Pakistan v West Indies - Second Test

Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Pakistan: Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Anwar, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, *Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, +Wasim Bari, Abdul Qadir, Waqar Younis.
West Indies: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, IVA Richards, EdeC Weekes, *CH Lloyd, OG Smith, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, MA Holding, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh.

Debuts: OG Smith (WI)
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & AR Crafter (AUS)
Toss: West Indies

West Indies needed a big improvement after their lacklustre showing in Karachi, and with Garry Sobers still sidelined, Collie Smith would make his debut in Faisalabad after being flown out to bolster the touring party's reserves. Pakistan also made changes, with both Wasim Bari and Abdul Qadir earning recalls at the expense of Moin Khan and Iqbal Qasim.

Clive Lloyd won his first toss as skipper and elected to bat, but an inordinately slow paced wicket at the Iqbal Stadium made strokeplay difficult, and West Indies struggled their way to a disappointing total of 272 before their innings came to an end shortly before tea on day two. Lloyd himself tried to up the pace with a fluent 60, but the innings was held together by Des Haynes, who batted nearly eight hours for his 104 before falling to Majid's part time off breaks. Six different bowlers took wickets for Pakistan, but Clive Lloyd's attack responded in kind as West Indies hauled themselves straight back into the match in dramatic fashion.

Pakistan slumped to 55-4 at the close of the second day, Malcolm Marshall having become just the second bowler after Bill O'Reilly to claim 200 ATG wickets when he had Hanif caught by Haynes at short leg for 6, and it took a truly magnificent century from Zaheer Abbas on day three to keep Pakistan in sight of the tourists. Zaheer stroked his way to 118 out of Pakistan's eventual total of 208, the next highest score being 27 from Abdul Qadir batting at number ten, and in the context of the game it was one of the best centuries you are likely to see. Qadir - dropped on 6 by Marshall - helped Zaheer add 81 for the ninth wicket, by far the highest partnership of the innings and a Pakistani record, and after Collie Smith had taken two wickets in his first over to reduce Pakistan to 127-8, including the wicket of Akram with his very first ball, they were crucial runs.

Nonetheless, West Indies still held a 64 run advantage on first innings, and with the wicket hardening that lead was extended by almost 300 runs on a nip-and-tuck fourth day. Haynes had followed his first innings century with a duck on the previous evening, and with Greenidge - courtesy of a stunning catch by Majid - Richards and Weekes all departing relatively cheaply, it was nightwatchman Michael Holding that provided the impetus for West Indies with a stunning assault on the bowling. Qadir disappeared for 44 runs off 6 overs as Holding flayed a career high 70 from 107 balls before Akram removed him, and from 138-5 Clive Lloyd steered the innings away from danger with his fourth consecutive fifty of the series.

Wickets continued to fall at the other end though, and at 207-8 Pakistan were still very much in the hunt. However, Lloyd was playing a true captain's innings, and the last two wickets added a further 95 runs as West Indies moved into a seemingly impregnable position. A ninth wicket partnership with cousin Lance Gibbs (15) put on 55, then Walsh somehow survived for nearly an hour for 11* as the tenth wicket added a further 40 unbeaten runs and Lloyd completed a well earned century. Lloyd had extended the innings into the fifth day in order to reach three figures though, and when he declared at 302-9, Pakistan were left with an unlikely target of 367 to win, with the main question being whether Lloyd had left enough time to claim ten wickets.

That question seemed to have been answered when outside edges from Saeed Anwar (2) and Majid (0) left Pakistan floundering at 3-2, and had Weekes been able to hold an edge from Hanif off Holding, the hosts would have been in even deeper trouble. As it was, Hanif and Javed were able to rally with a stand of 107, but the run outs of Hanif (45) and Zaheer (6) tipped the balance back towards West Indies, with Pakistan teetering at 124-4. Asif hit the ground running though, and despite losing Javed for 70 courtesy of a dubious caught behind decision given by umpire Shepherd, the innings actually gathered momentum and thoughts started to turn towards a miraculous home win.

