Pakistani cricket team in West Indies in 2005

Pakistan toured West Indies for three ODIs and two Tests in May and June 2005. West Indies tried to restore confidence after being whitewashed in ODIs and losing 0-3 in a 4-Test home series against South Africa, while Pakistan came off a relatively successful tour of India where they won the ODI series 4-2 and drew the Tests. Pakistan got off to a great start in the warm-ups by beating the Antigua & Barbuda President's XI by 248 runs at Antigua and continued with a 59-run win in a low-scoring first match at St Vincent. The West Indian fans were to be disappointed again, though, as their team slumped to two successive losses in the ODIs at Gros Islet - losing the series 0–3, meaning that their home ODI record for 2005 read no wins, eight losses. They recuperated in the Tests, however, giving Pakistan eight and a half days of good cricket before imploding with the bat in the final innings to lose the second Test and thus having to settle with a drawn series, 1–1.

A West Indies team in deep crisis were trying to avoid the series defeat at Gros Islet against Pakistan. The visitors won the toss and interestingly chose to bat on a grassy pitch, paying the price as Shahid Afridi mistimed a big cover drive (which had already given him runs from a six and a four so far in the day), off Daren Powell straight to Wavell Hinds, who took a grateful catch. A couple of overs later, Shoaib Malik attempted a quick single, but Powell was alert and grabbed the ball on his followthrough, pushing down the stumps at the wicketkeeper's end with relative ease and Salman Butt way out of the running to see him run out.

Shoaib Malik did struggle in this match, although he did get the runs eventually. Having run out his partner, he proceeded to struggle getting runs up - especially boundaries. Only a gift from Chris Gayle, who dropped a simple catch, ensured that he was still in and able to edge more runs. Yousuf Youhana from the other end, meanwhile, played a more calm and composed knock, before being controversially given out lbw by umpire Darrell Hair on 21 - some commentators argued that the sound heard was Youhana's bat hitting the pad, not the ball. However, a brisk knock from captain Inzamam-ul-Haq steadied the ship, and Shoaib Malik also found his footing eventually - before calling a too quick single, resulting in the second run out of the match and the fifth Pakistani run out of the series. With Shoaib gone for 51, Younis Khan joined Inzamam for a good partnership. It was abruptly shortened, though, when Inzamam got hit on the box by a straight full toss from Gayle, which could well have been lbw. As it was, Inzamam retired for 33, allowing a hard-hitting Abdul Razzaq to come to the crease. A blazing 20 followed before Corey Collymore reaped the rewards with his first ball of a return-spell - clean bowled. Inzamam thus returned to the crease with a runner - he chose Shoaib Malik, the man who had already caused two run outs earlier on in the morning. Three balls later, there could well have been a run-out, but the throw was off target and they saved the wicket. That turned out to be crucial, as Inzamam added a further sixteen runs to the Pakistan tally before slicing a drive off Gayle to backward point and a thankful Dwayne Bravo. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal then slashed a few boundaries to up the run rate, ending with 24 not out off 15 balls, but it was the fast bowler Corey Collymore who had the last laugh in the match - in the very final over, he dug out Younis Khan (caught well by Gayle for 48) and Naved-ul-Hasan (caught and bowled for 1) to finish with three wickets for 40, the best figures of the innings, while Pakistan set a very competitive target of 259, leaving the match hanging in the balance.

The Pakistan fielding effort started in jittery fashion, giving up three extras - two no-balls and a leg-bye - before letting an edge off Xavier Marshall run away for four. Then, Chris Gayle was suspected caught behind by all Pakistanis on 0, but the umpire turned down the appeal. Xavier Marshall was then out to a catch by Salman Butt for 6, and Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle consolidated - not altogether willingly, as Naved-ul-Hasan served up some accurate swing bowling. Gayle, however, went back on the attack - which cost him dearly against Shabbir Ahmed. Playing across the line to an off-cutter, his off stump was exposed, and he was gone for 43.

