The grand final between the two teams commenced amidst a packed house. The spectators must have enjoyed every minute of the game, but the result was one sided. Though it was unusual for Pakistan to surrender, they did so today.Bating first South Africa did not have a promising start losing 2 wickets for only 29 runs on the board. Gary Kirsten and Nicky Boje later succeeded in picking up the score and raising it to 70 in 15 overs, when the game was suspended on account of rain.On resumption the match was reduced to 35 overs each, thus prompting the players to score fast. As a result 40 runs were added in 5 overs. The rate of scoring going up created lot of excitement for the spectators. South Africa lost 3 wickets for 126 with Gary Kirsten having scored a marvelous 62 and Nicky Boje hoisting 50 in 36 deliveries.With full consideration of the reduced innings South Africa was trying to score the maximum runs. The batsmen at the crease were hitting all over the ground with a grand exhibition of slogging too. Pakistan’s poor fielding enabled them to pile up runs. Having survived a lot of chances, the Proteas were 152 for 6, eventually ending up the innings at 197 for 7. Daryll Cullinan remained unbeaten with a valuable contribution of 31 runs. Kabir Khan and Abdur Razzaq claimed 2 wickets each.Though the Proteas had scored 197 runs, the Umpires gave Pakistan a target of 215 runs in 35 overs to win. With a rain soaked pitch and wet atmosphere it was not an easy target.Pakistan opened with Imran Nazir and Saleem Elahi and lost the 1st wicket at 7, when Imran Nazir was out. He was followed on his trail by Yousuf Youhana rendering Pakistan to 33 for 2. Saleem Elahi who showed some courage to stay was trapped LBW for a useful 26 bringing down Pakistan to 44 for 3.All hopes now rested on the great pair of Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed but a good bowling – fielding combination of the Proteas did not let them flourish. Saeed Anwar was out after scoring a brilliant 24, while Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood followed him quick reducing Pakistan to a miserable 76 for 6.With the mountain of a target ahead, the players had lost heart and the spirit to fight. Ijaz Ahmed was the only batsman capable of pulling the team out of crisis but it was not a one man’s job. He was out after scoring a valuable 31 rendering Pakistan to 102 for 7. Rest was the matter of time. With no intentions to fight, the whole team was out for 121 runs in 28 overs.South Africa thus defeated Pakistan by 93 runs to win the Trophy. For his excellent all round performance Nicky Boje was declared Man of the Match.It was a very poor display of cricket by Pakistan. The players some how, did not have their heart in the game. Contrary to their previous performance they lacked the fighting spirit. South Africa certainly deserved to win. They gave a masterly performance to cause Pakistan’s demolition in less than the lesser quota of overs. Well done Proteas.

Mediumpacer Gagandeep Singh inspired a dismal second innings collapse byHaryana to give Punjab a crushing innings and 123 run victory in theirNorth Zone Ranji Trophy match at the Gandhi Ground in Amritsar. Gagandeep’s6/14 in 13.5 overs saw Haryana plummet to 82 all out as the hosts completedtheir third successive innings victory and bolstered their position at thetop of the zonal table with 24 points.Earlier, resuming at 247/7 in their first innings, Haryana were dismissedfor 281 in the 128th over. Gagandeep took both wickets that fell to thebowlers this morning, finishing with 3/55 although Harbhajan Singh stillretained the best figures of the innings with 4/77.The collapse that followed was dramatic. Gagandeep breached the Haryanacitadel by bowling Jasvir Singh in his first over and the second of theinnings. Haryana were soon staring down the barrel at 18/6, with Gagandeepfiguring in five of those dismissals. One more wicket fell at 31 beforeRajesh Puri and Pankaj Thakur added 37 for the eighth wicket to spare thevisitors further embarrassment. Puri’s 33 (84 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) wasthe topscore in an innings that saw only one other person reach doublefigures, No.10 Vineet Jain who made 11.