Asif carved his way to the third fastest fifty in ATG history (38 balls), and the score was taken to 251-5 in partnership with Imran, just 116 away from victory with 23 overs still to be bowled. Lloyd now threw the ball to Michael Holding, and 'Whispering Death' responded by killing Pakistan's chase with the wickets of Imran (31), Akram (2) and Wasim Bari (4), leaving Pakistan on 265-8 with 15 overs still to be bowled. Asif completed a wonderful century from just 98 balls, his presence at the crease maintaining Pakistan's hopes of survival, and when Dujon failed to reach an edge off Holding, both Asif's and Pakistan's chances of holding on for the draw increased significantly. Abdul Qadir batted resolutely for the second time in the match, and with West Indies' bowlers finally running out of steam the game ended in a draw, with Pakistan 58 short of victory on 309-8.

It had been a classic Test, with fortunes changing at regular intervals, and after a soporific opening we were treated to three and a half days of cricket that was truly for the connoisseur. Lloyd's delayed declaration and a couple of dropped catches cost West Indies dear on the final day, but outstanding innings from Zaheer and Asif secured the draw that maintains Pakistan's 1-0 series lead with two Tests still to play.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 272 (Haynes 104, Lloyd 60)
PAK 1st Inns 208 (Zaheer Abbas 118)
WI 2nd Inns 302-9 dec. (Lloyd 104*, Holding 70; Waqar Younis 4-70)
PAK 2nd Inns 309-8 (Asif Iqbal 126*, Javed Miandad 70, Hanif Mohammad 45; Holding 4-55)

MATCH DRAWN

Man of the Match: Zaheer Abbas

Pakistan v West Indies - First Test

National Stadium, Karachi

Pakistan: Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Anwar, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, *Imran Khan, +Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Iqbal Qasim, Waqar Younis.
West Indies: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, EdeC Weekes, IVA Richards, *CH Lloyd, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, MA Holding, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: VK Ramaswamy (IND) & LP Rowan (AUS)
Toss: Pakistan

West Indies' chances of recording their first ATG victory over Pakistan were dealt a huge blow before a ball was even bowled in Karachi, with skipper Garry Sobers forced to withdraw with a shoulder injury that ended a run of 49 consecutive appearances, and by the end of the first day matters were even worse for the tourists after they had been bowled out for just 228, having been inserted on an unusually green wicket at the National Stadium.

Greenidge fell to the very first ball of the series, caught by Zaheer off Akram, Headley also departed for a duck to leave West Indies 4-2, and although partnerships of 79 between Haynes and Weekes and 67 between Lloyd and Dujon threatened to restore some equilibrium, Imran's astute captaincy ensured that Pakistan never lost their grip on proceedings. Lloyd's soft dismissal for 54 to a miscued cover drive off Majid was a key moment, and from 197-5 the innings folded to 228 all out, with the unlikely figure of Asif Iqbal the main destroyer. Asif had nibbled the ball around all day in conditions that suited his medium pace, and he finished off the innings by becoming the first player in ATG history to claim three wickets in an over, sending back Dujon, Gibbs and Walsh in a spell that read .2W4WW, finishing with his best analysis in ATG Tests.

Day two was topped and tailed by stoppages for bad light and rain, but in the play that was possible Hanif's 74 laid a solid foundation for Pakistan, and with West Indies' pacemen finding no movement at all, day three belonged completely to the hosts as Javed Miandad took centre stage. After scores of 214*, a national record 248 and 177 in the recent series in the Caribbean, Javed batted all day for another double century as Pakistan's total swelled from 183-3 overnight to 487-5 by the close, with 236 runs coming in partnership with Zaheer, Pakistan's highest stand for any wicket. Both batsmen used their feet well against the spin of Gibbs, who sent down 75 overs over the course of the innings as West Indies struggled without the option of Sobers' bowling, and although Zaheer eventually fell four short of a deserved century, Javed powered on into the fourth day, now in the company of skipper Imran.

Pakistan soon passed their previous highest ATG total of 555, and shortly after lunch on day 4 Javed broke his own national record of 248 before finally falling to Marshall for 284, having added 197 with Imran, a Pakistan record for the sixth wicket. Imran was on 88* at the time but unselfishly declared upon the fall of Javed, and Pakistan's gargantuan total of 648-6 gave them a lead of 420 with four and a half sessions still to play. After over 13 hours in the field West Indies could have been forgiven for a repeat of their first innings ineptitude, but they lost only Greenidge on their way to an overnight total of 123-1, and escaping with a draw was still very much a possibility.

