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A thrilling test match
By Ranil Abeynayake
Should the last pair be batting to save a test match in the final overs of the fifth day, it must go down as a game of classic cricket. The final session of the West Indies - Zimbabwe game concluded recently in Harare, was fairy tale stuff.

A total of 1349 runs were scored over the five days. That averaged around two hundred and seventy runs per day. In all thirty five batsmen were dismissed in the game. It was a contest where a gruelling battle between bat and ball took place.

West Indies were the fancied team. They came in for a major shock. It is never easy to perform in foreign conditions and different surfaces without spending sufficient time out in the middle. That was evident in the manner in which the West Indians played on the opening day.

They got amongst the wickets early making use of the moisture and greenness of the new pitch. Mid way through the day they had got into the West Indian middle order.
Then the fight back began and the fielders heads began to drop. Always the body language tells the story. Good teams always keep coming up with different ideas, bowling variations, field placing changes, that makes it compulsory for the batsmen to be thinking all the time.

Teams on the other side of the fence simply wait for things to happen. They go through the motions more with hope then with conviction that they will dismiss the opposition. It happens at all levels of the game. Then the game gradually slips away.
So it happened, as the Zimbabwe lower middle order gradually began to wrest the initiative. Their captain Heath Streak led the way to notch his first ton. Once he got going, the stroke play was a treat. The pitch was at its best on day two and the ball kept racing to all parts of the park.

So far in this series the Zimbabweans have been pretty impressive. Batsmen Taibu, Matsikenyeri have shown a lot of improvement. Left arm spinner Ray Price has been very accurate, bowling with subtle variations. He also has the ability to bowl long spells and sustain accuracy. An indication that he is maturing fast.

Brian Lara did not have a good game with the bat. He has made amends in the second test in progress. Back at near his best he stroked a masterly 191 and in the process became the highest scorer of test runs for the West Indies.

It's the bowling that should be a worry for the West Indians. There is no one of genuine pace as in the past. Neither top class seam and swing bowlers. Spin bowling has never been a strong point since Clive Lloyd took over as Captain and banking on pace. The Zimbabwean batsmen made most of straightforward stuff they faced up to and so it was up to the batsmen to deliver for the Windies.

They were fortunate that the home team delayed the declaration. 300 runs should have been an adequate target. In the end the last pair held on for nearly a dozen overs to force a draw. Perhaps the most appropriate result, although Zimbabwe set the pace for most of the game.

It was not the most significant of test matches but it produced a very absorbing game of cricket. Well worth writing about. Whilst the players deserve the credit for the performances the groundsmen must not be forgotten. They produced a pitch, which had all the requirements for a five-day test match.

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