2nd Test: West Indies v Pakistan: Jamaica 2-6 June

[Shaka]

He has bowled rubbish in this match as well. Perhaps I should have had a closer look before predicting he would enjoy success against Pakistani batsmen, he lacks control and direction. Collymore on the other hand has bowled beautifully throughout this series, even with an old ball. I would hand him the new one ahead of the other two every time.

[Occasional Fan]

I see Pakistan's tail failed to wag, and Collymore picked up three of the four wickets to fall so far this morning (just about 80 minutes have been played now). Pakistan went from an overnight score of 336-6 to 374 all out.

[Shaka]

Collymore has been head and shoulders above the rest of the bowlers in this match. Pakistan's attack has looked listless, with Shabbir looking dangerous when he pitches in the right area - which happens far too rarely. Collymore's ability to pitch in the danger zones so consistently is what is missing from the rest of the bowlers, from both sides.

[rineet]

Pakistan has been bowled out for 374,thanks to Corey Collymore`s lion-hearted bowling performance of 7-76. But Tino Best was unlucky yesterday. He should have picked up Kamran Akmal`s wicket but that blind umpire Darrell Hair signalled a no-ball when Best's foot was clearly cutting the crease. That really discouraged Tino Best.

[Zainub]

WI 275/4 at Stumps, BCL Lara 125 not out.

If marks were given for effort alone, I would have given us an A plus for yesterday's effort, but unfortunately it's results that count in the end most. Rana Naved is an admirable soul, he's got a heart big enough to encompass the whole of the world in it and still have some space left for people from Mars. But a double blow to this bowling thumb sustained while batting seemed to affect his grip, and consequentially over all rythym yesterday. But what about his confidence? No, not at all, you get spanked around the park by Chris Gayle, you've got a sore thumb to deal with, but what do you do in your next spell, bend your back and give it your best shot. How much Pakistan would love for some of their other players to have such an attitude! I seem to be baffeled sometimes by how Rana has been so affective in one-days and not as affective in test matches. It's not like he does a whole lot of things different in different forms of the game, he's the same hard working, low profile pro in both forms, perhaps in test cricket batsmen can tend to leave him alone much more and have to consequentially play a lot less shots against him. What ever is the reason Pakistan can ill afford to have one of their best finds in recent times be marked as one-day specialist.

Our bowlers are all very hard working, in fact hard work might, grit and determination might be their biggest strengths but we sometimes struggle to find ways to blast through a side as in quickly run through them and bowl them out cheaply. Their is also perhaps a sense of over reliance on Nanny Danny. Although the continued development of Afridi and Malik also looking penetrative in his spells yesterday will help lessen the burden of both overs and responsibility on Kaneria's shoulders. Shabbir hasn't been consistent enough in his return for me, there is always some talk about his action, may he that's whats affecting him. But I was really impressed by Razzaq yesterday, he's gradually developing into our go-to cum work horse guy, in Freddie mould actually. Additionally he seems to have regained his lost knack of producing wicket taking deliveries - what can one say about the worm killer that got Devon Smith? Ok, not all credit to Razzaq and more to the pitch, but at least he pitched in the right spot and the line was spot on. One would have though that Lara coming out to bat on the back of that dismissal must have been a little wary, but sometimes a players sublime class will shine through and enable them to do things you wouldn't have imagined in your wildest dreams for any other player to have done.

One has to give credit to Brian Lara, there's always a lot of talk about him, his attitude, and how that affects team spirit, especially now that Chanderpual's skipper, people also start comparing, but the big scores continue to come regardless. Watching Lara bat sometimes is like watching a run machine conjourn up one way after an another to extract the minutest of gaps in the field. He can make a simple push in the leg side seem ever so intriguing. I wonder if there is case for a seprate branch of cricket studies to be established in honor of Lara, any takers for Brianology? His extravgent back lift and unique technique of moving way across his stumps to cover the line of the ball certainly does make him the perfect example for a case study trying to prove that you don't have to be orthodox to be successful. By and large, yesterday was West Indies' day, but Pakistan could take out a few postives for themselves too. The manner in which out last four wickets fell should have encourage the bowlers no end. Chanderpaul's wicket therefore came at a timely instance, now only if we can get past Lara...! I really can't see the West Indies lower order thriving on this wicket for long periods. It's got quite a lot of inconsistent bounce, especially from the George Headley end outside the right hander's off stump. 99 runs to play with still, a quick wicket coming in the morning session, especially if that's of BCL, then we might still end up with a slendir lead. Test match wide open still, if we can restrict West Indies to under 400, I'd give us the edge considering the West Indies will have to bat last.

[Richard Jenkins]

Just read on cricinfo that this is shep's last test. I wish him well for the future. he'll do some odi's in the uk and then retire.

[Occasional Fan]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

One has to give credit to Brian Lara.

Indeed one does! The Jamaica test sees Brian Lara clock up his thirtieth test century - one more than Don Bradman achieved. Hats off to him.

Cricinfo report here.

[Ninjaman]

From that same cricinfo report.

In 27 matches that Lara has played after the World Cup in South Africa, he has amassed 3246 runs at a phenomenal average of 70.57, which includes 12 hundreds and nine fifties - making him the highest run-scorer since the tournament. Jacques Kallis lies in second place, 395 runs short of Lara in equal number of matches.

Unlike Kallis, he did not get his own weak WI bowling line up to beat up on!!

[Richard Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

WI 275/4 at Stumps, BCL Lara 125 not out.

