West Indies Clinch The Opener

A good all-round performance by West Indies brought them a 27-run victoryover a demoralized but defiant Zimbabwe team at Harare Sports Club in theopening match of the triangular tournament also involving India. After compiling266 for five wickets, they restricted Zimbabwe to 239 for nine.

The shock news for West Indies was the withdrawal of Brian Lara from thetour, due to a long-term hamstring injury. For Zimbabwe, it was the resignationof Heath Streak as captain, following Andy Flower's withdrawal through injury.No official reasons have been given yet for Streak's resignation, but it isgenerally believed that the players are aggrieved at on-going selectionpolicies. Grant Flower took over as captain for this match at short notice, asvice-captain Guy Whittall refused to take over in the circumstances.

Two sides thus faced each other, both in turmoil. Zimbabwe won the toss andput West Indies in on a good-looking pitch, no doubt hoping for early life. Forthe first time in 224 successive international matches, Zimbabwe took the fieldwithout Andy Flower..

Chris Gayle made the early running for West Indies, hitting Andy Blignaut,who now had his hair dyed in the colours of the national flag, for two fineboundaries through the covers in his third over. Daren Ganga hit a coverboundary in Streak's next over as Zimbabwe's bowlers again failed to control thewhite ball or extract much help from the pitch. Gayle on 15 was dropped atsecond slip, a difficult chance, off Blignaut.

The fifty came up in the 13th over and the hundred in the 22nd, with thebatsmen enjoying several slices of good fortune but gradually looking moreimpressive as Zimbabwe's change bowlers proved quite innocuous. Grant Flowercame on himself to put a brake on the scoring, but several uncharacteristicmisfields did not help their cause. The pair added 113 before Gayle (53), in the25th over, checked a big hit off Brian Murphy to be caught by long-on runningin.

Wavell Hinds ran superbly between wickets with Ganga as West Indies hammeredhome their advantage. Ganga recorded 66 off 98 balls before Tatenda Taibuclaimed his first victim in full international cricket, stumping him smartly offMurphy, and shortly afterwards Hinds (37) unilaterally attempted an impossiblesingle to be run out. But at 180 for three in the 38th over, West Indies werewell placed.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper made merry as Mluleki Nkala and TravisFriend again failed to measure up with the ball, but Streak was better and hadHooper (29) brilliantly caught at wide long-on by Flower. Chanderpaul, notgeneral thought of as a one-day batsman, played with fine judgement for his 51before holing out at deepish mid-off off Blignaut's slower ball, and West Indiesfinished with 266 for five. With morale obviously low in the Zimbabwe camp, thematch appeared to belong to the tourists. One bright spot was the finewicket-keeping of Tatenda Taibu on his debut.

Reon King and Cameron Cuffy bowled with hostility and purpose, but theZimbabwean openers faced them with determination until Dion Ebrahim (11) edgedKing for wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs to take a remarkable high catch with thewebbing of his gloves, causing some questions to be asked about the legality ofsuch gloves under the new code of laws.

Stuart Carlisle, fresh from his match-winning innings in the Second Testagainst India, was soon peppering the off-side field with powerful drives, Kingand Mervyn Dillon both proving expensive. Then, on 17, he was dismissed by abrilliant catch at short extra cover by Hooper.

This was virtually the end of Zimbabwe's challenge, as Alistair Campbell andGrant Flower became bogged down, unable either to rotate the strike or reach theboundary. They later opened up, but just as the partnership was developingFlower was caught at the wicket for 29; Zimbabwe were 99 for three in the 27thover.

Blignaut was sent in to raise the run rate, and did so, although not to thenow necessary rate of eight an over, before being run out for 25, just afterCampbell reached his fifty. Whittall improvised well, and was badly dropped atlong leg, but 97 were needed off the final ten overs. Whittall (32) fell at deepmidwicket, while Campbell, never fluent, holed out to long-off for 68.

Streak and Friend (16 each) and last man Murphy (15 not out off 8 balls) didtheir best to ensure that Zimbabwe went down with all guns blazing. Dillon tookthree for 49 and Samuels, at the death, three for 28.

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