Cable and Wireless ODIs: One-Dayer with a difference

St. John's - For two reasons, the Antigua Recreation Ground will hold a special place in West Indies cricket today.

It is the first time it will stage a One-Day International since 1989. More importantly, it is the first time that two neutral international teams will contest a match on Caribbean soil with Pakistan and Zimbabwe clashing in the third match of the region's first-ever triangular tournament.

It is one of few factors that may not encourage a high turn-out.

Another is the fact that the match falls on a working day in the middle of the week.

And remember the talk about the possibility of Antiguans staging a boycott to protest Sir Vivian Richards' non-appointment as West Indies coach.

The feeling here, however, is that in spite of all of the above factors, the ground will, as usual, be filled to near capacity and the customary side-attractions of Chickie's Hi-Fi and the humorous character Gravy will be in the popular Double Decker Stand.

There was the expectation of a good crowd even in the absence of official figures on ticket sales.

By late evening the Antigua Cricket Association was unable to disclose how many tickets had been sold although it was revealed that 800 tickets had been distributed to schools around the island.

The business at hand is what happens in the middle between a desperate Zimbabwe team needing nothing less than a victory and a Pakistan team still basking in the glory of their Sharjah Cup which they won with a victory over mighty South Africa in the final last Friday.

Pakistan arrived here on Sunday holding their heads high following a terrific turnaround of fortunes in recent weeks.

They were in turmoil in Australia where they lost each of the three Tests against the undisputed world champions and they were only marginally better at home against Sri Lanka in both Tests and One-Day Internationals.

Sri Lanka outclassed them in the first two Tests, but the revival started in the third Test under new captain Moin Khan and continued in Sharjah where a number of new, young players emerged.

Everyone knows, however, that one never really knows which Pakistan team will turn up on the day. They can be brilliant, like when they disposed of Australia in the preliminaries at last summer's World Cup. They can be like a bunch of novices, like they were against the same opponents in the final of the same competition.

Their recent success has prompted encouragement to the new captain and his young charges here without their champion fast bowler Wasim Akram and the injured trio of Saeed Anwar, Saqlain Musthaq and Azhar Mahmood.

'It is always very hard to play in the West Indies, but we are here with a very young, inexperienced side hoping to do well,' Moin said yesterday during a practice session at the Caribbean Cricket Centre at the all-inclusive Club Antigua Hotel.

'The players are performing individually and collectively.In Sharjah, they fieldedsuperbly throughout the tournament.'

Moin was not too downspirited by the non-availability of the quality quartet.

'They are all great players. We will definitely miss them, but this is another good chance for the youngsters to prove themselves.

'It is a cycle. One eventually has to take the seniors' place in the team.'

Wasim will come to the Caribbean next week after captaining an Asian XI against a Rest of the World XI in Dhaka this weekend, while Saeed, Saqlain and Azhar are still recuperating from injuries before joining the squad for next month's Test series.

Moin confirmed yesterday that Shoaib Akhtar, the exciting fast bowler who created such a favourable impression at the World Cup, would be ruled out of today's match because of a knee injury he sustained in Sharjah just over a week ago.

It's a do-or-die match for Zimbabwe after the disappointment of Sabina Park where they lost both matches.

As coach Dave Houghton acknowledged, they must beat Pakistan in both matches to stand a chance of reaching the finals.