West Indies v New Zealand - Tour Match

President's XI v New Zealanders
Beausejour Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, St Lucia
4 Day Game
Umpires: DM Archer & CE Cumberbatch
Toss: President's XI

PXI: AF Rae, *JB Stollmeyer, RB Richardson, AI Kallicharran, CL Hooper, AL Logie, BD Julien, +JL Hendricks, CC Griffith, IR Bishop, WW Daniel.
NZ: GM Turner, BA Edgar, AH Jones, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, RJ Hadlee, +KJ Wadsworth, AR MacGibbon, RO Collinge, SL Boock.

Rain badly affected New Zealand's warm-up match in St Lucia, but the tourists will still be taking a number of positives into the first Test after their performance at the BCG. The President's XI batted first on what was a very flat pitch, and their innings was totally dominated by skipper Jeff Stollmeyer, who amassed an unbeaten 203 out of a total of 360-7 before he declared shortly before the end of the second day's play. It was a near faultless innings, and as well as the Kiwi bowlers toiled, Stollmeyer was simply immovable. The next highest score was 34 from Julien at number seven, and rarely will one witness such a dominant display.

The New Zealanders responded well though, Turner and Edgar adding 99 for the first wicket before Jones joined Turner in a 158 run partnership for the second. Jones could have been caught behind off his very first ball, but the edge evaded Hendricks and Jones took full advantage, progressing to an excellent century that will surely fill him with confidence ahead of his likely Test debut in Jamaica. Turner also reached three figures, and New Zealand's batting held up well against the pace of Griffith, Daniel and Bishop.

Reid declared on the final afternoon with his team still 26 runs in arrears, but when the President's XI stumbled to 51-6 the tourists suddenly seemed in with a chance of an unlikely victory. Logie and Hendricks held firm though, and put together an undefeated partnership of 62 for the seventh wicket before time was finally called and the draw secure. MacGibbon may well have bowled his way into the Test side with a match return of 5-74 off 36 overs, and the Black Caps will be as optimistic as ever ahead of the first Test, although how long that optimism will last is most certainly up for debate.

Scores
PXI 1st Inns 360-7 dec. (Stollmeyer 203*)
NZ 1st Inns 334-5 dec. (Jones 110, Turner 104, Edgar 48)
PXI 2nd Inns 113-6 (Logie 45*)

MATCH DRAWN

West Indies v New Zealand - Series Preview

With scarcely a chance to draw breath following their tour of India, West Indies welcome New Zealand to the Caribbean for the first time knowing that a 5-0 whitewash would send them to the top of the ATG rankings. Garry Sobers' side really are the form team at the moment, having won their last four series, and one wouldn't bet against them putting the Kiwis to the sword over the course of the five Tests. Viv Richards' return to something approaching his best in the latter part of the Indian tour gives the batting line-up a solid feel, and the form of spinners Gibbs and Valentine provides the selectors with a variety of options in the bowling department.

In contrast to their hosts, New Zealand have won just four Tests in their entire ATG history, and one would feel that the tour will be largely an exercise in damage limitation for the Black Caps. John Reid retains the captaincy and leads a squad that contains two uncapped players in Andrew Jones and Tony MacGibbon, Jones being included at the expense of Bevan Congdon, whose run of just two fifties in his last 21 innings has cost him his place in the squad.

Current form (most recent result first)
West Indies WLWWW
New Zealand LDLLL

Previous series result
New Zealand 0 West Indies 2 (Season I, 3 Tests)

New Zealand Squad
JR Reid (c), MD Crowe (v/c), SL Boock, RO Collinge, J Cowie, MP Donnelly, BA Edgar, RJ Hadlee, AH Jones, AR MacGibbon, AC Parore, DN Patel, B Sutcliffe, BR Taylor, GM Turner, KJ Wadsworth.

India v West Indies - Series Summary

India and West Indies have now met on three occasions in the ATG arena, and on all three occasions West Indies have emerged as 2-1 victors come the end of the series. Garry Sobers' tourists deserved their win here, with two decisive victories bookending the series as the West Indian spinners largely outbowled their hosts' counterparts on a succession of turning wickets. The exception was in the second Test in Mumbai, where twin centuries from Pataudi jnr extricated India from deep trouble and allowed his side to record their first home win in eight attempts.

Pataudi was the stand out batsman on either side but he received scant support from his top order, with Mohammad Azharuddin enduring a horror series that included three ducks in six innings. Kapil Dev was generally unable to maintain his good recent form, and there were rarely enough runs on the board to allow the Indian spinners to attack in the manner that they would have liked.

