Cricket: Javed's rash stroke harms Pakistan: West Indies march on in second Test
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Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221 and 113-3
A MOMENT of inexplicable rashness by Javed Miandad, unforgivable in a schoolboy far less one of Test cricket's greatest batsmen, completely undermined Pakistan's desperate fight for survival on the third day of the second Test here yesterday.
Pakistan had been forced to follow on midway through the afternoon 234 runs behind and were playing out time when Javed, in his 120th Test and with more than 8,500 runs against his name, prepared for the final over from the off-spinner, Carl Hooper, with the total at 107 for 2. He needed only to block to come back to lead his team's struggle tomorrow following today's rest day. Instead he moved down to the fourth ball and clouted it into the top tier of the players' pavilion for six. It seemed the stroke of a gambler. Not content, Javed attempted a repeat off the next delivery, did not quite middle his stroke and tugged a catch straight to Keith Arthurton at mid-wicket.
Javed had been replaced as captain for this series by Wasim Akram and, at 36 and nearing the end of his playing days, there has been considerable speculation over his commitment to the effort. The manner of his first- innings' dismissal, a steered catch to third slip, and now this did nothing to dispel the doubts.
It was especially ironic since Pakistan's fight had been earlier led by Basit Ali, a 22-year-old on his first full tour who had been coached from his teenage days by Javed in Karachi and who has obviously modelled himself on his mentor.
Pakistan, resuming at 131 for 5, were given heart by the sixth- wicket stand between Basit and Wasim which occupied the first hour and three-quarters of the day and was worth 80 before Richie Richardson summoned Hooper as his fifth bowler and Wasim prodded a catch to short- leg after making 29.
Wasim's removal initiated a rapid collapse and left Basit to manipulate the lower order as best he could. That he scored all but a single of the 32 runs put together by the last four wickets was a measure of his composure in the crisis.
He lost Moin Khan and Waqar Younis to successive deliveries from Courtney Walsh just before lunch when he was 66 out of 192 for 8. Afterwards he hoisted Hooper on to the roof of the stand at mid-wicket, skilfully engineered the strike and was within eight of a deserving century in only his second Test when last man Aamir Nazir could hold out no longer.
Richardson had no second thoughts about his decision to bowl again and gained immediate results. A careless push off his legs by Aamir Sohail provided a lobbed catch to mid-on in Ambrose's second over but it was Hooper's spin that set the most telling questions to the Pakistanis in the final session.
He used the air beautifully, varying pace and also extracting some turn. So often he has been no more than a defensive interlude to allow the fast bowlers to rest. Here he bowled in the classical off-spinner's style.
(Third day: Pakistan won toss)
WEST INDIES - First Innings 455 (D L Haynes 125, P V Simmons 87, B C Lara 51, K L T Arthurton 56; Waqar Younis 4-132).
PAKISTAN - First Innings
(Overnight: 131 for 5)
Aamir Sohail c Murray b Ambrose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Ramiz Raja c Haynes b Ambrose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Asif Mujtaba c Richardson b Walsh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Javed Miandad c Richardson b Benjamin . . . . . . . . . . .22
Inzamam-ul-Haq lbw b Bishop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Basit Ali not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
* Wasim Akram c Simmons b Hooper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
] Moin Khan c Murray b Walsh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
Waqar Younis c Murray b Walsh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
Ata-ur-Rehman c Benjamin b Walsh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
Aamir Nazir c Arthurton b Benjamin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Extras (lb3 nb7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Fall: 1-12 2-31 3-62 4-79 5-109 6-189 7-190 8-190 9-220.
Bowling: Ambrose 16-5-42-2; Bishop 16-5-43-1 (nb4); Walsh 18-2-56-4; Benjamin 19-5-55-2 (nb3); Hooper 7-0-22-1.
PAKISTAN - Second Innings
Aamir Sohail c Benjamin b Ambrose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Ramiz Raja lbw b Walsh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Asif Mujtaba not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Javed Miandad c Arthurton b Hooper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
] Moin Khan not out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
Extras (b4 nb1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Total (for 3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Fall: 1-4 2-47 3-113.
To bat: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Basit Ali, * Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Ata-ur-Rehman, Aamir Nazir.
Bowling (to date): Ambrose 10-7-7-1; Bishop 4-1- 13-0; Benjamin 6-3-14-0; Walsh 10-2-26-1; Hooper 16-3-49-1.
Umpires: H D Bird and L H Barker.
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