Mahmood Ahmad
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7th Match: England v Pakistan at Leeds, 17 Jun 2001 Mahmood Ahmad |
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Pakistan innings:
Pre-game: England innings: |
This 6-wicket win is the third in a row for Pakistan against England in the NatWest Series and fifth overall including their wins at Lahore and Rawalpindi last year.
Razzaq, the main architect in Pakistan’s run chase, displayed a lot of improvisation on his way to fine 75 off 103 balls, completing his 9th ODI fifty in the process of 80 balls. He hit 7 fours and a six before giving his wicket away – caught behind off Cork – when just 10 were needed for victory.
Youhana, on the other hand, played a comparatively docile innings, hitting just one boundary to score 24 off 74 balls. He was caught by Stewart, trying to work Cork away to third man, with the wicket falling at 128 in the 34th over.
Younis Khan didn’t take too long to settle in, pulling Cork for his first boundary to backward square leg. Azhar, coming to the middle after Razzaq’s departure, survived a very close run out appeal, before flicking one to deep square leg. The six, later confirmed as a four, resulting from this shot took Pakistan within four runs of victory, and it was then that the crowd stormed in, rendering further play impossible.
After conceding some runs in his first spell, Cork returned strongly in the second to grab two wickets as he finished at 2 for 32 in 5.5 overs. Gough, on the other hand, failed to emulate his first-spell feats, giving away 18 in three overs to finish with 2 for 39 in ten.
Waqar Younis was duly awarded the Man-of-the-Match, after his match-winning haul of 7 for 36, the second best in the history of one-day cricket. Sadly, the gloss of his performance may not be headlined after the pitch invasion.
Pakistan’s progress after the departure of Saeed Anwar at 34 in the ninth over was extremely slow, as both Razzaq and Youhana preferred to play safe, knowing well the importance of wickets at this stage.
They posted the fifty in the 20th over, with the last 17 runs coming in about 11 overs. The problems with the scoring rate continued as long as Caddick and Mullally remained in the attack.
However, the introduction of Cork in place of Caddick brought some relief, as nine runs came off it, including the first boundary in 41 balls for Youhana; the scorecard showing 68-2 after 23 overs.
The next over from Mullally brought 11 more, as Razzaq, deciding at last to have a go, smashed the first six of the innings – a solid blow over long-on that was well caught by a supporter in the crowd.
Pakistan brought up the hundred in the 30th over, as Razzaq lifted a slow one from Hollioake over cover for his fourth four, reaching 48 (78 balls). Youhana, a lot more cautious, has 22 off 62 balls. With nine coming off that over, Pakistan reached 107 for 2 by the 30th over.
Saeed Anwar started in his usual belligerent fashion, driving Gough to leg twice in the first over and dispatching Caddick, bowling the second one, down to mid-wicket for the first boundary. He got another boundary, this time off Gough, slicing the ball over point.
Afridi, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically quiet and didn’t get off the mark until the 13th ball he faced. He received four more balls after that, getting one more run, before slashing at Gough to be comfortably taken by Stewart behind the wicket; Pakistan one down for 21 in the seventh over.
Importantly for Gough, this was wicket number 146 (94 matches) and has moved him to the top of the list of highest wicket-takers for England in ODIs, overtaking Ian Botham’s haul of 145 (116 matches).
Razzaq, regaining his number three spot, got off the mark by a boundary to long on against Caddick. Yet things didn’t get on well at the other end. Saeed, who was looking in good touch, was adjudged caught behind off Gough after making 24 (29 balls, 4 fours), although action replays suggested the ball might have missed the outside edge.
Youhana, coming ahead of Inzamam who is nursing a hand injury, took the score to 44 in 15 overs along with Razzaq. They have one run off 17 balls and 13 off 30 respectively.
Stewart has so far employed three bowlers, Gough with 2 for 21 being the most successful of them. Caddick and Mullally are wicketless, having bowled nine overs for 24 between them.
The Pakistan skipper added two more scalps to his 5 for 30 in the first 15 overs to finish with the second best ODI figures of 7 for 36 in 10 overs, the best being Muralitharan’s 7 for 30 against India at Sharjah in 2000. These are, however, the best figures for any bowler against England in limited-overs internationals, the previous best being 6 for 15 by Colin Croft at Kingston in 1981.
Stewart and Hollioake added 12 for the sixth wicket, bringing up the 50 of the innings in the process, before the England skipper got a leading edge of the bat and was comfortably caught at mid-off by Razzaq. Stewart stayed at the crease for 47 balls to score 18 with the help of one boundary.
The seventh wicket for Waqar came on the fourth ball of his last over, as Cork thickly edged an out-swinger to Rashid Latif behind the wicket. Gough confidently defended the remaining two balls, denying Waqar another wicket that would have given him all time best ODI figures.
Runs began flowing as soon as Waqar and Fazl came out of the attack. After seeing off Fazl with two boundaries in his last over, Hollioake took three consecutive fours from Azhar’s first over, forcing the medium pacer out of the attack.
England reached 100 in the 27th over, with both Hollioake and Gough looking completely untroubled by the swing and seam, the introduction of Saqlain’s off spin from one end having already negated much of its effect.
These two added another 25, taking the score to 125, before Holliaoke was bowled by Afridi in his very first over. The lanky all-rounder made 53, his second fifty in ODIs, off 66 balls, which contained nine vicious hits to the fence.
The last two wickets brought an invaluable 31 runs, as Gough (40 not out off 86) clubbed the ball around the field, also hitting a huge six off Afridi. He could have scored more had Caddick and Mullally stayed a bit longer with him.
Caddick made six off 19 before brilliantly caught by Rashid off Azhar. Mullally failed to open his account after facing five balls.
Azhar Mahmood took one for 25, while Afridi got 1 for 19.
Waqar, looking at his best, made the most of these conditions to bag all of the five England wickets, leaving the home side reeling at 45 for five in only 15 overs. The skipper has figures of five for 30 in eight overs of top-class fast bowling.
It all started earlier than many would have expected. Waqar pitched the very first ball – a slower one – up to Trescothick and the left-hander played all over it, only to see his stumps shattered.
Knight spent some uneasy moments in the middle, reaching nine off 23 balls, before edging one to Afridi at point – a ball that not only moved but also bounced awkwardly.
Michael Vaughan was dropped at cover by Yousuf Youhana off the last ball of Waqar’s fifth over. However, failing to capitalise on the chance, he edged the skipper, bowling his sixth over, for an easy catch at third slip.
Owais Shah stayed for seven balls, having survived a close lbw appeal off the very first ball, before being caught at first slip by Inzamam. He got three, with the wicket falling at 38 in the 13th over.
The fifth wicket fell with the addition of just one more run, as Paul Collingwood was nicely taken by Younis Khan at second slip for nought.
Although failing to take any wicket, Fazl-e-Akbar has bowled tidily, ably supporting his skipper from the other end. He has given away 11 runs in seven overs.
This is the first instance on Pakistan’s part to put opposition into bat after winning the toss, as they traditionally prefer batting first irrespective of the nature of the pitch. On the other hand, the wicket at Headingley has traditionally suited seamers, especially in the early part of the day, and this is probably the reason for the Pakistan captain to bowl first.
The visitors have made two changes to their side, which beat England at Lord’s; Fazl-e-Akbar, a medium pacer playing league here, has been picked in place of the injured Shoaib Malik and Saeed Anwar comes back into the side replacing Saleem Elahi.
England, on the other hand, has retained the full side which played against Australia at Old Trafford.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 17 Jun2001 - 22:29