Wickets fell at regular intervals on the final day however, including that of Haynes for a well-crafted 78, and although Richards - who took 22 off one over from Asif - and Lloyd both contributed half centuries at better than a run a ball, it was graft that was needed and unfortunately none was forthcoming. Pakistan fans were made to sweat after tea as first rain and then a stubborn late stand between Marshall (24) and Holding (26) threatened to spoil the party, but Imran brought himself back to clean up the tail, and with seven overs left he completed a pair for Courtney Walsh to hand Pakistan victory by an innings and 90 runs. Imran's team thoroughly deserved to take the spoils, and with the attack that decimated South Africa seemingly rendered impotent on the subcontinent, West Indies suddenly find themselves in a real contest. Garry Sobers' absence left their team unbalanced, and a remedy needs to be found ahead of the second Test in Faisalabad.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 228 (Lloyd 54, Dujon 51, Weekes 48; Asif Iqbal 5-43)
PAK 1st Inns 648-6 dec. (Javed Miandad 284, Zaheer Abbas 96, Imran Khan 88*, Hanif Mohammad 74)
WI 2nd Inns 330 (Haynes 78, Richards 55, Lloyd 54; Imran Khan 4-52)

PAKISTAN WON BY AN INNINGS & 90 RUNS


Man of the Match: Javed Miandad

Pakistan v West Indies - Tour Match

President's XI v West Indians

Rawalpindi
3 Day Game
Umpires: Daud Khan & Shujaddin
Toss: West Indians

PRES XI: Shoaib Mohammad, Rameez Raja, Ijaz Ahmed, Javed Burki, Haroon Rashid, Wasim Raja, *Abdul Kardar, +Saleem Yousuf, Tauseef Ahmed, Mahmood Hussain, Sikander Bakht.

WI: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, IVA Richards, CL Lloyd, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, AME Roberts, CEL Ambrose, J Garner, CA Walsh.

A game that ultimately disappointed as a contest nonetheless served as an interesting form guide ahead of the Tests, with an untried President's XI forcing a draw against the tourists. The West Indians dominated the first day's play, racking up an imposing total of 435-7, with Desmond Haynes' unbeaten double century the cornerstone of the innings. Haynes batted for the best part of six hours in compiling his 204*, sharing stands of 143 with Lloyd (55) and 203 with Sobers, who hit a sparkling 121 off just 136 balls. Mahmood Hussain claimed a deserved five wicket haul for the President's XI, but the rest of the hosts' attack posed little threat on a flat Rawalpindi wicket.

The President's XI proved to be more competitive with the bat however, and over the course of the next day and a half they ground out a commendable response to the tourists' first innings score. Numbers 1-9 all reached double figures as the West Indian pacemen received little or no assistance from the pitch, with skipper Abdul Kardar and wicket keeper Saleem Yousuf both notching fifties in a seventh wicket stand that pushed the hosts to safety. Both were eventually removed by Courtney Walsh, who then cleaned out the tail to finish with the excellent figures 0f 6-66 from 23 overs, but Ambrose, Roberts and Garner were all disappointing, and West Indies will look forward to welcoming back the services of the rested Marshall and Holding for the Tests.

The President's XI eventually totalled 309, leaving West Indies time to give their first day failures some valuable batting practice in a brief second innings before the game petered out into an inevitable draw. Of the tourists' batsmen, only George Headley looks out of touch, but he is still expected to be in the starting XI for the first Test in Karachi, where expectations are high for some highly competitive cricket at the start of an eagerly anticipated series.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 435-7 dec. (Haynes 204*, Sobers 121, Lloyd 55; Mahmood Hussain 5-87)
PRES XI 1st Inns 309 (Abdul Kardar 57, Saleem Yousuf 51, Ijaz Ahmed 42, Wasim Raja 41; Walsh 6-66)
WI 2nd Inns 147-5 (Richards 48)

MATCH DRAWN

Pakistan v West Indies - Series Preview

West Indies have a score to settle on their second ATG tour to Pakistan, having never yet beaten their hosts at this level. Imran's team won a three Test series 1-0 in Pakistan then followed that up with a stunning 4-0 victory when the teams last met in the Caribbean, a result that cost Frank Worrell the West Indian captaincy. However, despite Pakistan's dominance over them, West Indies will be hopeful of a positive result on this trip, having beaten Australia and South Africa in their last two series, and their squad contains few surprises as faith is maintained in the players that have produced such good results of late, reserve wicket-keeper Jackie Hendricks being the only uncapped member.