Match facts

Thursday, July 30-Aug 3Start time 9.30 am local (0330 GMT)3:16

Nafees: Time for Bangladesh to set a benchmark in Test cricket

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South Africa have not lost an away Test series since 2006, and they have always won in Bangladesh. The home side, however, will hope to build on the advantage they wrested during the Chittagong draw to end the recent string of successful results at home with another unprecedented outcome.The history between these two sides has been overwhelmingly one-sided in South Africa’s favour, but the Chittagong Test – though marred by rain – was different. Having picked four bowlers instead of the usual three, Mushfiqur Rahim’s side dismissed South Africa for only the second time in their bilateral contests. It was the first drawn Test after eight massive defeats for Bangladesh.Mohammad Shahid, Jubair Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman bowled impressively before Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan batted well enough to take a first-innings lead. Rain washed out the last two days of play but Bangladesh had done just enough to claim dominance.That there were a number of performers apart from the usual ones was an encouragement for Bangladesh. For example, Shahid’s string of 50 dot balls had a huge impact on slowing South Africa down after they cruised the first session of the Test. Liton too impressed by batting solidly on the third day.South Africa’s concerns will be their batsmen not staying long enough and also Quinton de Kock’s form. The SG ball softening up quicker has worried Morne Morkel but their group is perhaps the best bowling attack in the world and is expected to bounce back.The weather is also a problem. Plenty of rain is forecast, but unlike in Chittagong, entire days are unlikely to be lost in Mirpur. There will be plenty of interruptions, though, which will be frustrating for the players.

Form guide

Bangladesh DDLDWSouth Africa DWDWW

Players to watch

Tamim Iqbal batted for nearly four hours to make 57 off 129 balls and then got out to part-time spinner Dean Elgar. His innings was of immense value to Bangladesh and he said he would like to bat longer next time.Dale Steyn was made to wait for wickets in the first Test but now he is one away from 400. It will be a momentous occasion for the best fast bowler of his generation.

Team news

Soumya Sarkar’s exclusion from the first Test was a surprise but after Bangladesh’s impressive performance in Chittagong, it will be hard to include him in Mirpur. Nasir Hossain and Rubel Hossain could also find themselves on the bench if there are no last-minute injuries.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan , 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Taijul Islam, 9 Jubair Hossain, 10 Mohammad Shahid, 11 Mustafizur RahmanOf the three South Africa batsmen to play all six games on tour, Quinton de Kock averages the lowest. Dane Vilas will replace him in Mirpur, and will play his first Test for South Africa.South Africa (possible): 1 Stiaan van Zyl, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Hashim Amla (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Dane Vilas (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel

Pitch and conditions

The Mirpur pitch will offer more bounce and a bit more pace than the one in Chittagong. The fact that it has been mostly under covers in the week leading up to the second Test will also play a role in how it behaves. The forecast is for more of the same: rain and more rain.

Stats and trivia

• Steyn is one wicket away from becoming the second South African – and the 13th overall – to take 400 Test wickets.
• Shakib Al Hasan is three wickets away from becoming the 17th player to take 150 wickets and score more than 2500 runs in Tests.

Quotes

​”Our challenge will be to stop their pace attack. We did well in the last game, which gives us confidence. We will try to cross the pace hurdle.”

ScorecardAshwell Prince salutes the crowd after his last innings at Old Trafford•Getty Images

This was an excellent match for Surrey. It illustrated their strengths and suggested they are ready for the tough school that is Division One of the County Championship. Even though Lancashire’s resilient batting on the final day prevented Gareth Batty’s team from winning the game and with it the Division Two title, there was no doubt which team had bossed the contest.But this was also a very useful match for Lancashire, providing they learn the lessons it proffered and recruit the players they need in the close season. Quite regardless of where the title ends up, and Surrey go into the final round of matches with an eight-point lead over their rivals, these four days at Old Trafford surely showed Ashley Giles the gaps he needs to fill if 2016 is not to be a chastening experience.All this matters because Surrey and Lancashire are in the middle of a project which they hope will see them rise to the top of the English domestic game. They have enjoyed promotions only to suffer three relegations apiece over the past 11 seasons. They have had enough of the switchback between joy and disappointment.Although they might not admit it, both counties probably expected to be promoted this season. Now they aim to establish themselves at the top table of the English domestic game.In John Sturges’ classic 1960 filmThe Magnificent Seven hired guns Chris and Vin are defying the local racists to ensure that a native Indian is given a decent burial at the squalid local cemetery Boot Hill. As they make their way to the graveyard Vin voices his fears: “It’s not getting up there that’s bothers me. It’s staying up there that I mind.”Vin’s words need only a slight tweak to be applicable to both Surrey and Lancashire. Getting up to Division was barely the concern; it was expected. It’s staying up there that bothers them now.The final day of the season brought reasons for Lancashire supporters to be concerned and reasons for them to be cautiously optimistic. The chief concern was surely prompted just after midday when Ashwell Prince, who has been the mainstay of Lancashire’s batting for the past four seasons walked away from the Old Trafford wicket for the final time. He had just been caught by Kumar Sangakkara off Matt Dunn for 11.Although often accused of being at Lancashire under a flag of convenience, Prince is leaving the club wearing a badge of honour. This was shown when he received a standing ovation at a members’ forum at Tuesday evening. Somebody is going to have to score Prince’s runs if Lancashire are to survive, let alone flourish next season.However, the rest of the day at Old Trafford was dominated in part by the batting of Haseeb Hameed, an 18-year-old opener whose excellent technique and calm temperament help to explain why Lancashire feel able to dispense with Paul Horton’s services, although Hameed’s undoubted talent may not entirely justify that decision.Hameed’s 91 in 325 minutes suggested that he has the concentration necessary to succeed at the top level of the county game. However, he faced 234 balls and did not score off 195 of them, suggesting that his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over needs work. That, though, will come with time, experience and hard work.On the final day of this game Lancashire supporters were simply grateful that Hameed stayed at the crease for over five hours and was only dismissed when caught at leg slip by Tom Curran off his brother Sam a few overs before bad light ended the game nine overs early when Lancashire were 195 for 7 and a tense finish was in prospect.Hameed’s success in resisting Surrey’s talented seamers was not shared by too many of his colleagues. In the first hour or so of play Karl Brown was leg before to Tom Curran and  Dunn had removed both Alviro Petersen and Prince to catches in the slip cordon. That left Lancashire on 71 for 3 and almost grateful that Surrey had left with so little time to bat on the third evening and the absurd target of 492 to chase.Steven Croft kept Hameed company in a 91-run stand for the fourth wicket but his dismissal, caught at the wicket by Ben Foakes off Tom Curran just before tea, was followed just after the resumption by the dismissals of Phil Mustard, Jordan Clark and finally, Hameed.It was, though, an excellent day for Surrey’s seamers. Tom Curran bowled economically and well; his brother, Sam, maintained a constant threat; and Matt Dunn, often overlooked recently took 3 for 46. Gareth Batty’s seamers look ready for Division One; whether some Division One batsmen are ready for them is an intriguing question.