With that, the West Indian innings imploded. Tight bowling frustrated Sarwan and the new batsman, Runako Morton, leading to Sarwan's run out - and when Morton finally found his footing, skipper Chanderpaul was run out for 3. After 25 overs, West Indies were 114 for 4 - with the relative inexperience of Runako Morton and Wavell Hinds at the crease. However, they were 13 ahead of Pakistan's score at the time. It was not to be, though - Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik frustrated them with spin, tying down the run rate, and eventually Afridi deceived the both of them - Morton with a slower ball that he attempted a big heave off, and Hinds with a clever googly. With Bravo looking clueless and gone for a duck, West Indies at one point needed 43 off 18 balls - a hopeless proposition. Shoaib Malik was Man of the Match, despite what many saw as being somewhat shaky at the crease for his 51 and not taking any wickets - some would have argued the case for Inzamam-ul-Haq, who made 51 as well, at a quicker rate, and was injured while batting. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/PAK_IN_WI/SCORECARDS/PAK_WI_ODI2_21MAY2005.html]

West Indies v Pakistan, 3rd ODI (22 May)

3rd ODI, May 22, 2005

The second Test between Pakistan and West Indies, at Kingston in Jamaica, was much more closely contested, but the return of Inzamam-ul-Haq and second-innings ducks for Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul decided the match - and squared the Test series. Pakistan was strengthened by the return of Inzamam-ul-Haq, who came in for Bazid Khan, and also exchanged Shoaib Malik for Salman Butt, while West Indies lacked an injured Fidel Edwards - top wicket taker for the West Indies in the last game - who was replaced by fellow fast bowler Tino Best. Best made his debut in the series, a rather uninspiring one, although he did take four wickets in a frantic spell on the morning of the fourth day.

The visitors won the toss, and batted first, losing Yasir Hameed as he gave a regulation edge to first slip Gayle off the bowling of Powell. Fellow opener Shoaib Malik lasted for much longer, pairing up with Younis Khan for 27, but looked uncertain at the crease and it was no surprise when he departed for 13. Some inconsistent bowling, particularly from Reon King, and fielding lapses gave Pakistan's star batsmen Younis and Inzamam the edge, however, as they smashed 97 runs in twenty overs with Inzamam doing the brunt of the damage with a 60-ball fifty. A straight ball from Chris Gayle undid him, however, but Asim Kamal continued the work that Younis and Inzamam had started as they fluently and easily brought up 200. Younis eventually got a century, finishing on 106, but Collymore was the pick of the afternoon session - he took three wickets, those of Younis, Asim Kamal and Shahid Afridi, as he had a real workhorse's afternoon and bowled tempting balls that beat the outside edge of the bat numerous times. It could have been even better for the West Indies, had not Tino Best been no-balled when he had Kamran Akmal caught behind, but the first day gave Pakistan the edge as they made 336 for 6.

Six balls into the morning session, Abdul Razzaq was lbw to Corey Collymore, and the West Indians in the crowd hoped for a quick finish. Far from it, as Kamran Akmal and Naved-ul-Hasan added 19 before Naved-ul-Hasan was forced to retire with a smashed hand. That gave the West Indies some hope, as they wrapped up the innings ten overs into the morning session, but those 38 runs conceded could have proven costly. The West Indian reply was anything but cautious, as Chris Gayle started the innings with smashing three fours off the injured Naved-ul-Hasan, who bowled six overs for fifty runs on the day - he was taken off after two overs for 22 with the new ball, then bowled another spell of four overs for 28. They raced to 48 for 0 before Gayle was tricked by an away-swinger from Abdul Razzaq, giving an outside edge to Kamran Akmal. Devon Smith and Ramnaresh Sarwan slowed down, scoring only 11 before Devon Smith was out to a grubber from Abdul Razzaq, so the innings was finely poised at 59 for 2. The new batsman Brian Lara used the time to get his eye in, knowing that the game had gone along a bit too quickly.

