Rick Eyre
|
6th Match: West Indies v Zimbabwe at Sydney, 23 Jan 2001 Rick Eyre |
|
|
West Indies innings:
Pre-game: Zimbabwe innings: |
The Windies, mortally wounded at 8/31, were finally despatched after 31.5 overs for a total of 91. The pace trio of Heath Streak (4/8), Bryan Strang (3/15) and Mluleki Nkala (3/12) did all the damage, with Zimbabwean captain Streak taking the man-of-the-match award following his innings of 45 earlier in the day.
Jimmy Adams and Nixon McLean kept the West Indies hopes alive with a ninth-wicket stand of 60 as Streak resorted unsuccessfully to his slower bowlers, Whittall and Murphy. McLean (40 from 32 balls) was especially severe on medium-pacer Whittall, taking six fours, four of them consecutive, from his bowling.
Streak brought Nkala back into the attack at the start of the 32nd over, and had immediate success. Nkala took a superb diving catch off his own bowling to remove Adams (22), and then had Cameron Cuffy caught at slip by Carlisle two balls later without further addition to the score.
Zimbabwe and the West Indies now have two points each having taking a win from each other. The Windies have, however, played five matches of their eight, Zimbabwe only three. Australia have a 100 per cent record from four matches, and must be having a quiet chuckle at the standard of play in what was, in fairness, an eventful but very scrappy game of one-day cricket.
These two teams meet again in the next match of the Carlton Series at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
McLean smashed Guy Whittall's second over of the innings for 19 runs, including four successive boundaries, to blast the West Indies over the 50-mark.
Until McLean's onslaught, there was a very real threat that the Windies would fall short of the previous lowest ODI total in history, 43 by Pakistan at Cape Town in 1993 (ironically, against the West Indies).
McLean came to the crease with the fall of the eighth wicket on 31. Mahendra Nagamootoo (3) attempted to hit Mluleki Nkala to the third man boundary, but picked out Dirk Viljoen, who recovered after finding himself out of position to take an excellent diving catch.
The game could well have been all over by now, as the West Indian bats played some surprisingly reckless lofted shots to the outfield which the Zimbabwean fielders were unable to reach.
Zimbabwe's opening bowlers were spelled after eight overs apiece, Strang taking 3/15 and Streak 4/8.
With the West Indies needing another 75 for victory from 26 overs and two wickets in hand, McLean is 22 not out and Jimmy Adams 14.
Chasing a modest Zimbabwean score of 138, the West Indies are 7/26 after thirteen overs.
Bryan Strang (3/15) and Heath Streak (4/5 from seven overs) are looking like world-beaters with half the West Indian batting, including Mr BC Lara, back in the pavillion.
First it was Ridley Jacobs (6), lbw to a ball from Streak which struck him plumb in front. Then it was Sherwin Campbell, who was off the field for the latter part of the Zimbabwe innings with an injured shoulder, edging to namesake Alistair at slip off Strang without scoring, the score 2/22.
Wavell Hinds (8) edged Streak to a juggling Alistair Campbell with no addition to the score. Then Lara was struck on the back leg in front of leg stump... there was little doubt about the decision. Lara out for a duck, West Indies 4/22.
Marlon Samuels (1) cut Strang straight to a waiting Carlisle at slip, 5/24. And that wasn't the end of it...
In Streak's next over, Powell (0) was given lbw, and from the very next delivery, Laurie Williams edged to first slip, with Carlisle diving across from second slip to take the catch. Nagamootoo survived the hat-trick.
Jimmy Adams (1*) was the not-out batsman along with Nagamootoo (1*) at the end of the thirteenth over, still needing 103 runs for a victory that looked to be a walkover for most of today. Instead, it could turn into one of Zimbabwe's biggest upsets ever.
Zimbabwe recovered from 6/66 and 8/88 to be all out for 138 in the 48th over, Streak top scoring with 45.
