Sports
Windies Flop Again!!!
By trinidadexpress.com
Jun 28, 2008, 9:02

If West Indies weren't competitive enough in the opening match, they were even more appalling yesterday, especially with the bat.

What transpired in the second half of the second Digicel One-Day International at the Grenada National Stadium was painful to watch if you were a West Indian.

West Indies were in tatters-58 for six in pursuit of 214 from 50 overs on a pitch that wasn't the best for batting when rain halted the embarrassment.

On resumption, after a near hour-long delay, the usually reliable Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the tandem with the hard-hitting Daren Powell and Sulieman Benn, eased some of the pain to get the total to 140 for eight. But the margin of defeat was still a heavy 63 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

The revised target was 204 in 41 overs, meaning that 146 were required in 14 overs when play got going again and West Indies got nowhere close in front of a modest crowd on a day that will be remembered for the problems when played was delayed by 15 minutes because of sightscreen problems similar to those witnessed at Kensington Oval in the Third Test.

Unable to cope with a pitch that wasn't altogether batting-friendly, West Indies made a mountain of it and when stopped their misery just after 4 p.m., they seemed likely to go under the 114 that was their previous lowest total in a One-Day International in the Caribbean.

They obviously didn't learn from the approach of Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke in a critical fourth wicket century partnership that took Australia out of a hole and gave them a total to work with.

In the afternoon period, the pitch got even slower and West Indies could not measure up. A host of batmen spent several balls trying to come to terms with it. But after a while, they gifted their wickets.

Among them was captain Chris Gayle, who did not wait to see what left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson was offering. Without movement of the feet, he banged a catch to mid-off off the back foot.

Hometown boy Andre Fletcher again shaped up solidly, gathering 19 off 44 balls before attempting to pull a ball not there for the shot from medium-pacer James Hopes that hit his off-stump.

Dwayne Bravo uncharacteristically spent 21 balls over three runs before flicking a catch to deep backward square-leg and Kieron Pollard, a potential big-hitter, gently pushed his second ball into the waiting hands of long-off. That shot typified West Indies' day.

From early in the piece, the ball bounced nicely and moved off the seam after Australia opted to bat first on winning the toss.

For a one-day match, there was just too much in the surface and batsmen were never comfortable. This is a location batsmen have always enjoyed, but they had to fight for every run yesterday.

During the first ten overs, whenever Powell and Jerome Taylor put the ball in the right areas, they were virtually untouchable.

In that period, Taylor outfoxed Ricky Ponting for the sixth time this season to ensure that the Australia captain's 300th One-Day International appearance wasn't one he would write home about.

Taylor also removed Shane Watson, an lbw casualty to a full-length ball at the end of the first over, but it was Powell who was easily the best of West Indies' bowlers on the day.

Much maligned for most of the past few weeks because of his lack of wickets, he used the conditions to his advantage and delivered a high-class effort in which he bowled some of the unplayable balls that coach John Dyson talked about two weeks ago.

On another day, Powell would have got more than one wicket, but you couldn't fault him for economy and only 29 runs came from his ten overs.

With Australia reduced to 35 for three, West Indies could make no further inroads because of two level-headed batsmen who appreciated the challenges of the pitch and adopted to suit.

Hussey and Clarke added exactly 100 at hardly an entertaining pace, but they were conscious of the need to rebuild and diligently provided the basis of a fighting total.

The left-handed Hussey took 105 balls to gather 62 that included only two fours, while Clarke was slightly more fluent over his 56 that came from 98 balls and contained six fours. There was a stage where they laboured ten overs in eking out eight runs.

After the partnership was broken in the 38th over, Australia called on Cameron White to provide a flurry at the end and his unbeaten 40 off 39 balls ensured that 78 came from the last 13 overs when West Indies were also guilty of putting down a few chances.