Pakistan v West Indies: WI pack batting (16 May 1999)

16 May 1999

Pakistan v West Indies: WI pack batting

Tony Cozier

Presumably guided by the vast local knowledge of Courtney Walsh, the West Indies have packed their batting for the opening match of World Cup campaign here today against Pakistan, opponents as potentially powerful as any they will meet later.

Walsh's experience of the unpretentious ground in suburban Bristol where he spent 14 seasons of county cricket with Gloucestershire would have been a significant input into the deliberations of captain Brian Lara, back at the helm and raring to go, and his fellow selectors.

The great Jamaican fast bowler took over 800 wickets for the county with whom he parted company earlier this year, but those who follow the game in these parts attest that he was never favoured by conditions.

Even with the recent cool, wet weather, the pitch is expected to be true to type: slow and low.

The selection bias that places the batting talent of 20-year-old Ricardo Powell as low as No. 8 in his first international appearance places even more reliance than usual on the ageing stalwarts, Walsh himself and his long-time partner in pace, Curtly Ambrose.

Merv Dillon is the only other out-and-out bowler, leaving Lara to share the remaining 20 of the allocated 50 overs between the medium-pace of Phil Simmons and the contrasting slower offerings of the left-armers, Keith Arthurton and Jimmy Adams, the flat off-spin of Powell and, should push come to shove, the quick leg-breaks of Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

The prospect of such savage ball-beaters as Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq in full flow in mid-innings would have been enough to cause Lara a sleepless night had it not been for the memory of the last One-Day encounter with the Pakistanis, in Bangladesh last October.

On a pitch of similar nature as that anticipated today, Dillon and Nixon McLean were the only two fast bowlers, Walsh and Ambrose were back in the Caribbean, and Arthurton, Simmons, Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper trundled 30 overs between them to restrict the Pakistanis to 259 for nine, securing victory by 30 runs.

Since then, both teams have passed through traumatic times but arrived in England buoyed by recent results, their beleaguered captains firmly in charge again and their players believing in themselves.

The West Indies humiliation in South Africa, where they were thrashed in Tests and One-Day Internationals, served as shock therapy.

It changed attitudes and brought back pride and commitment. It transformed self-centred boys into responsible men and got rid of those who couldn't put team above self.

The effect of the reformation was immediately evident in the performances against Australia, a team with a record that has installed them as joint favourites, with South Africa, for the World Cup. It was most obvious in captain Lara whose batting triggered the turn-around.

He has brought the same intensity of purpose to the World Cup. He has refused to take the slightest risk with an injury to his right wrist, cracked by a bouncer in a One-Day international as far back as January 28 and with which he reeled off 213, 153 not out and 100 in successive Tests.

He has not played a match since the fourth One-Day international against Australia in Port-of-Spain almost a month ago.

Finding it uncomfortable gripping the bat, he declined to take part in any of the three preparation matches against counties here, confining himself to lengthy net sessions over the past three days.

He has declared physically and, more crucially, mentally ready to lead by example as he did in the Tests against Australia. He is as critical to their prospects here as he was then - and he appreciates it.

In his absence, in the Caribbean and here, others have gained the self-belief that is so critical to success - and that was so missing in South Africa.

Sherwin Campbell and Ridley Jacobs were paired as the openers against the Australians and shared stands of 27, 83, 81 and 99.

Jimmy Adams blossomed as stand-in captain and stroke-making No. 3. Phil Simmons emphasised his worth as worthy One-Day specialist, and Dillon, Reon King, Hendy Bryan and Nehemiah Perry pulled their weight with the ball.

In addition, the retirement of Carl Hooper gave Powell the chance to prove his immense potential and he has so quickly grasped it that he finds himself in the first match with knowledgeable talk that he could be the star of the tournament.

Man for man, the balance is with Pakistan, but the West Indies now know what teamwork can achieve.

The Pakistanis, as always richly talented and superbly balanced, have had the scandal of bribery and match-fixing hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles - or, at least, the bars of a Karachi prison - for some time.

Captain Wasim Akram and several of the most prominent players are, even now, the subjects of a judicial inquiry, the findings of which could well be published during the tournament.

Somehow, Akram and his men have managed to disregard the distraction and they start the tournament with an imposing recent record in One-Day Internationals, triumphant in three multi-team tournaments in the sub-continent and in Sharjah this year.

While their main men are well known and established, they bring a relative unknown whose advance publicity advertises him as probably the fastest bowler the game has ever known.

His name is Shaoib Ahktar and he is said to be ready to go through the 100 miles-an-hour barrier. We shall see.

When they won the Cup in Australia in 1992, their imperious captain, Imran Khan, called them his "cornered tigers", for they were beaten in their first three matches, among them defeat by nine wickets by the West Indies.

Akram says the persistent allegations and the court cases have had the same effect.

Any opening match is a critical match but this is even more so for two teams whose temperament is so strongly guided by confidence.

How they perform today will largely dictate how they perform over the coming weeks.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Sherwin Campbell, Ridley Jacobs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jimmy Adams, Phil Simmons, Keith Arthurton, Ricardo Powell, Curtly Ambrose, Merv Dillon, Courtney Walsh. 12th man: Nehemiah Perry.

Pakistan (probable): Wasim Akram (captain), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Yousaf Youhanna, Azhar Mahmood, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq and Shoaib Ahktar.

Umpires: Daryll Hair (Australia), David Orchard (South Africa). TV replays: Ken Palmer (England).

Match referee: Raman Subba Row (England).

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)