For West Indies, Rohan Kanhai made the most of Clive Lloyd's absence through injury to top the tourists' batting averages, and there were enough contributions from the rest of the line-up to ensure that India were always under pressure. Marshall and Walsh toiled admirably in unfavourable conditions, but it was the spin of Gibbs and Valentine that proved decisive in the first and third Tests, with Valentine's ten wicket haul in Chennai the first such return by a West Indian slow bowler. West Indies now move above South Africa into third place in the world rankings having won their last four series, and a comprehensive victory in the upcoming engagement with New Zealand could see them challenging England for top spot come the end of ATG Season V.

Leading Series Averages

India Batting

MAK Pataudi 391 runs @ 65.17, Kapil Dev 150 @ 25.00, VS Hazare 123 @ 24.60, SM Gavaskar 133 @ 22.17, M Prabhakar 125 @ 20.83

India Bowling

EAS Prasanna 9 wkts @ 14.11, BS Chandrasekhar 10 @ 29.10, S Venkataraghavan 7 @ 31.43, M Prabhakar 5 @ 32.80, Kapil Dev 6 @ 37.00

West Indies Batting

RB Kanhai 275 runs @ 68.75, PJL Dujon 166 @ 41.50, IVA Richards 207 @ 41.40, DL Haynes 198 @ 39.60, GStA Sobers 104 @ 26.00

West Indies Bowling

AL Valentine 11 wkts @ 18.91, LR Gibbs 15 @ 22.20, CA Walsh 12 @ 23.00, GStA Sobers 8 @ 23.13, MD Marshall 9 @ 25.67

WEST INDIES WON THE SERIES 2-1

Men of the Series: MAK Pataudi & RB Kanhai

India v West Indies - Third Test

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

India: SM Gavaskar, M Prabhakar, M Amarnath, VS Hazare, M Azharuddin, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, MH Mankad, +SMH Kirmani, S Venkataraghavan, BS Chandrasekhar.
West Indies: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, RB Kanhai, IVA Richards, CH Lloyd, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh, AL Valentine.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: RS Dunne (NZL) & CJ Mitchley (SAF)
Toss: India

The momentum was with India after their stirring victory in Mumbai, and with the curator in Chennai serving up yet another wicket that was expected to favour spin, the home fans fancied their team's chances of recording a first ever series victory over West Indies. However, it was the tourists' slow men who made hay initially, and by tea on the first day the Indians had been bowled out for a paltry 138, with Alf Valentine grabbing the impressive figures of 6-33 off 20 overs in just his second appearance.

Valentine and Gibbs - who claimed his 100th ATG victim when he dismissed Mankad - bowled well, but there was no excuse for India's poor showing with the bat, and West Indies made their hosts pay to the fullest extent as they racked up the best part of 500 runs over the course of the next day and a half. Greenidge and Haynes started things off with a splendid opening stand of 163, by far the highest in the series for either side, and whilst Greenidge fell for 81, Haynes went on to record a fine hundred as India's bowlers struggled to exert any control.

Richards nearly joined him in three figures, but he fell four short after playing an increasingly assured innings that contained sixteen fours and one six, and upon his dismissal Dujon kept the board ticking over, stroking his way to an attractive 72 to take West Indies to an imposing total of 482 and a lead of 344. With the game not even having reached lunch on the third day India's task looked nigh on impossible, and there was every chance of another early finish as wickets fell steadily in the hosts' second innings.

Amarnath showed brief promise in reaching 41, but an excellent leg-cutter from Marshall accounted for him, and at 115-5 the game looked up for the Indians. Pataudi and Kapil Dev showed great application in taking their team through to stumps though, and they continued to bat defiantly throughout the morning and into the afternoon on day four in a stand that was reminiscent of Pataudi's liaison with Prabhakar in the previous Test. Both men batted with great care to blunt Sobers' bowling rotations, but with the stand worth 175, the sixth highest ever for the sixth wicket, Valentine returned to remove Pataudi for 88, a breakthrough which he followed up nine runs later by bowling Kapil Dev for 83, his highest score of the series.

India were 299-7 at this stage, still 45 behind, and although Mankad and Kirmani were able to add a further 64 valuable runs for the eighth wicket, India's final total of 373 left West Indies a target of just 30 to take the series. The tourists needlessly lost three cheap wickets in the scramble to secure the win before the close on day four, and the sides had to come back on the fifth morning to enable West Indies to knock off the remaining five runs they needed to complete victory. Garry Sobers' men had learned from their mistakes in Mumbai, and Valentine's first day performance put India behind the eight ball from the word go. West Indies deserved their victory, both in this match and in the series as a whole, and they now return to the Caribbean to take on New Zealand in a series that will complete the fifth season of ATG cricket.

