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ItalJockey
Starting Member
USA
10 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 24 2001 : 5:27:22 PM
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HARARE (June 23, 2001 12:48 PM EDT) - West Indies, without top batsman Brian Lara, beat Zimbabwe by 27 runs in the opening triangular tournament one-day match here on Saturday.
Zimbabwe made 266 for five in its innings, but West Indies managed to confine the host to 239 for nine for an easy win.
Meanwhile, Lara was due to fly home on Saturday because of a strained hamstring that refuses to heal.
He incurred the injury in the test series against England last year, and it was aggravated during a warmup game near ahead of the three-way series against Zimbabwe and India.
It was decided he needed at least two week's rest if the injury is to heal.
West Indies did not need Lara, however, with Daren Ganga scoring 66 from 98 balls and his opening partner Chris Gayle making 53 from 76 balls. These two put on 113 for the first wicket at more than four an over to set up a high-scoring innings.
The side also had Shivnarine Chanderpaul, whose 51 runs required only 46 balls and Carl Hooper, whose 29 were scored at a run a ball.
Chanderpaul and Hooper hit 40 off the last five overs of the innings to set Zimbabwe a target it needed to attack from the start.
The home side did not display its renowned fielding sharpness during the West Indies batting, although Grant Flower's boundary-rope catch to dismiss Hooper was out of the top drawer.
This may have had something to do with the unsettling resignation as captain, just before play, of Heath Streak, who made a protest against selection policy. Streak's choices of teammates were being overruled, according to one colleague.
Zimbabwe in reply lost Dion Ebrahim for 11 and then Stuart Carlisle for 17. The latter's wicket was especially valuable for West Indies because he was beginning to hit out with vigor.
From 44-2 the home side began to lose ground, scoring at little more than three an over. At the 30-overs mark it was on 116, needing to score at 7.5 an over, with Alistair Campbell and Grant Flower at the crease.
Cameron Cuffy, bowling straight through his 10 overs, made a major contribution as he conceded only 20 runs. This earned him the man of the match award.
Flower's dismissal for 29 brought Andy Blignaut to the crease and he made a typically bright 25 in 26 balls but Alistair Campbell, who opened the innings, never got into top gear and his scoring rate, 68 runs in 108 balls, was insufficient to give Zimbabwe a real chance.
The Zimbabwe tail wagged vigorously with Heath Streak, Travis Friend and Brian Murphy lashing 16, 17 and 15, respectively.
But West Indies, after obtaining the early advantage and making a charge in the final overs, did not allow Zimbabwe the opportunity to strike back with any success.
Flower's dislocated thumb is not helped by a damaged ligament on the same hand that will require surgery. He will be out of cricket for two months.
Edited by - ItalJockey on Jun 24 2001 17:28:12 |
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