Posted on 03/14/2007 5:54:30 AM PDT by BaBaStooey
West Indies v Pakistan, Group D, Jamaica
Smith and Bravo come to the fore
The Bulletin by Will Luke
March 13, 2007
West Indies 241 for 9 (Samuels 63, Sarwan 49) beat Pakistan 187 (Malik 62, Smith 3-36, Bravo 3-42) by 54 runs
The West Indies shrugged off any early-tournament nerves with a convincing 54-run win over Pakistan in the opening match of the World Cup at Kingston in Jamaica, with a notable allround performance from Dwayne Smith.
It was an impressive win, not least for their ability to absorb the expectation of hosting their first World Cup. Furthermore, the total they were defending was by no means out of Pakistan's reach. Yet their bowlers - who admittedly are all much of a muchness - hunted in a pack and, unlike Pakistan's, never let the batsmen dismantle their confidence, or their lines.
That they took a wicket with the third ball of Pakistan's reply probably helped, too. Their pack leader for the day, Daren Powell - having been hit for a brazen six the ball before - induced a thick outside edge from Imran Nazir, destabilising Pakistan's fickle confidence. Younis Khan puffed out his chest, but only briefly, and Mohammad Hafeez spooned a catch to Brian Lara. At 39 for 3, Pakistan were throttled by Powell and Jerome Taylor, as Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf chose survival over attack: in one particularly asphyxiating period, a nine-over trough yielded just 13 runs.
The moment the bowlers' control waned Inzamam pounced, bashing three fours of the highest quality and injecting essential pace into an innings which was going nowhere. Enter Smith. His medium-pace infuriated Yousuf who was troubled with consecutive deliveries, before he fell to the sucker-punch in the third, edging him behind.
Inzamam fell soon after trapped lbw and Smith was on a hat-trick when he removed Kamran Akmal. Pakistan's hopes rested on Shoaib Malik, undoubtedly a gifted player but the task - 126 from 18 overs - required rather more than one man's hopeful slogging. Smith's partner in crime was his namesake, the uber-energetic Bravo who added a mouth-watering display of medium-pace, fielding and catching. After removing Iftikhar Anjum, he nonchalantly stuck out his left hand to catch Umar Gul in his follow-through to end Pakistan's hopes, and raise his side's own tournament aspirations.
If anything, their disciplined bowling performance masked a staccato effort with the bat. There were plenty of nerves from their top three - particularly Ramnaresh Sarwan, but if anything he thrives in adversity and deserved a fifty. Without Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, Pakistan's potent duet, Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were Inzamam's strike bowlers but only Gul rose to the occasion, removing Chris Gayle and troubling the top five with a consistently good line.
Rana, whose death-bowling in previous seasons has been irresistibly cruel, was limp and inaccurate and Pakistan had to rely on Iftikhar who didn't disappoint. In fact, the West Indies were constricted to such an extent that even Brian Lara's 37 appeared pedestrian; it was Marlon Samuels who took on the bowlers, launching three magnificent sixes in his swift 63. But with his wicket came the feeling of inevitability, a feeling which morphed into dread when they slipped to 186 for 6.
But this was Smith's day and, with little care for the orthodox, he smashed 32 from 15 balls to the crowd's delight, edging the hosts' total to something resembling a challenge. Fortunately, their bowlers outdid themselves and Smith, in particular, ensured Pakistan didn't have a sniff of a chance. If they play like this for the next six weeks - regardless of how far it takes them - it will be a sight.
Will Luke is editorial assistant of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
Folks,seems like the Pakis are out & the Indian look set to give them company.Just like good neighbours are supposed to be!!!These 2 times have made irresponsibility fashionable.
It was indeed the day of the minnows. And St Patrick's Day too. I watched the game in an Irish bar. I didn't get the impression from the inebriated patrons therein that the victory over Pakistan made up for being narrowly pipped to the Six Nations title by France but it prompted celebrations nonetheless. I had to explain the rules of the game to successive guinness-clutching, shamrock-wearing paddys in a row. The cricket message is clearly spreading.
Poor old Inzamam, though. He looked utterly shell-shocked. There will be devastation on the streets of Lahore today. And the poor buggers can't even drown their sorrows, of course...
For those who hadn't heard.
May he rest in peace.
Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, died in hospital in Jamaica on Sunday after being found unconscious on the floor of his World Cup hotel room earlier in the day. He was 58.
Pervez Mir, Pakistan's media manager, said: "Bob Woolmer has passed away. I am speaking from the hospital and all the team management is also at the hospital. Doctors have pronounced him dead. Bob has passed away and it is very shocking news to all of the team and the team management.
"Bob's family and wife were informed by the management about his condition when he was brought to hospital."
Mir's statement added that there would be a coroner's inquest and, in keeping with Jamaican law, an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Woolmer was found unconscious on his hotel-room floor at around 10.45am after team officials grew concerned that they had not seen him since the previous evening. An ambulance rushed him to Kingston University Hospital where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.
His death comes less than 24 hours after Pakistan were knocked out of the World Cup following their defeat by Ireland. After the match, Woolmer spoke of the pressures of coaching. "Doing it internationally, it takes a toll on you," he said. "The endless travelling and the non-stop living out of hotels."