Scores
IND 1st Inns 138 (Gavaskar 44; Valentine 6-33)
WI 1st Inns 482 (Haynes 107, Richards 96, Greenidge 81, Dujon 72; Venkataraghavan 4-136)
IND 2nd Inns 373 (Pataudi 88, Kapil Dev 83, Mankad 43, Amarnath 41; Valentine 4-102)
WI 2nd Inns 30-3

WEST INDIES WON BY 7 WICKETS


Man of the Match: AL Valentine

India v West Indies - Second Test

Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

India: SM Gavaskar, MH Mankad, M Amarnath, VS Hazare, M Azharuddin, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, +SMH Kirmani, M Prabhakar, EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar.
West Indies: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, RB Kanhai, IVA Richards, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh, AL Valentine.

Debuts: AL Valentine (WI)
Umpires: Khizer Hayat (PAK) & RS Dunne (NZL)
Toss: India

Faced with a pitch that was expected to turn almost from the off, both sides made alterations in their slow bowling ranks, India recalling Prasanna in place of Venkat whilst West Indies handed a debut to Alf Valentine as Michael Holding dropped out of the XI. It was pace that reduced India to a decidedly precarious 67-5 on the first morning though, with Courtney Walsh in particular extracting some early life from the wicket, but the tail wagged to great effect under Pataudi's guidance, and a first innings total of 289 represented a commendable comeback for the hosts.

Pataudi was dropped by Richards on 51, but his first ATG century was thoroughly deserved, and after Prasanna (19*) and Chandrasekhar (a career-high 17) frustrated West Indies with a last wicket stand of 35 on the second morning, India took control as their spinners gave the tourists a lesson in how to bowl on a dusting Wankhede wicket. The swing of Prabhakar removed both openers cheaply, and only a sixth wicket stand of 77 between Sobers and Dujon propped up the innings as Prasanna completed a five wicket haul on his recall.

West Indies were eventually bowled out for 203 an hour before stumps on the second evening, conceding a lead of 86 to India, but by lunch on the following the day they were right back in the game as the Indian top order failed for the second time in the match. Led by a rampant Malcolm Marshall, West Indies' pace attack left the innings in tatters at 51-7 half an hour before lunch on the third day, and one more wicket would surely have sealed the deal for the tourists. Pataudi was still there though, and there were to be no further breakthroughs until after tea as he and Prabhakar set about compiling the second highest eighth wicket stand in ATG history. Prabhakar nudged and nurdled his way to 71, his highest ever score, whilst Pataudi batted in an appropriately princely fashion to reach his second century of the match, the pair adding a remarkable 158 in just 43 overs as the game slipped away from West Indies.

Gibbs and Valentine were simply unable to take advantage of what should have been favourable conditions, and India's final total of 235 set West Indies a daunting target of 322 to win both the match and the series. Greenidge again went early, but fifties from Haynes and Kanhai took the tourists to the relatively comfortable position of 179-3 early on the fourth afternoon, and one could sense the feeling uneasiness that was building around the ground. West Indies lost Kanhai and Sobers in quick succession at this point though, and India grabbed the chance they had been given with both hands. Richards played his way back into some form with a belligerent 67, but he soon ran out of partners and became one of Prasanna's nine victims in the match as India's spinners again scythed their way through the tail.

West Indies lost their last five wickets for just 18 on the way to being bowled out for 240, and India's victory by 81 runs ties up the series ahead of the third and final Test in Chennai. Spin had been the key here, with Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Mankad picking up seventeen wickets between them compared to the four claimed by Gibbs and Valentine, but it was the twin centuries of skipper Pataudi that will be forever remembered, his second innings partnership with Prabhakar capping one of the greatest comeback victories in the ATG history book.

Scores
IND 1st Inns 289 (Pataudi 106, Kapil Dev 43, Gavaskar 41; Walsh 4-68)
WI 1st Inns 203 (Dujon 55, Sobers 44, Kanhai 41; Prasanna 5-54)
IND 2nd Inns 235 (Pataudi 101, Prabhakar 71; Marshall 4-55)
WI 2nd Inns 240 (Kanhai 71, Richards 67, Haynes 53; Prasanna 4-73)

INDIA WON BY 81 RUNS


Man of the Match: MAK Pataudi