Pakistan win their first encounter
Despite a middle-innings wobble, Pakistan cantered to a five wicket win over
Zimbabwe at St John, Antigua. The result means that West Indies have
qualified for the best-of-three finals. Zimbabwe's miserable run continues,
and it will take a near miracle for them to make it any further in this
competition.
Some very ordinary batting from Zimbabwe meant that Pakistan needed just 200
runs to win, and thanks to an Afridi special, the crowd got their money's
worth.
Zimbabwe won the toss and batted on a bone-dry pitch. The game was delayed
15 minutes due to a wet outfield, but the covers on the square had
undoubtedly done their job. Zimbabwe got off to a measured start, thanks
mainly to Grant Flower. Neil Johnson was bought back into the side after his
mysterious absence on Sunday. Johnson did not look like a man assured of his
place: his feet were not moving, and his bat was beating several times by
Waqar Younis and Mohammed Akram.
Still, the singles came fairly easily, but it was not until the tenth over.
First Johnson pulled Mohammed Akram for three, then Flower did one better,
hitting over the leg side infield for a boundary. Johnson drove through the
covers for his first boundary.
Arshad Khan came into the attack in the 14th over. He thought he had Grant
Flower caught behind first ball, but the replays showed the ball lobbed from
Flower’s pads. Later in the over, Flower advanced down the track, smashing
Arshad into the crowd with a big six over mid-off. Flower was looking good,
but wasn't to last long. He turned a slower ball from Abdur Razzaq to Younis
Khan at mid-wicket. His 36 was an accomplished knock, but he was victim to a
plague which seems to affect Zimbabwe batters more than others: playing
yourself in, then getting out.
A disappointing Johnson was not long for the crease either. The left hander
had a huge, unnecessary swipe at Arshad Khan, and was caught in the infield
on the leg-side.
New men Goodwin and Carlisle once more set about a partnership. Carlisle,
who has a very open stance, is looking more accomplished every innings. He
hits the ball hard, times it well, and is a good runner. Goodwin is the
class of the Zimbabwe line-up, compact and attacking. Carlisle swept Arshad
for his first boundary, a beautiful shot. He repeated the feat against an
inaccurate Shahid, before striking the leg spinner's full toss to the long
on boundary.
Mushtaq Ahmed, playing in his first ODI since September immediately troubled
the Zimbabwe batsman. He was played with a certain amount of panic, but the
next wicket was taken by Shahid. His bowling had been accurate, and there
appeared to be runs for the taking, which is perhaps why Goodwin was so
disgusted when he skied to the off side infield. Four wickets had fallen in
reasonably quick time. All the batsman dismissed had got themselves set:
each one got themselves out. It is a problem which plagues Zimbabwe more
than most, and they must resolve it quickly if they are to consistently
compete at the highest level of cricket.
Dirk Viljoen joined skipper Andrew Flower. A period of consolidation was
needed. What followed was calamitous for Zimbabwe. The running between the
wickets was poor, and there should have been more run outs, Pakistan were
not quite on the button. However, Flower and Viljoen seemed to try their
best to give Pakistan a wicket. They did, thanks to some unbelievable
calling. Flower turned the ball straight to Younis Khan at short fine leg,
and set off. Viljoen was left floundering thanks to an accurate throw.
Zimbabwe are not over blessed with talent, so it is criminal for them to
give wickets away like that.
Guy Whittall was the new man. The partnership between Flower and Whittall
was bizarre. What was needed was consolidation, pushing the singles. What we
got was some baffling defence and ungainly swipes. Slowly but surely
however, Flower and Whittall put a stand together. It ended thanks to a fine
catch by Imran Nazir. Flower was looking toward the boundary as he
dispatched another Shahid long-hop, only to discover the ball was caught by
Imran. The ball was travelling like a shell, but luckily for Pakistan, the
catch stuck.
Heath Streak got off the mark with a cracking square drive, but it was a
case of too little too late. Zimbabwe fell away during mid-innings, and it
was unrealistic for Streak to play a blinder. He was dropped by Moin, who
was having a rotten day, before the keeper got his own back as Streak
top-edged a slog from Mohammed Akram, which flew through to Moin over head
height.
The last overs were not productive for Zimbabwe. Only a four from Brent
could get them to 199 after Whittall lost his leg-stump, and Nkala drove in
the air to the off-side sweeper. Pakistan's bowling was good, their fielding
lazy. Despite Moin's denials, they seemed jet-lagged and tired. Countless
run out chances went array and two catches went down. It is perhaps a
suggestion of the gulf between these two sides that such a lazy Pakistan
could run all over Zimbabwe.
The spinners bowled particularly well: Arshad, a tall man got real rip from
the pitch. Mushtaq was the star, his leggies and googlies confusing
everyone, not least Moin, who was having a shocker behind the stumps.
After the first 20 overs of the Pakistan reply, Pakistan were indeed
steam-rolling Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe picked up a couple of early wickets, Imran
Nazir edged Johnson to Carlisle at slip, whilst Younis Khan was trapped leg
before to Streak. For the next hour or so, the sizeable crowd were treated
to the Shahid Afridi show. The big-hitting right hander smashed three sixes
in his knock of 69. He started swiftly, a neat turn to fine leg got him a
boundary. Neil Johnson was the unlucky bowler as he timed his first shot. A
short ball was dispatched way over mid-wicket, very nearly out of the
ground.
From this onward, anything Zimbabwe threw at Afridi was mere canon fodder.
He hit Streak through the off-side for four, then clipped a erstwhile
accurate Brent to the ropes. Nkala's first ball to the twenty-year old
produced an amazing shot: a flat six over extra cover. Afridi reached his 50
(49 balls) with another six. This one sailed over mid-wicket. The way he
plays is so effortless, it is amazing to see how far he can hit a cricket
ball.
The spinners rather curtailed Afridi's assault. Some good bowling from
Murphy tied him down, until Viljoen turned him back to the pavilion. Shahid
came down the pitch, launching the ball high toward long on where Neil
Johnson made a fine catch.
At the other end, Inzamam had been pottering serenely. For just one ball,
Inzi turned into a madman, rushing down the wicket to Viljoen and depositing
him into the stands on the leg side. It was a fine shot, but after this we
saw some consolidation. It looked likely that Inzamam and new bat Youhana
were content to meander along, having a net and a warm-up ready for the more
rigorous tasks ahead. Youhana cut nicely for four, but the pair added just
27 in ten overs. Inzamam lost his head, and was dismissed in the exact same
way that Shahid fell, gone for 32.
The big wobble in the Pakistan camp came when Youhana was dismissed. He
played the ball to short third man, looked up to see his skipper hurtling
down the pitch. Youhana made an attempt to make his ground but in vain, he
was run out by a couple of yards.
Abdur Razzaq showed maturity way beyond his 20 years as he guided Pakistan
to victory. Razzaq hit the winning runs, advancing down the wicket to
Flower, to give Pakistan the win with some time to spare. The pair of Moin
and Razzaq had put on 47 runs in a pressure situation, and deserve all the
plaudits they get. The Zimbabweans showed a very good fight for ten overs in
the match, but they were weak for the remainder. They are simply not good
enough. This wasn't a great performance by Pakistan, far from it, but the
records show that Pakistan won at a canter.
Sir Vivian Richards was at the ground. Sir Viv, who was named as one of
Wisden's five Cricketers of the Century, must have been very disappointed by
what he saw. This wasn't a great game: between a poor side and a weary one.
One man's innings might mean, however that we'll remember it for a long time
to come.