If marks were given for effort alone, I would have given us an A plus for yesterday's effort, but unfortunately it's results that count in the end most. Rana Naved is an admirable soul, he's got a heart big enough to encompass the whole of the world in it.................

That's fantastic Zainub. An excellent summary. Well written and informative.

[Zainub]

Glad you liked it Jenko.

Latest is that West Indies have finished a stop-start-stop-start day 4 on 114-6 chasing 280 to win, a target Pakistan set up thanks largely to an undefeated 22nd test hundred from non-other then our skipper, my hero...the man him self, the great Inzamam-ul-Haq (ok, I admit, I find it very hard not to get filmy when we're on the brink of victory ). Oh how I am grateful to Courtney Browne, I'd remember his favor for a long time to come (dropped Inzi of the first ball he faced, Inzi went on to make 117 not out)!

In the morning Afridi and Inzi continued their partnership from where they'd left, Afridi in particular was in no mood to hang around (is he ever?). He signaled his intentions clearly with the very first ball he faced, also the first of the day (massive swing and miss to Collymore)! The first 45 minutes saw a contrasting variety of shots, on one hand were the elegant straight drives from Inzi, and on the other were ferocious pulls over mid wicket from Afridi, and all this despite consistently run saving 'men out in the deep' fields employed by Chanderpaul. The tactics kept on failing as the two added 73 for 5th wicket stand in quick time before the hyper active Tino Best was introduced into the attack.

In a match changing spell he first got Afridi caught at short midwicket for 43 from as many balls faced, off the first ball of his new spell, next over Abdul Razzaq was bowled by a ball that kept somewhat low, and in the next, he accounted for Pakistan's last recognized batsmen as Kamran Akmal played a poor shot only to glove it to his opposite number. From the other end Reon King accounted for Rana Naved for a first ball duck (one of four Pakistani batsmen to have not bothered the scorers) as a standard inside edge rickoshayed (spelling?) on to the stumps. Although Inzi managed to shield numbers ten and eleven well to get Pakistan past 270, and himself past three figures in adding a combined 29 for the last two wickets, Pakistan had still manage to accomplish a trade mark spectacular batting collapse of 6-42 for their last 6 wickets.

We were bowled out for 309 eventually setting West Indies exactly 280 to win, a target which although wasn't quite as big as we would have liked ideally, but a substantial one nevertheless considering the wicket was now increasingly un-predictable in its bounce, and behaving like a genuine 4th day surface. Still though, no one seemed prepared to predict the out come of the test match just yet such had been the see-saw battle between the two teams. So when the last innings begun with Windies 280 to win, and Pakistan 10 wickets, it was a consensus that the honors were still even.

When Pakistan started bowling one could almost sense there was a wicket in the offering every ball bowled but some how West Indies managed to survive 8 overs before losing a wicket until Chris Gayle finally edged to Yasir Hameed at third slip off Shabbir Ahmed for 15 after a struggling stay at the crease where he was unceasingly troubled by both the opening bowlers, Ahmed and Razzaq (Rana Naved, in case you're wondering, has been ruled out of bowling in the remainder of the match after that thumb injuiry, and Pakistan are therefor affectively one man down). Gayle's opening partner Smith looked impressive, showing guts after being hit on the elbow by Razzaq from a delivery that jumped from a good length spot, still prepared to trust the pitch he and Sarwan progressed the home side to 38-1 before the first of 3 weather interruptions occurred.

The light had deteriorated substantially at that time with the outlook becoming increasingly cloudy and rain threatening to add yet another twist to tale of what had already been an eventful and intriguing test match. When the teams first resumed after a little over 2 hours, Pakistan got their first lucky break when yet another awkwardly bouncing delivery from Kaneria saw Sarwan knock off his own stumps attempting to push the ball into the leg side. In came Lara, after having previously got the better of Nanny Danny in all previous 3 innings of the series, Kaneria finally had his man for a five ball duck, caught well down the leg side by the keeper Kamran Akmal. There could have been another first ball duck at that stage had Asim Kamal accepted the offer at short leg from Chanderpaul, but wasn't to be. At 48-3, having lost their trump card Lara the home side were in utter disarray when the players were once again forced off by bad light.

The interruptions were doing the West Indian batsmen no favors on a tricky pitch, it was a case of going from bad to worse when they resumed again after about 15 minutes. Two balls into the resumption Chanderpaul, after being given that life on first ball, still yet to get off the mark, now having faced 3 balls was adjudged leg before by umpire David Shepherd, standing in his last test match, to a faster, flatter leg break from Kaneria that might have hit him outside the line of off stump. 56-4 it was then and West Indies looking very dodgy.

Devon Smith and Waywell Hinds however added some respectability to the score line, progressing the home side to 94, adding 38 for the 5th wicket stand before Kaneria struck for the forth time. Devon Smith after having spent the best part of an hour on the crease was undone by a googly as Kamran Akmal got another catch to his name. As close of play approached, and the light steadily worsening, Younis Khan got him self involved in two wicket taking opportunities. The first was taken, the next, a difficult one, was not. Waywell Hinds edged to him at 2nd slip of Razzaq, but Browne was given a let off at short leg for what could have been Kaneria's 11 fifth wicket haul.

So ended an enthralling day of test cricket. There's nothing quite like the sleep you get after watching test cricket up until half past three in the morning, because you tend to be a bit tired you don't get a lot of dreams but that's made up for when you wake up (not exactly) in the morning at half past 11. You do get a bit of a scolding [], but the joy of being on the brink of victory, and seeing it happen...oh...it's so worth any scolding one can get!