However, after lunch it was time to open things. Lara smashed runs at a run-a-ball, as the score went from 100 to 200 with 142 Pakistani deliveries, and although Pakistan wrested back some of the initiative with the wicket of Sarwan for 55, it was the West Indians' day. Shiv Chanderpaul hung on with Lara for the fourth wicket, as the pair added 70 in 23.4 overs - but a googly from Danish Kaneria resulted in a thin edge from Chanderpaul, who was out for 28. Thus, the West Indies went to stumps with 275 for 4, Lara unbeaten on 125. The West Indians continued on day 3, wishing to get up a big lead in fairly short time, and getting punished by Shabbir Ahmed - who ripped out Lara (for 153), Courtney Browne (for 0) and Daren Powell (for 14) - all caught behind. Wavell Hinds' fine 63, however, lifted the West Indians to 404 and a lead of 30, but Pakistan had done well to come back from 326 for 4. After the innings break, Pakistan started well, accumulating runs against unthreatening bowling from Powell and Best, but the untiring Collymore came back and had Yasir Hameed caught at slip for 26, although admittedly not with the best of deliveries. Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan continued, however, Malik notching up 64 runs before giving an inside edge off Collymore to Browne, and Collymore was also responsible for the third wicket, Asim Kamal missing a straight one for 0. Then, Courtney Browne dropped Inzamam early on - a mistake that would prove costly, as he went on to make 104 not out, in good partnerships with Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi, as Pakistan moved to 223 for 4 at stumps and wrested control of the game.

Afridi and Inzamam added a further 44 runs for the fifth wicket before Pakistan decided to implode. Tino Best, returning after an opening spell of 5-0-30-0, got Shahid Afridi with his first delivery of the day, edging to Dwayne Smith. In his next over, he served up a beautiful inswinger that had Abdul Razzaq beaten completely, and the ball trickled onto his stumps. And before anyone noticed what had happened, Pakistan had lost five wickets for 28 runs, and Best had figures of 6-1-9-4 in his spell. Inzamam and Danish Kaneria saw it through to lunch, but shortly afterwards, Collymore served up a short ball to the tail-ender Kaneria, who supplied with an edge through to a diving Chris Gayle. Pakistan were all out for 309, setting the West Indies a target of 280 in five sessions - meaning that the match would definitely give a result.

On a pitch that slowly deteriorated, the chase would be interesting, and it became even more interesting when Chris Gayle edged a short-ball from Shabbir Ahmed to Yasir Hameed at slips, resulting in 27 for 1. Sarwan and Devon Smith recuperated, taking the chase to 38 for 1, before clouds shaded the light from the sun and the batsmen had to go off for poor light. Coming back after a two-hour break, Devon Smith immediately started to hit runs, but Sarwan looked more uncertain as he was possibly caught behind off Kaneria. Three balls later, he became the first West Indies batsman out hit wicket in over two years since Carlton Baugh managed it against Australia, as he stepped backwards to turn a short ball from Kaneria to leg but stepped too far. Then, Pakistan wrested the initiative when Brian Lara - the man who had made 155 earlier on - gave an edge to a ball from Kaneria that spun into him, out for a duck and the West Indies were 48 for 3. The next over from Shabbir Ahmed, however, yielded eight runs before light was again offered to the batsmen. Coming back, West Indies longed for a big partnership, but it was not to be - Kaneria got his third wicket of the day, with a ball that hit low and was given lbw by the umpire, resulting in 56 for 4, with still 224 runs required. It looked hopeless - however, Wavell Hinds, with no respect for Kaneria's figures of 5-1-6-3, smashed him for two fours in an over, as the West Indies plundered him for eleven runs and made the match more interesting for the spectators at least. Hinds and Smith looked to see it through to stumps, adding 38 runs in a little over 12 overs, but when Devon Smith edged a quicker ball from Kaneria through to Karman Akmal for his eighth catch of the Test and Kaneria's fourth wicket of the innings, all looked truly lost. Wavell Hinds also departed before the day ended, edging a wide ball from Abdul Razzaq, and with the score 114 for 6 overnight, everyone just expected the West Indies to meekly roll over, and that they did - losing three wickets within the space of seven balls as Powell, Browne and King were out in succession. Four overs later, Tino Best tried a massive drive off Shabbir Ahmed, and was easily out as Shahid Afridi took the final catch of the game to secure a Pakistan 136-run win. Strangely enough, Pakistan only made use of three bowlers in the second innings, as Naved-ul-Hasan was injured and Shahid Afridi banned for stepping on the pitch. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/PAK_IN_WI/SCORECARDS/PAK_WI_T2_03-07JUN2005.html]

Tour averages

Pakistan List-A

Batting

Bowling

Pakistan ODI

Batting

Bowling

West Indies ODI (and List-A)

Batting

Bowling

Pakistan Test

Batting

Bowling

West Indies Test

Batting

Bowling

External sources

* [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/WI.html CricketArchive – itinerary of events]

Further reading

* Wisden Cricketers' Almanack