Zimbabwe's innings appeared doomed to an early conclusion when Gavin Rennie (14) hooked Laurie Williams to Powell at backward short leg to make the score 7/88. Mluleki Nkala came to the crease to his chosen tune of "I'm Too Sexy", but four scoreless balls later he slashed to Lara at slip.
When Bryan Strang (1) got a faint edge off Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs took his fifth catch of the innings. This was the fourth time that Jacobs has taken five catches in an ODI innings, the first wicketkeeper to do so.
Streak and Brian Murphy (7*) kept the West Indians at bay for almost ten overs before the Zimbabwean captain holed out to twelfth man Sylvester Joseph to become Samuels' second victim of the day, ending a tenth-wicket stand of 34.
In addition to Cuffy's four-wicket haul earlier in the day, Laurie Williams claimed 3/24 from ten overs, while Samuels finished with 2/28.
There was a controversial moment at the end of the 39th over when five penalty runs were awarded to the Zimbabwe team. Jacobs dived to field a ball deflected to the on-side by Murphy, and his cap fell off and stopped the ball. Umpire Peter Parker signalled five runs for an infringement, which under Law 41.2, he must have considered "wilful".
After a dinner break extended to 80 minutes with the early end of innings, the West Indies will be chasing 139 runs to notch up their second win of the competition.
A superb ten-over spell from Cameron Cuffy, a career-best 4/24, has been the highlight of the day so far.
The Flowers both made fleeting appearances at the crease today. Andy (3) was caught behind after giving an outside edge to become Cuffy's third wicket of the day. Grant (7) fell in similar fashion to the thirty year-old St Vincentian, recalled to the West Indian side for this series after a four-year absence.
Cuffy's unchanged ten-over spell bettered his previous ODI career best of 2/19, made against India at Faridabad in 1994. But Zimbabwe's woes were not over with his departure from the bowling crease.
Stuart Carlisle, after compiling a tradesmanlike 29, played a fly-swatter shot to a short ball from Laurie Williams outside off stump. Ricardo Powell at deep cover point said thank you very much, and Zimbabwe were 5/62. Carlisle batted for 73 minutes and faced 55 balls.
Dirk Viljoen (2) fended at a rising ball from Nixon McLean to give Ridley Jacobs his fourth catch of the day. At the drinks break, Gavin Rennie was 2 with the incoming batsman Heath Streak.
Jimmy Adams' surprise decision to insert Zimbabwe is paying dividends as an early night beckons.
Following West Indian captain Jimmy Adams' surprise decision to send the opposition in on a hot afternoon, Zimbabwe were 2/45 at the first drinks break, taken after thirteen overs.
Alistair Campbell made just four when he got a thick edge while playing a defensive shot to the bowling of Cameron Cuffy, wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs taking a simple catch. Guy Whittall was 11 when Cuffy gained some extra bounce, Sherwin Campbell running to his right from second slip to complete the dismissal. Zimbabwe 2/30 in the tenth over.
Cuffy has looked the more dangerous of the opening bowlers, Nixon McLean being replaced after giving up 24 runs in his first six overs. At the break Stuart Carlisle was 20, and Andy Flower 3, needing another 28 to notch up 5000 ODI runs.
The West Indies have made two changes from the team which was beaten by Australia last Tuesday night. Colin Stuart and Marlon Black have been replaced by Cameron Cuffy and Mahendra Nagamootoo. For Zimbabwe, Bryan Strang has replaced Travis Friend.
On a hot Tuesday afternoon in Sydney, the umpires (Parker and Taufel) have decided that three drinks breaks will be taken during the afternoon session instead of the usual two.
A smallish crowd is on hand at the SCG for the start of this game in comparison to those seen for Australia's matches.
This match is crucial for both sides, with Australia well on the way already to securing a finals berth. The Windies have two points from four games, with Zimbabwe yet to open their account after two.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 23 Jan2001 - 14:25