I knew I
could perform at that level. I got a bad call in the first
innings, and a top-class delivery in the second - all part of
the game."
He recalled getting some "lip" from Akram during the first
innings, something which "will remain with me for a long time.
It was as if, for some reason, he was targeting me".
Wallace, one of four Ellerslie students to play Test cricket,
said what pleased him most about his debut was that he was
partnered by school-mate Sherwin Campbell.
The two had been opening partners from Under-15 days right
through the Barbados youth team, the national senior team and
finally in the Test match arena.
"It was a bit emotional to walk out to start the West Indies
innings with Sherwin. We were a combination all through our
playing days and the chance had finally come for us to build a
partnership on the world stage," he said.
"Even though things did not go according to plan I felt
comfortable that I was partnered by a familiar face."
Wallace said that apart from his Test failures he was satisfied
with his overall performances on the tour.
"Pakistan is not an easy place to play, and I returned home with
a first-class century under my name, so that was pleasing," he
said.
The only other player to get triple-figures was Carl Hooper who
made 106 in the final Test.
"There was not much to do on that trip. There was all Asian TV,
no bar, nothing western, so you had a lot of time to think. For
me it was a learning experience and I was glad I had the chance
to see and feel the Test-match atmosphere."
Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)