It was tight. It was close. But in the end, the boys in maroon actually made it look easy.The West Indies booked their place into the Super 8 of the International Cricket Council’s Twenty20 Championships yesterday, with a thrilling eight-wicket victory over England.The fact that the victory came via the controversial Duckworth/Lewis method only made it a tad more exciting.In this Brooks LaTouche photo, Andre Fletcher spreads his arms in triumph after hitting the boundary that virtually ensured the Windies’ victory. (BA)
by GARTH WATTLEY
at Providence
THANKS TO Duckworth/Lewis and some timely swinging by Andre Fletcher, West Indies snatched an eight-wicket victory with more rain threatening at the Guyana National Stadium yesterday afternoon to top Group D of the ICC Twenty20 tournament.
Captain Chris Gayle bore a relieved smile at the end of a contest that England had seemed more likely to win after they racked up 191 for five in their full 20 overs.
But as against the same opponents at last year’s T20 event in England, the rains came to give the Windies a better chance at victory - which they grabbed - reaching the revised target of 60 with one ball to spare of the revised six overs.
Gayle, back in the side after injury, in partnership with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, had sent the home side flying to 30 without loss when rain stopped play with two overs and two balls gone.
When the action finally resumed with 14 overs lost, the Windies needed a gettable 30 runs from 22 balls. And despite the eventual loss of Gayle (25, 12 balls, two fours, two sixes), caught at midwicket by Michael Yardly off Graeme Swann and Kieron Pollard, stumped off a Swann wide the only ball he faced, they made it.
Chanderpaul finished unbeaten on 15 and Fletcher, who pulled Stuart Broad for a crucial boundary off the fourth ball of the last over and then got the winning single, 12. He also kept wicket in place of the dropped Denesh Ramdin.
Paul Collingwood and his England side will feel the weather did them wrong. But for Gayle, two wins out of two was what mattered most; especially victory when his bowlers did not come to the party in front of another full house.
It seemed ironic that on a day when the Windies bowlers were blasted for 11 sixes and 10 fours, that one of their rank, Darren Sammy, should win his second Man Of The Match award in a row for his work with the ball.
But he was one of the very few yesterday who kept his standard, bowling his four overs straight through to take two for 22.
For Ravi Rampaul though, it was a day to forget very quickly.
So incisive and controlled against Ireland, he was just the opposite yesterday, often getting his length wrong against ultra aggressive batsmen. The England lions began to tear at Rampaul from his first over, the second of the innings when 21 runs were taken off him. This was after Gayle won the toss and chose to bowl.
The attack prompted Gayle to bring himself on for the fourth over. And he got the first wicket, bowling Michael Lumb for 28 (18 balls, four fours).
In light of Rampaul’s continued struggles when he conceded a further 11 runs in his second over later on, it was surprising that Gayle did not bowl himself any further. Instead, Rampaul was entrusted with delivering the 18th over in which Luke Wright (45 not out, 27 balls, one four, four sixes) and the excellent Eoin Morgan (55, 35 balls, three fours, three sixes) pummelled 25 off the Windies fast-medium man. The onslaught included three high, hard sixes and a four. One of the six hits was a free hit because of a Rampaul no-ball, that was promptly launched into the sightscreen at the southern end.
To add further insult to the considerable injury, Morgan, the former Ireland player, contrived a reverse flick next ball for the boundary. In the players’ dugout, skipper Paul Collingwood could not stifle a chuckle at the cheek and the sheer dominance of the batsmen.
Collingwood with six was the only real failure in what was a very solid display.
Lumb and Craig Kieswetter (26, 14 balls) put on 36 for the first wicket, Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen (24, 20 balls) 30 for the second and Morgan and Wright - who came together at Darren Sammy’s removal of Pietersen-95 for the fourth in only nine overs and two balls.
The collaboration was finally halted by a two-handed, diving catch on the cover boundary by Kieron Pollard to dismiss Morgan off Dwayne Bravo’s bowling in the final over. But some 76 runs were rattled up in the last five.
Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller was reasonable with one for 29 in his four. But in general, the Windies bowlers allowed the Englishmen far too much room to unleash their power hits on a pitch with more opportunity for runs in it, than the one used for the first set of games last week.
But the Windies survived the onslaught. By the swing of Fletcher’s bat. (Nation News)