Pakistan are also a confident side these days, with defeat in the final Test of their New Zealand tour ending a 15 match unbeaten run, the longest such streak yet recorded in ATG cricket. Waqar Younis was in devastating form against the Kiwis, picking up the first ever ATG ten-for along the way, and if he stays fit it will be fascinating to see how he shapes up in comparison to the West Indies' pace battery. Both sides enter this series locked together in mid-table in the ATG ratings, and the stage is set for what should be a most competitive four Test series.

West Indies' Squad
GStA Sobers (c), IVA Richards (v/c), CEL Ambrose, PJL Dujon, J Garner, LR Gibbs, CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, JL Hendricks, MA Holding, CH Lloyd, MD Marshall, AME Roberts, CA Walsh, EdeC Weekes.

England v Australia - Series Summary

Australia's retention of the Ashes was ultimately deserved; whilst they were fortunate to escape on level terms the last time the two teams met Down Under, the quality of their cricket in another drawn series here exceeded that of their hosts in all but the final game. Woodfull and Lawry provided the stability at the top of the order that has been lacking for so long, and although Bradman faded alarmingly after hitting 177 in a resounding first Test victory, there were enough contributions from Border, McCabe and Miller to ensure that Australia's batting rarely faltered. No one bowler stood out for the tourists, but with Lindwall, Miller, Benaud, Davidson and Alderman all reaching double figures in the wickets column there was little respite for the English batsmen, and Australia profited from this consistency.

England's bowlers on the other hand were rarely able to exert any pressure, that is until the return of Laker in the final Test on a tailor made track at his home ground of The Oval. Laker had been dropped after a disappointing first Test, and one is left to wonder whether this was a knee-jerk reaction that could have cost England dearly, especially given Laker's good form on the winter tour of New Zealand. Larwood bowled well in fits but there was little else for England, and by the end of the series Fred Trueman had been dropped for the first time in his career after becoming embroiled in a beamer controversy at Trent Bridge. Ken Barrington's batting won him England's man of the series award, and both Hammond and Hobbs contributed two centuries apiece without being at their dominating best, but Hutton and Gower both endured lean times, and with Botham failing to shine on recall, there may be further changes ahead before England's demanding tour of India and Sri Lanka.

England Batting
KF Barrington 445 runs @ 55.63, JB Hobbs 375 @ 53.57, WR Hammond 443 @ 49.22, DI Gower 208 @ 29.71, L Hutton 250 @ 27.78

England Bowling
JC Laker 14 wkts @ 14.29, H Larwood 11 @ 36.36, AV Bedser 12 @ 39.00, FS Trueman 7 @ 57.14, IT Botham 5 @ 80.20

Australia Batting
AR Border 373 runs @ 62.17, WM Woodfull 432 @ 54.00, SJ McCabe 299 @ 49.83, DG Bradman 379 @ 47.38, WM Lawry 368 @ 40.89

Australia Bowling
RR Lindwall 18 wkts @ 26.17, KR Miller 19 @ 27.26, TM Alderman 13 @ 31.38, AK Davidson 14 @ 34.93, R Benaud 16 @ 38.19

SERIES DRAWN 1-1

Players of the Series: KF Barrington & WM Woodfull

England v Australia - Fifth Test

The Oval, London

ENG: JB Hobbs, *L Hutton, WR Hammond, DCS Compton, DI Gower, IT Botham, +LEG Ames, H Larwood, JC Laker, AV Bedser, RGD Willis.
AUS: WM Woodfull, WM Lawry, DG Bradman, AR Border, SJ McCabe, KR Miller, +IA Healy, *R Benaud, AK Davidson, RR Lindwall, DK Lillee.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: RS Dunne (NZL) & DL Orchard (SAF)
Toss: England

Pride was on the line at The Oval, for although the fate of the Ashes had been decided, the result of the series was still in the balance. England's only previous series loss came in the very first ATG match-up of all (also against Australia), and a home win here would at least keep that proud run going as well as maintaining England's position atop the ATG rankings. A cracked rib denied the in-form Ken Barrington a Test on his home ground, although the recall of Denis Compton was a popular move, and Jim Laker and Bob Willis replaced Derek Underwood and Fred Trueman, the latter being dropped for the first time in his ATG career. Australia meanwhile made their first change of the series, Dennis Lillee the handy replacement for the incapacitated Terry Alderman.

