There are days when Pakistan can beat any team in the world without breaking sweat. But all too often there are days when Pakistan presses the self- destruct button with such frequency it might as well be generating morse code. Yesterday the message from the Pakistan players was SOS, as they gave a passable impersonation of the Keystone Cops in the field, and a textbook illustration of how not to build an innings at the crease.
But blaming Pakistan's defeat wholly on some irresponsible batting and second rate fielding would be unfair to the West Indies, and, in particular, captain Brian Lara. Though Lara failed with the bat, his captaincy was mature and clever. It's not often that a West Indies victory is built around a three man spin attack and a middle order collapse. Where the traditional west Indian virtues of controlled pace and cavalier middle order batting were lacking, swashbuckling opener Philo Wallace and the spin trio of Arthurton, Hooper and Lewis stepped in to see the islanders home.
Lara persevered with four or five fielders on the boundary throughout, packing the leg side for the right handers, and bringing himself and the lightning fast Arthurton in close. He backed his bowlers and used them intelligently, resisting the temptation to chop and change as other captains, to the annoyance of the scorers, have been wont to do this week.
Arthurton too had a wonderful day, bowling as full and intelligently as any bowler in the tournament. His dismissal of Ijaz, pushing the ball onto leg stump as Ijaz stepped away to cut, was as good a piece of bowling as we have seen all week. His man of the match performance went a long way to erasing the memory of his performances in Asia two years ago in the World Cup when unkind Asian fans dubbed him the 'binary man' because of his string of ones and zeros at the crease. Lara told the press afterwards that there was ``room for improvement''. He had a point, as the fast bowling partnership of Dillon and Mclean could become world-class (Philo Wallace is already), and Rawl Lewis has bags of potential.
The omens were good for the West Indies from the off, as Philo Wallace, an immensely powerful batsman who eschews niceties like timing, took 14 of Akram's first over. The following over the troubles started for Pakistan, as Moin Khan injured his knee stretching to take a ball from Mahmood. Physio Dan Kiesel patched Moin up as best he could, but the keeper was clearly in trouble, unable to even walk properly, and at the end of the over, he had to leave the field, Aamer Sohail donning the gloves in his place.
Stuart Williams too showed a side of his batting which many observers have never seen before, electing to move his feet from time to time. Having driven Azhar through the covers in Rahul Dravid style in the previous over, he now meted out the same punishment to Wasim.
Azhar moved to bowling round the wicket and with the first ball of his next over, Azhar trapped Williams plumb in front, the openers lack of footwork, which has earned him the nickname Nureyev, betraying him once again. Shiv Chanderpaul was the next man in, but he had to wait a while, as Aamer Sohail became the second Pakistani wicket keeper on the day to require treatment for an injury. It wasn't clear what had happened, but it seemed that one of his team mates may have missed in an attempt to high-five him, and caught him in the eye. Minutes later, as Sohail was attended to on the field, television replays confirmed exactly that, the teammate in question being Salim Malik.
Moin returned to the field in the 8th over, and Aamer Sohail gratefully gave him back the keeping gloves. He was immediately back in the thick of the action, as a Wallace heave resulted in a bottom edge bouncing just over Moin's head, and down to the boundary for four. Some terrible fielding from Arshad Khan and Saleem Elahi gifted the West Indians some extra runs, and the 50 came up in the 8th over.
This was Akram’s cue to withdraw himself from the attack, and the first spin of the day, Akram’s slower ball excepted, came in the form of Saqlain Mushtaq. Bowling with a slip and a short cover to the right hander, and a slip and silly point to Chanderpaul, Saqlain settled right into his stride, forcing the batsmen to play him watchfully.
But the Pakistan bowlers continued to suffer, and it was Saqlain's turn to bear the brunt of the damage, as Philo Wallace ripped into him, slamming fours backward of square, and through wide mid wicket. Sohail brought Wasim back on from the other end, replacing Azhar, but he had no more luck, as Wallace picked his slower ball, and guided it brilliantly to third man for four, a really superb shot, both in conception and execution. Wasim retorted with a 140 km/h scorcher, but it was good only for a single, as Wallace flashed and edged down to third man again.
At the other end, one off spinner gave way to another, Arshad Khan replacing Saqlain. It didn't make a difference to Wallace though, as he launched an expansive off drive which burst straight through a hoarding on the boundary.
Chanderpaul took his cue from his partner, lofting Arshad over long off for four. Why he chose to wait until after the field restrictions were removed to open his shoulders may forever remain a mystery, but he did it to good effect. Wallace showed he could do even better however, and in the same over, he first danced down the track and clubbed Arshad straight back over his head for four, and followed that up with an exquisite square cut for another boundary. As if to demonstrate the versatility in his game, he then produced the deftest of flicks through mid wicket, just laying off the shot a fraction to allow himself time to scamper a brilliantly run two.
Wallace was unlucky to get out soon after. Cutting hard to gulley, Malik dived to his right, but only parried the ball, as Wallace set off for a run. The ball bounced conveniently into the hands of Ijaz Ahmed, and as Chanderpaul sent Wallace back, the throw came in straight over the top of the stumps and he was run out for a brilliant 79, perhaps the best innings of the tournament to date.
