The Hindu : Sport : Gritty England pulls it off

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Monday, Apr 23, 2007
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Gritty England pulls it off

S. Ram Mahesh

UP AND OVER: Kevin Pietersen made a fine century in England's thrilling victory over the West Indies on Saturday. — Photo: AP

Bridgetown: Fancy that two mediocre one-day sides produced a contest of drama and fervour, and infused a dead rubber with sufficient meaning to allow it to be classed as the best match of the 2007 World Cup.

Like any one-day classic, Saturday's Super Eight match turned many times — so many times in fact that a detailed enumeration would rob it of its essence. That the match entered the final over with all three results probable was a testament to the many corners it turned in getting there.

Stuart Broad, in his first World Cup game, hit the winning runs after Dwayne Bravo had nearly swindled a win for the West Indies. This after Kevin Pietersen controlled England's innings and Paul Nixon changed its course. So, victory by one wicket and fifth place at the World Cup for England.

Even bounce

The Kensington Oval strip on Saturday played differently from the other Super Eight games. The bounce was even and not as alarming, the pace encouraging, and the movement off the seam miniscule.

"The pitch played a lot better," said England captain Michael Vaughan.

"You could play more freely on it, you could play your strokes, and they'd come off."

Despite putting together its best batting performance of the World Cup, the West Indies fell short. It should have done a lot better than 300, after being perched on 250 for four in 40 overs. Fifty for six in the final 9.5 overs undid Chris Gayle's effort in setting things up.

Lara's run out

Brian Lara's run out for 18 in his final game didn't help matters either. "I wanted to put an innings together," said Lara. "I didn't want to play any rash shots, just play it on merit. Unfortunately, I got run out, but these things happen."

Did Marlon Samuels apologise for the poor call? "Well, that's a yes-or-no answer, and I'm not prepared to answer that," said Lara, leaving enough between the lines to fuel a lurid betrayal story. But, Samuels made up with an explosion of strokes — Liam Plunkett suffering for the second time in the innings — and seemed to put the game beyond England.

Superb innings

England, however, profited from the West Indies batsmen over-cooking it; 301 could be chased, but it needed the top-order to fire. Vaughan constructed quite a superb innings. His capability as a one-day player under ridicule, the England captain replied with 79 exquisite runs — almost all of them through pure cricket strokes.

"I've not had a great World Cup," said Vaughan, "but I will say this - I am a fighter. This was a fighting innings from Michael Vaughan. And I started to play the way I know I can."

A hook for six stood out, but the manner in which he eased Gayle over long-on advocated the benefits of a still head and a nearly-straight swing. Ravi Bopara, at one-drop, might have made just 26, but he was in control of almost every facet of his batting. He displayed the nuance of wrist native to Asian batsmen; but, he wasn't found wanting when punching though the line with his top elbow extending straight and high.

Direct hits

Dwayne Bravo has a remarkable gift for breaking a static situation with bat, ball or in the field. He was to do it a few times this match, but the first two instances were when he ran out Vaughan and Bopara with direct hits: the first despite a fumble and a falter, the second through a supremely athletic swoop having cut down the angle.

Finally, Pietersen made a century in an England win. His four previous efforts ended in defeat, and when he was bowled by Taylor for 100, having dragged England to the edge with his will, another defeat seemed imminent.

Taylor's second and third spells, barring one over that went for ten, were excellent in their subtlety of pace.

Defining moment

If one were to ascribe a defining moment to the match, it was the 48th over. Nixon, who had been reprieved after Gayle chose to throw to the other end, bottom-handed Corey Collymore for three boundaries in and around mid-wicket to reduce the equation to a run a ball. Though Bravo deceived him with another of those slower balls in the final over, Nixon had done enough.

"At some stages we showed what a side we can be and at others we were rough around the edges," said Vaughan. "But to get over the line in front of a big crowd, a Caribbean-style atmosphere was very pleasing.

It was the first tight situation after the match against Sri Lanka, and it's always tough because memories of the last time can haunt you."

West Indies: C. Gayle c Broad b Flintoff 79, D. Smith c Collingwood b Flintoff 61, B. Lara (run out) 18, M. Samuels c Collingwood b Vaughan 51, R. Sarwan c Nixon b Plunkett 3, S. Chanderpaul c Plunkett b Collingwood 34, D. Bravo c Dalrymple b Vaughan 13, D. Ramdin (not out) 10, J. Taylor c Dalrymple b Vaughan 12, D. Powell (run out) 0, C. Collymore (run out) 1, Extras (lb-1, nb-3, w-14) 18, Total (in 49.5 overs) 300.

Fall of wickets: 1-131, 2-168, 3-173, 4-181, 5-258, 6-276, 7-277, 8-296, 9-298.

England bowling: Anderson 6-0-39-0, Plunkett 7-0-71-1, Broad 6-1-32-0, Flintoff 9.5-0-59-2, Dalrymple 3-0-19-0, Collingwood 8-0-40-1, Vaughan 10-0-39-3.

England: A. Strauss c Smith b Collymore 7, M. Vaughan (run out) 79, R. Bopara (run out) 26, K. Pietersen b Taylor 100, P. Collingwood b Bravo 6, A. Flintoff c Powell b Sarwan 15, J. Dalrymple (run out) 1, P. Nixon b Bravo 38, L. Plunkett c Bravo b Taylor 2, S. Broad (not out) 5, J. Anderson (not out) 0, Extras (b-6, lb-11, w-5) 22, Total (for nine wkts. in 49.5 overs) 301.

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-101, 3-154, 4-162, 5-185, 6-189, 7-269, 8-271, 9-298.

West Indies bowling: Collymore 10-0-61-1, Powell 10-0-58-0, Taylor 10-1-65-2, Gayle 5-0-32-0, Bravo 9.5-0-47-2, Sarwan 5-1-21-1.

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