"I am deeply hurt and cannot tell you how it is going to affect me," Woolmer told AFP late on Saturday after the Ireland defeat, saying he would answer more questions on email later in the week
Yeah right soft-ball! LOL!
Yeah right soft-ball! LOL!
Baseball is a game that America plays against......well ...........America.
They can consider themselves lucky they are not the Iraqi football team under Uday Hussein.
Cricket Ping!
Here is a recap of the matches played so far, and the group standings.
Match 1: West Indies v Pakistan - West Indies won by 54 runs
Match 2: Australia v Scotland - Australia won by 203 runs
Match 3: Canada v Kenya - Kenya won by 7 wickets
March 4: Bermuda v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 243 runs
Match 5: Ireland v Zimbabwe - tied, 221-221
Match 6: England v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 6 wickets
Match 7: Netherlands v South Africa - South Africa won by 221 runs
Match 8: Bangladesh v India - Bangladesh won by 5 wickets
Match 9: Ireland v Pakistan - Ireland won by 3 wickets
Match 10: Australia v Netherlands - Australia won by 229 runs
Match 11: Canada v England - England won by 51 runs
Today's Matches, March 19:
Bermuda v India
West Indies v Zimbabwe
Group A
Australia 2-0-0
South Africa 1-0-0
Scotland 0-1-0
Netherlands 0-2-0
Group B
Sri Lanka 1-0-0
Bangladesh 1-0-0
India 0-1-0
Bermuda 0-1-0
Group C
New Zealand 1-0-0
Kenya 1-0-0
England 1-1-0
Canada 0-2-0
Group D
West Indies 1-0-0
Ireland 1-0-1
Zimbabwe 0-0-1
Pakistan 0-2-0
If England could only manage to squeak one out against lowly Canada (whom the US finished ahead of in the standings of the ICC America's Cup last fall in Toronto), then I think Kenya has a real chance against them.
Speaking of the USA, I wish, wish wish, that they would have played better at the 2005 ICC Trophy, which if they had managed to get into the top 5, would have qualified them for this tournament (they finished 10th). This World Cup has been very exciting so far, and I think even the minute coverage a Team USA would have received in the media here would have been huge for the movement which is trying to establish the game in this country.
What web sites do you frequent for cricket information?
How sad for his family and friends. God grant them strength.
RIP Bob - retired hurt at 58.
www.cricinfo.com is pretty much the benchmark for cricket on the internet.
For a bit of fun during your lunch hour check out www.stickcricket.com...
I am addicted to Stick Cricket. Thankfully, I have managed to control my urges while at work. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't get anything done.
Today's Matches - Update
Windies appear to be crusing to another victory--
Zimbabwe, batting first, were 202 for 5 wickets in 50 overs. In response, the West Indies are 73 for 2 in 18.1 overs, and require only 130 runs with 8 wickets in hand and 31.5 overs (191 balls) to go.
India crushed Bermuda, batting first and scoring 413 runs for 5 wickets in 50 overs. In response, Bermuda are 110 for 8 wickets in 31.2 overs. Bermuda are clearly the worst team in the tournament. In fact, the United States nearly beat them in Toronto last fall, but rain and darkness saved Bermuda and there was no result in the match.
Recap:
Match 1: West Indies v Pakistan - West Indies won by 54 runs
Match 2: Australia v Scotland - Australia won by 203 runs
Match 3: Canada v Kenya - Kenya won by 7 wickets
March 4: Bermuda v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 243 runs
Match 5: Ireland v Zimbabwe - tied, 221-221
Match 6: England v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 6 wickets
Match 7: Netherlands v South Africa - South Africa won by 221 runs
Match 8: Bangladesh v India - Bangladesh won by 5 wickets
Match 9: Ireland v Pakistan - Ireland won by 3 wickets
Match 10: Australia v Netherlands - Australia won by 229 runs
Match 11: Canada v England - England won by 51 runs
Match 12: Bermuda v India - India won by 257 runs
Match 13: West Indies v Zimbabwe - West Indies win by 6 wickets
Group A
Australia 2-0-0
South Africa 1-0-0
Scotland 0-1-0
Netherlands 0-2-0
Group B
Sri Lanka 1-0-0
Bangladesh 1-0-0
India 1-1-0
Bermuda 0-2-0
Group C
New Zealand 1-0-0
Kenya 1-0-0
England 1-1-0
Canada 0-2-0
Group D
West Indies 2-0-0
Ireland 1-0-1
Zimbabwe 0-1-1
Pakistan 0-2-0
Today's matches:
Scotland v South Africa
South Africa won the toss and elected to field first, and Scotland are 57 for 2 in 17 overs.
Kenya v New Zealand
Kenya won the toss and elected to field first, and New Zealand are 58 for 1 in 14 overs.
**Update**
Scotland 186 for 8 in 50 overs
South Africa 188 for 3 in only 23.2 overs - SA win by 7 wickets
New Zealand 331 for 7 in 50 overs
Kenya 183 all out in 49.2 overs - NZ win by 148 runs
Scotland is eliminated, but we knew that was going to happen.
Kenya must beat England -- and at this moment, it doesn't seem like an unrealistic idea.
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