Aamer fashions Pakistan's victory

Shahid Afridi, captaining Pakistan for the first time in one-dayers, had said after losing the toss that he would have fielded first on a surface he reckoned had a bit in it for his bowlers. He was spot on, and Pakistan's trio of fast bowlers exploited whatever juice there was, bending their backs to leave West Indies in deep trouble. There were no magic deliveries or exaggerated reverse swing, just good old line and length but that proved sufficient for a woefully inept batting line-up.

Leading the attack was the 17-year-old explosive talent, Mohammad Aamer. The left-arm fast bowler found a bit of seam movement, swung it gently and varied his pace. Aamer did the early damage, sending back Dale Richards in the first over, catching a miscued on-drive in his follow-through. Aamer then got Travis Dowling for 0, trying to cut one that was just too full.

To his credit, Aamer bowled tightly on a pitch that was hard and devoid of much grass. With the batsmen uneasy defending and playing off the back foot, Aamer settled for back of a length and beat the bat numerous times. He hit a tidy line with the new ball and cleverly changed his pace, conceding just 16 off his first four overs.

Aamer's strikes helped leave West Indies bleeding at 36 for 4. They went from deep trouble to catastrophe in a matter of minutes when Aamer changed ends after a break and ripped one through David Bernard.