By Tony Becca, Senior Sport Editor
Brian Lara removes his helmet as he walks off the pitch after he was run out for two during play against New Zealand at the Cricket World Cup in Port Elizabeth, South Africa yesterday. Lara was run out by New Zealand's Chris Cairns. The West Indies lost to New Zealand by 20 runs. - Reuters
PORT ELIZABETH:
THE WEST Indies dream of a perfect record in the first round of the 2003 World Cup ended in bitter disappointment yesterday when they were easily beaten by New Zealand at St. George's Park in the seaside city of Port Elizabeth.
After defeating home team and second favourites South Africa in the opening match last Sunday at Newlands, winning a host of friends and influencing others to back them for the Cup, the West Indies were strong favourites to win the match, make it two from two, and with three minnows to play, with three teams moving out of the group, pencil in their name for the second round and a place among the big six.
In fact, with Kenya, Bangladesh and Canada three of the four teams left to play, barring not one but two major upsets along the way, victory yesterday would have all but guaranteed the West Indies a place in the next round.
That, however, was not to be as after electing to bowl first and limiting New Zealand to 241 for seven off the allotted 50 overs, the West Indies were bowled out for 221 in 49.4 overs and lost by 20 runs as New Zealand, losers to Sri Lanka on Monday, made it one from one and kept themselves in the hunt.
The harsh reality is that but for Ramnaresh Sarwan and Ridley Jacobs, who scored 75 and 50 respectively while posting a new World Cup record of 98 runs for the seventh-wicket, it could have been worse - almost to the point of embarrassment.
Set what appeared nothing more than a reasonable target on an easy-paced pitch, the West Indies batsmen, including captain Carl Hooper, who was so resolute on Sunday at Newlands, and Ricardo Powell, who was so brilliant, batted as if they were in a daze and the result was some careless strokeplay and the regular loss of wickets.
At one stage, the West Indies looked set to run out easy winners as Christopher Gayle, the big left-hander, reeled off a few authentic strokes with drives off pacers Shane Bond and Andre Adams racing to the extra-cover, wide long-on and wide long-off boundaries, one cut flashing away to the point boundary and a hook landing short of the mid-wicket boundary as the scoreboard read 34 without loss in the 10th over.
Suddenly, however, it was 46 for five as the West Indies lost five wickets for 12 runs in five overs with Hall, the Auckland-born son of a Guyanese father and a Vincentian mother, grabbing three of them.
Brian Lara, the hero of Newlands, was run out for two at 36 for two when Lou Vincent tossed the ball to Chris Cairns after a brilliant sliding stop on the mid-wicket boundary, and Cairns, from about 30 yards away, hit the wicket at the bowler's end with the batsman scrambling for a third run.
If Lara was unfortunate, not so Gayle, who was the first to go, or any of Wavell Hinds, captain Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who followed on his heels, and Ricardo Powell, who along with Sarwan halted the slide with a 35-run sixth-wicket stand.
Gayle, going back to cut, edged a fast, lifting delivery from Hall into the safe hands of captain Stephen Fleming at slip; Hinds, driving loosely at Adams was caught at short extra-cover at 42 for three, Hooper hooked Adams straight to Bond on the backward square-leg boundary to make it 46 for four, and paddling tentatively across his stumps, Chanderpaul was leg before wicket pacer to Jacob Oram at 46 for five.
At that stage, the West Indies were on the run.
In a bold counter attack, Sarwan cut, pulled and cut Cairns, in the same over, the one and only one for the unfortunate bowler; Powell hooked for six, and probably remembering the assault at Newlands, the few West Indians in the stands cheered loudly in anticipation of a match-winning partnership.
With left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori replacing Cairns, however, and Oram keeping things tight at the other, Powell and Sarwan were unable to cut loose - so much that with only nine runs coming in four overs, Powell, in a hurry to get things going, played across the line of a good length delivery from Oram and was bowled at 80 for six.
With six of the seven specialist batsmen gone and the West Indies still 162 runs short of the winning target, it was all over bar the shouting.
To their credit, however, Sarwan, who stroked seven boundaries while facing 99 deliveries, and Jacobs, who smashed three boundaries and hit one towering six over the stand behind square-leg off Scott Styris, fought a good fight until, with 64 needed off less than six overs, Sarwan chipped to Vettori and was bowled.
At that stage, with only the bowlers - Vasbert Drakes, Nixon McLean and Mervyn Dillon - to come, there was little hope, and when Jacobs swung at Styris and the ball flew high to Oram coming off the third-man boundary, that was it.
Earlier in the day, Dillon with one for 30 off his 10 overs, Drakes with one for 21 off his first seven, and medium-pacer Hinds with three for 35 of his 10 bowled well - so well that the West Indian fans were singing their praise in between the innings.
Hinds, coming on at 60 for two after 14 overs and finishing at 148 for six off 33 after bowling his 10 on a trot, was particularly impressive. The delivery that beat Nathan Astle off the pitch, nicked the outside edge of his defensive bat and went through to wicketkeeper Jacobs was a beauty.
SCOREBOARD
New Zealand innings
S. Fleming c and b Dillon 25
D. Vettori b Drakes 13
N. Astle c Jacobs b Hinds 46
S. Styris c Powell b Drakes 5
C. Cairns c Dillon b Hinds 37
L.Vincent c Hooper b Hinds 9
C. Harris b Gayle 19
B. McCullum not out 36
A. Adams not out 35
Extras (lb10 nb2 w4) 16
Total (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 241
Fall: 1-42 2-58 3-66 4-130 5-141 6-147 7-188
Bowling: Dillon 10-1-30-1 (w-1), McLean 6-0-38-0 (w-1), Drakes 10-1-49-2 (nb-2), Hinds 10-0-35-3, Hooper 9-0-42-0, Gayle 5-0-37-1 (w-2).
West Indies innings
C. Gayle c Fleming b Adams 22
W. Hinds c Styris b Adams 14
B. Lara run out 2
S. Chanderpaul lbw Oram 2
C. Hooper c Bond b Adams 3
R. Sarwan b Vettori 75
R. Powell b Oram 14
R. Jacobs c Oram b Styris 50
V. Drakes not out 16
N. McLean run out 5
M. Dillon b Adams 8
Extras (b1 lb3 w5 nb1) 10
Total (all out, 49.4 overs)221
Fall: 1-34 2-36 3-42 4-46 5-46 6-80 7-178 8-191 9-200
Bowling: Bond 10-2-43-0 (w-2), Adams 9.4-1-44-4 (w-1), Oram 10-2-26-2, Cairns 1-0-21-0 (nb-1 w-1), Vettori 10-0-38-1, Astle 4-0-14-0, Styris 5-0-31-1 (w-1).
Result: New Zealand beat the West Indies by 20 runs.
Man of the match: Andre Adams.
