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West Indies v Pakistan, 1st Test, Providence, 3rd day

See-saw day sets up nervy finale

The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin

May 14, 2011

A Pakistan 160 (Shafiq 40*) and 80 for 3 need another 139 runs to beat West Indies 226 and 152 (Chanderpaul 36*, Ajmal 6-42)

On a surface atoning for modern cricket's batting sins, a compelling Test again went this way and that, before nestling, at the end of the third day at Providence, loosely in the hands of the West Indies. Saeed Ajmal took centrestage to keep Pakistan in the contest initially, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul prised open that grip, before West Indian pacemen tore it off in an adrenaline-pumped afternoon. spell. At the end of another slow run-scoring but fast-moving day, Pakistan had recovered to 80 for 3, chasing 219.

Commentators have sniped at this pitch's uneven bounce and excessive turn but really, this is a miniscule righting of the massive wrongs of the modern-day batathons of Antigua, Lahore and countless others, where even if bowlers hurled hand grenades they might struggle to dislodge batsmen. Few batsmen here have looked set though admittedly these are two of the poorer batting sides going. But frankly it's made a battle out of a contest that could easily have slipped into yawning obscurity.

And no bowler will care much, not Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul, who reduced Pakistan to 2 for 3 in their chase, the wickets falling in eight balls across the second and third overs. The pair have bowled with greater purpose and energy than their Pakistan counterparts; at pace, both moved the ball in and away in a high-tempo burst that decapitated Pakistan. Rampaul sent back Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali before Roach dismissed Hafeez.

That Pakistan weren't swept away entirely was down to Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq, battling hard in a 78-stand - the highest of the Test incidentally - to close without further damage. The pair were unruffled, running well and taking advantage of anything loose. Both clipped through the legside well, Shafiq adding a pretty drive or two and cuts along the way.

There were scares - Shafiq was dropped on zero and then 'bowled' by Darren Sammy only for the bails to not fall - but they remained unharmed.

Ajmal will not care a jot either, after picking up a career-best six wickets and ending with match figures of 11-111, his first ten-wicket haul and the third-best by a Pakistani against West Indies. To his credit - there is more than a little of (Pakistani singer) Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in him - he has exploited the surface better than anyone.

He began early, trapping nightwatchman Roach in the day's first full over. Lendl Simmons fell soon after off Wahab Riaz and the real game began: Ajmal against Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Neither looked confident, Ajmal turning it this way and that, up and down, all over. But Sarwan was just beginning to figure something out when undone by one that spat up at him. Ajmal then got involved in the field, his throw completing a run-out of Brendan Nash which Chanderpaul began by selling him a dummy.

Carlton Baugh didn't hang around in giving Ajmal his fourth, by when runs had long become a lottery. Ajmal continued after lunch, tired, still smiling, a threat. Even though Abdur Rehman struck first after the break, three overs later as Rampaul fell, Ajmal became the fifth Pakistani to take ten in a Test against the West Indies.

But all the while, Chanderpaul had quietly hung around, not doing much but surviving. It took 15 balls to get off the mark and he was missed in the slips early, but he played unequivocally, everything Ajmal came with. He got lucky again, almost run out after smart work by Umar Akmal. It looked out on replay, but after strangely sending back Sarwan on the first day, it is fair to assume Asoka de Silva is unable to umpire even with the aid of video replays.

After tea came Chanderpaul the world knows and loves (WICB officials excluded), chiseling out a boundary-less little masterclass over nearly four hours. There wasn't a single memorable stroke yet it was, in context, a memorable hand. He didn't bother with farming strike, taking runs where he could, nudged, nurdled or dabbed.

In Bishoo he found perfect, sensible support, the 48-run stand the highest of the innings and potentially the game-changing moment, for it came when West Indies were only 170 ahead. Bishoo's composure, as much as anything, stands him out and it shone through again. He first set up his base, not attacking anything. Soon, he began to look increasingly solid, against spin and pace alike, so much so that it took Pakistan nearly 22 overs to end it, and fittingly it was Ajmal who got him.

Not fittingly, he was held at slip; Pakistan missed at least another three chances today, including Bishoo and they hadn't managed to stop a single ball at slip let alone catch any until then. How much it costs them will become apparent tomorrow.

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It was a day that saw the pendulum swinging both ways in favour of the West Indies and then the Pakistanis.

Will be interesting to see if Pakistan can bat without losing a wicket in the first half an hour or if the West Indies can break through in their first few overs, as Pakistan require another 139 runs with 7 wickets remaining.

Was happy to see Chanderpaul remain to the last with 39 not out......makes the selectors look bad.

Pakistan started really shaky and had Bravo held on to the catch, then who knows what would have been the outcome?

This test can go either way.

