Captains look on positive side

The thriller that many were expecting never materialised.

But West Indies and Pakistan were heartened by their performance in the second Test which ended in a tame draw at Kensington Oval yesterday

'I'm quite happy with the way things turned out. Both teams played some good cricket,' West Indies captain Jimmy Adams said after the match was called off with neither team in sight of a victory.

'We showed a lot of fight and character over the five days and it has set the series up for a pretty interesting game in Antigua.'

Moin Khan was singing a similar song.

'The way the boys performed throughout the match was great. It's a very good sign before the final Test,' the Pakistan captain said.

The visitors started the final day with a lead of 200 and three wickets in hand, but batted on until after lunch before setting the West Indies the challenging target of 275 in a minimum of 57 overs.

Why did the declaration come so late'

'I think 55 overs were enough (to dismiss the West Indies),' Moin said.

'The West Indies bowled really well yesterday (Sunday). They took the game from us and that's why we took some time to get on the pitch and get some runs. Otherwise, we would have declared before that.'

As it turned out, the West Indies, despite losing openers Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith inside the first five overs, finished on 132 for four.

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad supported his captain.

'The way our batsmen batted in the second innings, I think they saved it for Pakistan and put pressure on the West Indies,' he said.

'But we were unlucky that we didn't get enough time or (a big) enough target which we could set.'

Adams reckoned that a rate of almost five runs an over, even on what he believed was a satisfactory pitch, was going to be a tall order.

He said he was pleased by the emergence of young batsmen Wavell Hinds, whose was the obvious Man Of The Match for his 165 and 52, and teenager Ramnaresh Sarwan, who made an unbeaten 84 on debut.

Adams himself was their captain when they were making their debut tour with the West Indies 'A' team to South Africa in 1997.

'What is even more pleasing is the improvement we are seeing. We're seeing young men making the grade and making statements early in their career,' he said.

'To see them coming through the ranks and fulfilling the potential is really a wonderful feeling.'

On the down-side, he was concerned over inconsistency in most aspects of the West Indies' game.

'Our out-cricket in patches fell down a little bit over the five days,' the West Indies captain said.

'Our bowling, in patches, wasn't consistent. There were a few poor shots here and there. We still need to look at every area of our cricket and to keep focusing and try to improve these areas.'