Len Hutton's fourth toss win of the series allowed England the chance to bat first on a dry Oval wicket, and over the course of the first two days the home batsmen took full advantage as Australia's bowlers struggled for once. Hobbs and Hammond shared a second wicket stand of 161 as Hobbs recorded his second successive century on his home ground despite a bad case of cramp late in his innings, then Hammond was joined by Compton in a stand of 162, England's second highest ever for the fourth wicket.

Compton eventually ran himself out for 71 attempting an unwise second run on the arm of Bill Lawry, but Hammond went on to record an imposing 171 before finally being bowled by a Davidson inducker after seven and a half hours at the crease. The innings fell away somewhat after the end of Hammond and Compton's partnership, and although Botham swatted a quick 55 the toiling Benaud claimed three late scalps as England slid from 392-3 to 489 all out at the end of the second day.

England's total was imposing nonetheless, and Benaud's performance on the second evening was to prove prescient bearing in mind the events that were about to unfold. Batting was not as straightforward now on a surface that was beginning to crumble, and after England's seamers picked up a wicket apiece - including Botham's removal of Bradman for 13 - to incapacitate Australia's top order, Jim Laker decimated the tail on his way to career best figures of 6-29 off 21.4 overs as the tourists were routed for 153. One wonders whether Australia's batsmen would have been so compliant had the Ashes still been at stake, but that was a moot point as Hutton eagerly enforced the follow on with a huge lead of 336.

Rain had disrupted play on each of the first three days, and a wet start to day four gave Australia hope that they might yet save the game. Play got going though, and despite (or perhaps because of) Woodfull batting almost three hours for just 13, the tourists lapsed to 55-4 shortly before tea, with Laker working his way through the top order this time, including the dismissal of the disappointing Bradman, lbw for a third ball duck. Miller rallied with a typically belligerent 49 until he became Laker's fifth victim, and the removal of Healy and Benaud in quick succession by Willis saw Australia enter the final day seemingly down and out on 153-7, still 183 runs away from making England bat again.

McCabe was still there on 40* though, and once he and Davidson saw off the new ball, memories of the salvage act that the same pair fashioned on the final day against West Indies in Perth began to resurface. Australia's hopes were raised when Larwood hobbled out of the attack after an hour, and when McCabe (61*) was dropped almost immediately after by Compton off Willis, there was palpable dismay in the English ranks. Australia lunched on 245-7, just 91 behind, and as the stand passed 100 in the afternoon, McCabe and Davidson both reached the deserved landmarks of 100 and 50 respectively.

However, with the partnership worth 120, just one run short of a national record for the eighth wicket, umpire Orchard adjudged that Davidson had edged one behind off Botham, and a valiant stand had been brought to an end. That was the end of Australia's resistance, and when Laker returned to dismiss both Lindwall and Lillee, England had completed an innings victory with a session and a half to spare. McCabe remained unbowed on a career high 120*, but the hero of the hour was Laker, whose second innings figures of 51.1-21-93-7 eclipsed his first innings performance, and a match return of 13-122, the best in England's ATG history, capped a remarkable return to the English XI. Thus the series was drawn, but the Ashes remain in Australian hands, and the cricket played over the course of the five Tests made this a justified outcome.

Scores
ENG 1st Inns 489 (Hammond 171, Hobbs 113, Compton 71, Botham 55)
AUS 1st Inns 153 (Laker 6-29)
AUS 2nd Inns 289 (McCabe 120*, Davidson 50, Miller 49; Laker 7-93)

ENGLAND WON BY AN INNINGS & 47 RUNS


Man of the Match: JC Laker