Lara was next up, but disappointed in attempting to imitate Philo. Sohail wisely brought a slip and a silly point up for the impatient Lara. The left hander flailed wildly on a couple of occasions, fortunate not to throw his wicket away in the process. But it looked likely to happen sooner or later, and sure enough, on 18, Lara tried to drive Arshad back down the ground, but the ball was far too short for the shot, and he spooned it straight up in the air, for Saqlain to run round from mid off and take an easy catch.
The crowd was witness to more bizarre captaincy from Aamer Sohail after drinks, but in the end it paid dividends. Afridi bowled to new batsman Hooper with two gullies, and two men in the covers and succeeded in tying the Guyana skipper down. The frustration got to Chanderpaul at the other end and he missed out on a well deserved half century when he was superbly stumped by Moin Khan.
Next in Arthurton got off the mark, edging Afridi down to third man for four, as the West Indians brought up their 200 in the 34th over. Salim Malik took over from Arshad Khan as the latter finished an excellent spell, and almost immediately he picked up the wicket of Carl Hooper, flinging himself high and wide to his right to pull off a spectacular one handed return catch.
As Phil Simmons strode to the crease, the West Indian innings lay in tatters, a total of 300 now looking a long way off, when 350 had seemed within easy reach at one stage. A slip was brought in as Afridi started looking a far more dangerous proposition, the Pakistanis aware that one more wicket would put them in amongst the West Indian tail.
Sohail brought Wasim back on in the 44th over. Arthurton was clearly unsettled by the change in pace and was beaten outside off, and cut completely in two off successive deliveries, before the fifth ball of the over finally did the trick, having him caught behind by a jubilant Moin Khan for a well compiled 33. Jacobs was given out lbw as he looked to work Akram down to fine leg, and Lewis and Mclean brought the score on to a creditable 289.
At 135 km/h, Mervyn Dillon is one of the quickest bowlers on display here, only fractionally behind Wasim Akram, Henry Olonga and Javagal Srinath, who are leading the way. He bowled well in his opening spell and going into the fifth over, Pakistan were 21 for no loss. Remarkably, Afridi had yet to get off the mark. Perhaps spurred on by his counterpart, McLean too hit the 139 km/h mark, as Elahi now found that the going was just as difficult from either end.
As Dillon steamed in, Afridi finally decided that he had to get things going, and in an extraordinary piece of improvisation, he stepped forward and out to the offside to a delivery just short of a length, and hoiked it over mid wicket for four. That was to be his last act of bravado however, as with the next ball, Dillon trapped him absolutely smack in front of his stumps, the ball pitching middle and straightening just a touch.
Azhar Mahmood replaced Afridi, no doubt with instructions to get the scoreboard moving. When Dillon dropped one short, the all rounder smacked his lips, said thank you very much, and pulled it away through mid wicket for four. Mahmood was now into his stride, and at the other end he produced an exquisite flick off his hips, tucking McLean away to the mid wicket boundary, following that up with a lovely cover drive which brought him a couple more. At the end of the first ten overs then, Pakistan 60 for 1.
Improbably, it was the second change, Arthurton, who made the breakthrough. Bowling full and straight around the wicket off a short run up he caught Mahmood attempting an ambitious late cut, pushing over his off stump. Finally the binary man had some ones and noughts to celebrate: one ball, one wicket, no runs. He clearly couldn't wait to bowl again, chasing a Mahmood glance at long leg off Hooper with all the enthusiasm of the Arthurton of old, picking up, spinning round and throwing the ball in in a single action.
But it was Hooper who recorded the next significant single number on the scoresheet, bowling Sohail, who, like Mahmood, attempted to cut a straight ball. Rawl Lewis came on for Hooper, and straight away found the same full length as his team mates. Sending the ball down slightly quicker than either Arthurton or Hooper, he found enough turn away from the right handed Ijaz to twice beat the outside edge.
The Pakistan innings never really got going thereafter. In Lewis’ second over, the 22nd, when Ijaz pushed Lewis to Dillon at mid on and opted for the run. Saleem Elahi was well short of his ground as Dillon skidded the ball home for the run out. In the 31st over, the West Indies struck again. Sarfraz came down the wicket to a full length ball, skied it in the air, and Dillon ran round from long off to long on to take a simple catch. In his second return Arthurton spotted Ijaz, who had just reached his 50, moving away from the wicket to cut, pushed the ball full and onto leg stump, and bowled him. It was a critical blow for Pakistan. Worse was to follow as Malik tried to reverse seep the next ball but one, and was caught leg before. With Pakistan at 180 for 7. Lewis came back on, turning his arm over rapidly from the shoulder, and ripping the ball hard. Wasim sent the third ball of his third over, the 38th, for a massive six over midwicket. He completely missed the next delivery which spun in from outside off trying to sweep the ball and was bowled, but umpire Orchard called a no ball. Wasim was clearly chancing his arm, and it was no surprise when Arthurton, in the following over, pushed one down the off side, Wasim nicked it and was caught by Jacobs. Arthurton finished with 31 for four off his ten overs. Moin went cheaply swinging at Dillon and Arshad and Saqlain had a few overs batting practice before the innings closed 250 for 9, 31 short.