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West Indies v Pakistan, 1st Test, 4th day, Providence

We had the belief - Sammy

ESPNcricinfo staff

May 15, 2011

"This is what West Indies cricket is about," Darren Sammy, the team's captain, said after a morale-boosting win over Pakistan in the first Test in Providence. There was much talk off the field in the lead-up to this Test: there was criticism about Sammy's form, the absence of key players from the squad for the series, differences between senior players and the board, but West Indies emerged victors in a low-scoring encounter to put those issues on the back-burner. They also ended up depriving Pakistan of an opportunity to win a Test series in the West Indies for the first time.


"We as a team needed this performance," Sammy, who picked up a five-wicket haul in the second innings to bowl out Pakistan for 178, said. "Lately, things hadn't been going well but I had the belief, this team had the belief."


Sammy failed with the bat, but finished the game with seven wickets. Two other performances stood out for West Indies, that of Devendra Bishoo in his debut Test and Ravi Rampaul, who had taken only four wickets in five Tests prior to the match, but took seven in the game, including crucial strikes early in both innings. "Rampaul looks fit, and has worked really hard with Ottis Gibson [the West Indies coach]. It was a tough decision to pick between him and Fidel Edwards," Sammy said.

The batsmen, said Sammy, did well to hang in there on a tough pitch in both innings. "It was a difficult pitch. We found ourselves not playing the spin too well. But I commend the guys for the effort, they batted out time and put in a total which in the end was enough to get the victory.

"We saw how the wicket played on the first day and it was good to see West Indies battling, batting out the whole day."

West Indies' team manager, Richie Richardson, added: "I thought Pakistan had the better part of the pitch but it was great to see the way our players applied themselves and went out there and played their hearts out. The bowlers stuck to the task and did a fantastic job. We also saw some resolute batting when it was required.

"What we are trying to build is a team. We are working on the total team concept, where players will have the confidence to go out and perform and know they have a role to play."

Pakistan were 80 for 3 overnight, chasing 219, but lost Asad Shafiq early on the fourth day. Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, and Umar Akmal put together a half-century stand but there wasn't much support from the lower order against a spirited West Indies performance. Misbah acknowledged the better team had won.

"To lose this Test is disappointing, they played better cricket and bowled disciplined lines," he said. Misbah praised Saeed Ajmal for his maiden ten-wicket haul in Tests - Ajmal finished with 11 - but rued missed opportunities and allowing the last-wicket pair of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Devendra Bishoo to extend the lead to 218 in the second innings.

"We dropped so many catches and gave away so many runs to the lower order. We were a little disappointing from the batting point of view also," Misbah said. "We fought well yesterday [Saturday] to recover after losing early wickets, but most of our guys got out to good balls."

The second Test gets underway at St Kitts on May 20.

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West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd Test, St Kitts, 1st day

Pakistan choose to bat; Chanderpaul injured

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat against West Indies

Misbah-ul-Haq called correctly at the toss in Basseterre and chose to bat as Pakistan looked to recover from their shock defeat last week and even the two-Test series.

Misbah, the newly-appointed ODI captain, will hope that Pakistan's batting responds after the dismal failures of last week. They don't have options in the squad so the men entrusted with the job in the first Test will be expected to bounce back; one from Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Umar Akmal will be expected to score big.

More importantly perhaps, they will want their attack to step up and support Saeed Ajmal, whose 11 wickets at Providence deserved better. Umar Gul, as flat as year-old soda in the first Test, is out, which is both a surprise and expected; Tanvir Ahmed comes in, but all eyes will now be on Wahab Riaz, who becomes, by default, the attack leader and an inexperienced one at that.

West Indies, looking to wrap up a rare series win, have their own problems. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the invisible Man of the Match in the first Test after a masterly second innings knock, is out with a shoulder injury. Marlon Samuels, who had a poor international return in the ODI series, plays his first Test for over three years. Predictably given his torment against Mohammad Hafeez, Devon Smith has been dropped, replaced by the teenaged debutante and highly-rated opener Kraigg Braithwaite; at 18 he is the fifth-youngest player to debut for the West Indies.

Captain Darren Sammy will want to build on the gains of last week and a wonderful first Test. Foremost among the achievements was his own performance; constantly under-fire, his very place in the XI under question, the captain responded with a five-wicket haul. Devendra Bishoo and Ravi Rampaul also have reasons to look back at that Test not just with fondness, but with real belief that they can progress from there.

The last two Tests at this ground have been high-scoring, entirely unmemorable draws and though there is some hint of grass on it, it looks like another flat one.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq. Umar Akmal, Mohammad Salman (wk), Abdur Rehman, Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal

West Indies: Kraigg Braithwaite, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Brendan Nash, Carlton Baugh (wk), Darren Sammy (capt), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo

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Pakistan tour of West Indies, 2nd Test: West Indies v Pakistan at Basseterre, May 20-24, 2011

Another bites the dust:

Rampaul to Asad Shafiq, OUT, cut hard but caught at point! Rampaul on fire at Warner Park even though this was a poor ball.

Asad Shafiq c Bishoo b Rampaul 0

Pakistan 24/3

Ramphal 6 overs 7 runs 3 wickets

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