Hooper, Gayle top world group

CASTRIES: West Indies and New Zealand played unbeaten to top their groups yesterday to reach the semi-finals of the inaugural World Double Wicket Cricket tournament at St Lucia’s Beausejour Cricket Grounds.

The two teams will be joined by pairs representing Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who clinched the other two spots for yesterday’s semi-finals. The tournament winner will receive US$65,000 and the runner up US$30,000. Yesterday’s play produced both disappointment and excitement. The clash between West Indians Carl Hooper and Chris Gayle and Pakistanis Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi, which had been billed as the match of the tournament, ended in an anticlimax when Pakistan conceded the match after Afridi suffered a back injury. Later England’s big-hitting Andrew Flintoff made up for the disappointment by belting 12 sixes, but was out four times and had his score reduced by 40. England’s 112 was the highest of the tournament so far, surpassing Pakistan’s 107 on Friday.

Pakistan started the day with an easy win over England, which scored 38. Afridi continued from where he left off Friday, scoring 20 off the first over from Adam Hollioake, but then he suffered an injured back which restricted his movements and checked any further onslaught on the bowlers. New Zealand then got the better of South Africa to make way for the much-anticipated West Indies-Pakistan clash. Batting first, the Pakistanis were in early trouble, Hooper taking four wickets in his first two overs. But Afridi’s injury soon became a factor and after four overs, Pakistan were minus 23 runs, six wickets having fallen altogether and Afridi in much discomfort. It was then that they decided to concede the match to the West Indies. West Indies play Sri Lanka and Pakistan take on New Zealand in the semi-finals

Summarised scores:
England (38) beaten by Pakistan (41) by three runs
New Zealand (73) beat South Africa (34) by 39 runs
Pakistan (-23) conceded defeat against West Indies (did not bat)
New Zealand (57) defeated Australia (53) by four runs
Zimbabwe (16) lost to England (112) by 96 runs
Sri Lanka (66) beat South Africa (39) by 27 runs (AP)