Unpredictable WI , Pakistan clash

SOUTHAMPTON: West Indies and Pakistan, widely regarded as international cricket’s two most unpredictable teams, go toe-to-toe in the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy limited-overs series today. The prize for the winner is a place in Saturday’s final at The Oval against England, who completed a convincing six-wicket win over undisputed world champions Australia in the first semi-final yesterday. When the competition began, there were many who would have betted against West Indies reaching this far in the competition. Although they had reached the final of the three-nation series that also involved England and New Zealand earlier in the British summer, the mediocrity of their cricket during the subsequent four-Test series against Michael Vaughan’s side in which they were swept gave little hope. West Indies, however, have played meaningful cricket over the last week, capped by their convincing five-wicket triumph over their old nemesis South Africa last Sunday at The Oval.

West Indies would relish a place in Saturday’s final and another shot at socking it to England to compensate their fans for the inept cricket that played during the Test series. “We’ve got a break after this and what we’d like to do is end the summer on a high,” West Indies captain Brian Lara said. “It’s been a very long summer —  we suffered a lot during the Test series, although we got to the limited-overs final. It would be really nice if we could get one step further and get to the ICC final and win.” But Pakistan are a clear and present  danger to that mouthwatering final. Since the appointment of their new technical director Bob Woolmer, they have looked more and more like the genuine article and not the inconsistent bunch that has bereft theirs and West Indies’ cricket for so long. The Pakistanis are coming off the high of winning their border clash with arch-enemies India in their final group match and will be pumped. “After matches like that against India, there is a tendency to come off the boil, but we’ll have to heat them up,” Woolmer said.

“The players have the ethic of trying to get better every day, so they’ll be well tuned-in for this match.” Though West Indies have struggled badly in the longer version of the game in recent times, they have mixed it up with some of the higher ranked teams in world cricket in the shorter form. In their last 25 matches, they have won 12 and lost only nine, but where West Indies have become extremely formidable is in their ability to chase down almost any target. In their last nine matches when they have chased over 225, they have won six times, and Australia, South Africa and England have all been victim. When the data that over the last 10 years, the team winning the toss between the two sides has won 22 times and lost thrice, there is plenty of evidence to support give West Indies even more hope of victory if the coin falls on the right side.

For West Indies to win though, they would again have to exhibit the team virtue that pulled them through their last group match against the Proteas. They will have to bat intelligently, bowl purposefully and field diligently. Pakistan too, have shown signs in recent times of more and more understanding the team ethos. Since the Asia Cup began, they have won seven out of ten matches, but even more than that, it’s their approach that suggests a huge change in attitude. The two teams have not met in any form of the game since their brief Test and limited-overs series in the United Arab Emirates two years ago when Pakistan won a three-match series 2-1. The Pakistanis have also held the advantage in 13 matches since the 1999 World Cup, winning nine of them. So there is plenty to motivate both sides.

Squads:
WEST INDIES (from): Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan (vice captain), Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Courtney Browne, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Chris Gayle, Ryan Hinds, Wavell Hinds, Sylvester Joseph, Ricardo Powell, Darren Sammy.
PAKISTAN (from): Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Sami, Moin Khan, Naved-ul-Hasan, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana.
UMPIRES: Darrell Hair, Simon Taufel, TV Replays: David Shepherd.
MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle. (CMC)