West Indies v England

Super 8 ends with a Thriller

In the last of the Super 8 encounters, hosts West Indies took on England at the Kensington Oval on Saturday. This match did not have any significance from the point of view of the World Cup as both the teams were already out of the tournament, it was special for the Captain of West Indies, Brian Lara. This match was Lara’s last appearance in international cricket and he hoped to leave the arena with a good win.

England wins Toss

It was English Captain Vaughan who won the toss and invited West Indies to bat first. England hoped that its seamers would make full use of the fresh wicket at the Oval and give a good start to them.

Rousing Start

West Indies got a blistering start from its openers Chris Gayle and Devon Smith. Gayle was the more dominant of the two as he carted the English bowlers all over the park. He did not spare any of the English bowlers and raced to his half century within no time. The opening duo put on a partnership of 131 runs at a healthy run rate of 5.57 before the dominating Gayle fell in the 24th over. Gayle was dismissed on a flamboyant 79 from 58 balls with 10 stunning hits to the fence and 3 towering sixes.

Caribbeans lose Wickets

After the fall of Chris Gayle, West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals, which negated the advantage that the team had got from a good start. After Gayle’s dismissal, it was his partner Devon Smith’s turn to return to the pavilion. Smith had made 61 from 106 deliveries with 6 classic boundaries before England’s Paul Collingwood displayed a brilliant effort in the field and held on to a stunning catch off Andrew Flintoff.

Lara bids Adieu

The match was special for Lara as it was his last outing in international cricket all his fans the world over hoped that he would make his exit special by plundering a huge innings. However, to the disappointment of his fans, Lara could not manage to score a big innings and was dismissed on 18 off 17 balls with 3 silken boundaries. His nature of dismissal compounded the disappointment as he was run out to a good piece of work by Kevin Pietersen. Lara was left stranded due to mix-up with Marlon Samuels. It was end of an era for the world of cricket and especially for West Indies, as one of the finest batsmen ever bid farewell to the game.

Samuels Sizzles at Oval

After Lara’s dismissal, West Indies lost yet another wicket that of Ramnaresh Sarwan who fell for 3. With the Caribbeans poised at 181 for 4, the match looked evenly balanced. However, then came the crucial partnership between Marlon Samuels and Shivanarine Chanderpaul. Samuels played a fiery innings of 51 from just 39 deliveries and was ably supported by Chanderpaul. Their partnership of 77 runs ensured that West Indies would reach a good total. The West Indian tail failed to wag and added only 24 runs to the total. The team still managed to reach the total of 300 that gave the psychological edge to the Caribbeans. West Indies was bowled out with one ball to spare from their quota of 50 overs.

Mediocre Performance by English Bowlers

England’s bowling lacked the firepower to restrain West Indies below the total of 300 and lacked the discipline and control. The leading wicket takers for England were skipper Vaughan who took 3 wickets, Andrew Flintoff who picked up 2 wickets and a wicket each for Plunkett and Collingwood.

England Fights Back

England, who was hoping to leave the Caribbean shores with a win did not make a good start as it lost the wicket of Andrew Stauss in just the third over of the innings. However, Captain Vaughan and Ravi Bopara did not let the early wicket rattle them too much. They put on a partnership of 90 runs to give some solidity to the England innings.

England Lose Wickets

Just after crossing the 100-run mark, England lost their second wicket, that of Bopara for 26. It was a run-out that caused Bopara’s dismissal and break the partnership of Vaughan and Bopara. There was yet another run out that earned the third wicket to the West Indies. This time it was the Captain, with Bravo being the fielder causing both the run outs. Vaughan made a timely 79 from 68 balls with 6 boundaries and 2 sixes to end his long drought of runs. England received two jolts as it lost two quick wickets in the form of Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff. England lost its sixth wicket that of Dalrymple with the score looking ominous on 189 for 6. At this point the West Indies looked in full control of the match and seemed poised for a win.

Pietersen Stands Tall

With England looking down the barrel, the team found a warrior in the form of Kevin Pietersen who anchored the English innings. Pietersen was well supported by Nixon and they both put on a partnership of 80 runs. Pietersen played an extremely impressive innings characterized by sensible batting, good co-ordination and maturity. He gradually built his innings and reached in his 90’s within no time. Pietersen brought off his century in style. He hit a huge six off West Indian bowler Taylor to bring up his 100. Pietersen soon fell after completing his century. He made 100 from 91 balls with 10 superb boundaries and 1 six. It was Taylor who bowled Pietersen.

England on the Threshold of Victory

Pietersen’s brilliant century and his partnership with Nixon had turned the match full circle and had brought England to the brink of victory. However, the match was not over as Taylor struck again for West Indies to dismiss Plunkett. By now all the spectators were on the edge of their seats as the battle in the middle intensified. Nixon continued his fight and scored 17 runs from the last over of Collymore and just when it looked that he would take England to victory, Nixon was bowled by Bravo on 38. At that point England needed just 3 runs from 5 deliveries and Nixon’s wicket provided West Indies with a slight ray of hope.

England Clinch Thriller

However, the last pair for England that of Stuart Broad and JM Anderson did not bow under the pressure and it was Broad who hit the winning runs to provide a memorable win for England. England reached its target of 301with just one ball to spare for the loss of 9 wickets.

Disappointment for West Indies

Despite a good batting performance, the West Indian bowling let the team down by failing to defend the total of 300. Among the West Indies, the leading wicket takers were Taylor and Bravo with 2 wickets each and one wicket each for Collymore and Sarwan.

It was disappointing for the West Indies and especially for Lara who hoped to win his last match and make his exit on a high. Despite the loss, Lara himself acknowledged that it was a great game of cricket and the perfect match to bid a farewell to him.