Tony Becca
The West Indies/Pakistan one-day series got going in Faislabad yesterday, and what a start to the five-match contest!
On a cold day, on a night when the cold and the dew made it uncomfortable for the players and especially so the West Indians, the two teams battled for almost 100 overs before, after dismissing the West Indies for 151 in 49.5 overs, Pakistan squeezed to victory at 154 for eight with 1.4 overs to spare.
To a number of people, and based on the numbers usually on hand to watch it, to the majority of fans, one-day cricket is better, more exciting than Test cricket.
It is better and more exciting for the simple reason that while a Test match lasts for five days and sometimes, even most times, ends in a draw, one-day cricket is short, with the batsmen always, or most times, on the hunt for runs, it is far more exciting, and on top of that there is always a result.
Exciting one-day match
Ask anyone what has been the most exciting one-day match of all time, and it is a safe bet that one will say it was the match in Johannesburg on March 12 earlier this year.
That was the day when, with Ricky Ponting blasting 164 runs off 154 deliveries, the day when, with Herschelle Gibbs smashing 175 off 142 deliveries, Australia scored 434 for four off 50 overs, and to the amazement of everyone, South Africa replied with 438 for nine.
To the true lover of the game, however, although there is a sweetness to the sound of bat hitting ball, cricket is more than the ball sailing to or over the boundary.
To the man who loves to see, for example, a batsman cornered by a wrist spinner and guessing which way the ball will turn, although it is a game, cricket is also drama, it is also suspense, it is a test of skill.
It is a game in which there is also excitement when the ball over-powers the bat, and like the tied matches at the MCG in 1984 when the West Indies made 222 for five and Australia replied with 222 for nine, at Bourda in 1993 when Pakistan made 244 for six and the West Indies replied with 244 for five, and at Lord's last year when Australia made 196 and England replied with 196 for nine, low scoring one-day matches can be as exciting as high-scoring ones.
Dramatic, suspense-filled
Most importantly, however, cricket is cricket, and one-day matches, like the one yesterday, can be as dramatic and as suspense-filled as Test matches.
After winning the toss, electing to bowl first, and then dismissing the West Indies for 151, Pakistan appeared set for an easy victory.
It was, however, far from that. In fact, they got home only by the skin of their teeth - and for doing so they should thank their captain Inzamam-ul-Haq who, after going to bat at 50 for three at the end of the 15th over, scored a fighting 42 not out off 86 deliveries.
After resting for a long time at number eight out of 10 on the ICC's one-day list, the West Indies, by defeating India 4-1, by making it to the final of the DFL Cup after losing to and then defeating Australia and defeating and then losing to India, and by making it to the final of the ICC Champions Trophy after defeating Australia and India, losing to England and defeating South Africa, have ticked off some impressive victories in recent times while moving up one place to number seven.
As good as some of those victories were, however, probably only the one over Australia in Brabourne Stadium when the West Indies, led by a hat-trick by Jerome Taylor, won by 10 runs, can compare with yesterday's in Faislabad.
With Lendl Simmons falling to the second delivery of the match when he was caught by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal off the face of the bat, with Christopher Gayle falling in the following over when he was caught in the slips by Inzamam-ul-Haq, also off the face of the bat, with Brian Lara committing suicide when he was run out, with Marlon Samuels backing away, attempting to cut left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and edging a catch to slip, and with Dwayne Smith playing beside the ball and falling leg before wicket, the West Indies batting paraded some technical weaknesses and was once again generally disappointing.
Brilliant fielding
The West Indies, however, were brilliant in the field.
In the cold and dew of the night their bowling, and especially so with a wet ball with which to work, was outstanding, but for one occasion when wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin failed to take what should have been a regulation catch, they were great in the field, and based on his bowling changes and his field placings, captain Lara was a master.
There is nothing as sweet as victory, but for one who loves to see the West Indies giving their best and fighting to the end all the time, this loss was almost as sweet. At least, it was encouraging - really encouraging.
Regardless of what happens in the remaining matches of this contest, yesterday's performance in the field demonstrated that with a little tuning up here and there, with proper team selection, and with enough bowlers in the team, the West Indies can really win next year's World Cup and become the first team to win it at home.
