West Indies tour to Zimbabwe

[Donny]

Lara: 'We expect a tough tour'

Wisden Cricinfo staff

The West Indies squad arrived in Zimbabwe this afternoon to begin their five-week tour which includes two Test matches and five one-day internationals.

Brian Lara, the captain, gave a brief press conference on his arrival at Harare airport after touching down via London. He said that his team were as advertised and contained "quite a lot of youngsters".

Lara was briefly on the previous West Indies tour of Zimbabwe in the winter of 2001, but had to return home before the international matches due to an injury. On that tour, West Indies won the two-match Test series 1-0, with one match drawn. They also won the triangular ODI tournament which included India as the third team. And in 1989, at the age of 20, Lara captained a young West Indian team to tour Zimbabwe in their pre-Test days.

Lara said he was conscious of the need for West Indies to improve their record away from home, and diplomatically stated that he expected a hard tour. He added that he did not yet feel in prime batting form, but was sure he could raise his game in time for the Test series.

The first tour match begins on Thursday October 30, with a three-day match against a Zimbabwe A team to be captained by Dion Ebrahim. The venue has been changed from the CFX Academy to Takashinga Sports Club, a new ground in the Harare suburb of Highfield, from which such players as Tatenda Taibu come from.

Grant Flower, who missed the recent tour of Australia due to a hand injury, will definitely miss the two Test matches, but he hopes to be fit for the one-day series. Meanwhile, Douglas Hondo, who was also unable to play in Australia due to a thumb injury, is on course to recover in time for the first Test, due to start on November 4.

[Donny]

West Indians 140/3 (37.0 ov) v. Zimbabwe A at lunch.

Darren Ganga is 43 n.o. and Shiv Chanderpaul, 36

21 year old Jordane Nicolle has 2/40.

[Donny]

Ganga went on to 110 with 21 fours and Chanderpaul retired on 102 from only 104 balls with 22 fours and a six.

Samuels (66) and Jacobs (55) were both not out as the Windies declared on 5/404.

At stumps, Zimbabwe are 0/31.

[couragous cloke]

Ganga Is better than alot of people thought he was, he made a couple of recent centuries against the best team in the world, watch out for him, he's got a killer ondrive and sweep shot, i certainly underated him big time. As for Chanderpaul - out and out CLASS - fantastic batsmen, and loves to get on with it, scores runs VERY quickly.

[Donny]

All out 242. Matsikenyeri was 84 n.o.

Vaspert Drakes took 5/66 and Taylor, 4/46

[Donny]

In the Windies second dig, they are 5/246, a lead of 408.

Both openers went cheaply, to Mahwire (2/26), and Carlton Baugh was lifted up to first drop for some batting practice. He scored 44.

22 y.o. Marlon Samuels showed his class with a fluent 109 n.o. Nicolle took 2/50.

[Donny]

The Windies declared on 6/343. Samuels scored 147 from 146 balls.

Zimb. A is 1/33, chasing 506.

[Donny]

2/132 at tea.

[Donny]

The Windies almost pulled it off but Zimb. A held on for a draw.

Have the Calypso Cavaliers found a new quickie ? 19 y.o. Jerome Taylor took 6/58 which gave him match figures of 10/104 in only his 11th. first class game.

He was just 18 years old, with a solitary one-day match for Jamaica under his belt, when he was called into the West Indies squad for the final match of their series against Sri Lanka in 2003.

It was the culmination of an explosive first season for Taylor, who was named as the most promising fast bowler in the 2003 Carib Beer Series, after picking up 21 wickets at 20.14 in six first-class matches.

That haul included a second-innings spell of 8 for 59 in Jamaica’s five-wicket victory over Trinidad and Tobago, a match in which he took ten wickets for the first time.

[couragous cloke]

Tayler bowles very good outswing from wat ive seen, could be in cointention for a spot in the first 11 in 2 days time..

[Donny]

Ewing salvages draw in dramatic finale

John Ward

A devastating spell of reverse-swing bowling by Jerome Taylor almost brought the West Indian tourists an unexpected victory over Zimbabwe A after the match had looked dead and buried at tea, but the determination of Gavin Ewing, dropped from the Test team, denied them at the death. Zimbabwe A finished with 247 for 9.

Despite their lead of 408, the West Indians decided on more batting practice on the final morning, presumably for the benefit of Daren Ganga, 25 overnight after a century in the first innings. This decision was to cost them a chance of victory. Ganga and Marlon Samuels found it easy going until Samuels drove a ball from Stuart Matsikenyeri down the throat of long-on to depart for 147. The declaration came at drinks, with Ganga unbeaten on 69 and the target a token 506.

The lbw curse soon struck Zimbabwe A again, with Vusi Sibanda adjudged in front to Taylor for 4, with the total on 9. Then came a long period of attrition as Dion Ebrahim and Craig Evans, both playing for their Test places, dug in and withstood the West Indian assault. Ebrahim finally fell in mid-afternoon for 41, caught off bat and pad off the bowling of Ramnaresh Sarwan, but Evans reached his fifty. He clearly set his eyes on a century, playing safe instead of employing his usual buccaneering style and penchant for massive sixes, especially when the spinners were bowling.

By tea it seemed as if the West Indians had accepted that the match was meandering towards a draw, with a score of 132 for 2. However, Taylor returned immediately after tea and his first ball kept low to shatter Evans's stumps with a ball that kept slightly low, bowling him out for 59. After a four and two singles off the next three balls, Taylor gave the same treatment to Matsikenyeri, bowled for 5. Two overs later, it was the unfortunate Elton Chigumbura's turn, yorked by Taylor to complete a pair.

Travis Friend scored just 4 before being caught at bat-pad, again off Taylor, who had now taken four wickets in four overs since tea, and Zimbabwe A were 157 for 6. Drakes in the first innings and now Taylor had shattered the middle order with their sharp reverse swing, a problem that the top players will need to confront in the Test next week.

Barney Rogers, like Matsikenyeri in the first innings, stood firm through it all and appeared to bat without undue difficulty. But he fell just as he appeared to be making the match secure, driving uppishly at Drakes and being caught low down at short extra cover for 45.

The last hour began with the West Indians needing three more wickets to win the match. Alester Maregwede (5) became another lbw victim as Taylor returned, but Gavin Ewing, who clearly felt he had a message for the national selectors, and Blessing Mahwire were determined not to give in easily. At this point the West Indians began to show boredom in the field and indulged in some quite ridiculous and pointless time-wasting - a problem which the ICC still does not have the guts to tackle effectively.

Mahwire (10) fell to a slip catch by substitute Brian Lara in the penultimate over, bowled by Drakes, but Ewing, unbeaten with 42, played out the final over from Ravi Rampaul to ensure the draw. Taylor finished with six wickets.