ScorecardKarl Brown scored his first century for over four years•Getty Images

Karl Brown scored his first century for over four years but Alex Davies fell five short of a maiden hundred as Lancashire’s batsmen dominated the second day of their Division Two game against Glamorgan.Lancashire amassed 462 in their first innings before being dismissed 13 overs after tea and Glamorgan were 48 for 1 off 16 overs in reply at the close of play.However, the morning session will remain memorable for Brown, who reached his first century in 96 first-class innings stretching back to April 2011 when he clipped Michael Hogan through midwicket for four. Having got to three figures off 217 balls with 13 fours, Brown went on to make 132, his highest score for Lancashire’s first team before pulling David Lloyd to Chris Cooke at midwicket five overs into the afternoon’s play.Steven Croft, who helped Brown add 132 for the fourth wicket, departed half an hour later for a 164-ball 67 when a rather wild cut off Craig Meschede only edged the ball to Mark Wallace behind the stumps.However, Lancashire’s attacking intentions were not so much maintained as intensified by Alex Davies and James Faulkner, who put on 128 for the sixth wicket in 22 overs before Faulkner’s pull-drive off Meschede found the safe hands of Lloyd at long on when he had made 63 off 70 balls.That dismissal began a period of less than seven overs in which Lancashire lost their last five wickets for 27 runs, the chief beneficiary of the home side’s brief and cheerful slog being Meschede, who finished the innings with four for 101. Part-time legspinner Colin Ingram also enjoyed himself, picking up the wickets of Davies and Arron Lilley in a 3.1 over spell.The departure of Davies occurred when, having made 95 off 104 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, the 20-year-old came down the wicket to the slow bowler but only skied the ball to Wagg running round to cover from point.The successes of Meschede and Ingram were hard on Michael Hogan, who had battled against a groin strain to bowl 30 good but wicketless overs, and they were particularly tough on Graham Wagg, whose figures of 2 for 82 off 30 overs did him no justice whatsoever. However, it was not a particularly good day for Glamorgan’s fielders, at least four catches going down on a day when the bowlers both needed and deserved more support.In the 16 overs of Glamorgan’s first innings, Jacques Rudolph and Will Bragg added 40 for the first wicket before Bragg was leg before to off-spinner Lilley’s second ball for 27, umpire Rob Bailey judging that the ball had straightened sufficiently to beat the left-hander’s forward push.At the close Rudolph was 18 not out and nightwatchman Andrew Salter was unbeaten on a single. By that stage the spinners, Lilley and Simon Kerrigan, were bowling in tandem, a combination the Old Trafford spectators may have further opportunities to observe over the final two days of this game.

ScorecardBismah Maroof goes on the attack during her 92•AFP

Pakistan women won the opening ODI against Bangladesh Women in Karachi by 20 runs to take the lead in the two-match series. Bismah Maroof scored 92 off 128 balls to propel Pakistan to 214 before the left-arm spinner Anam Amin collected 3 for 25 to restrict Bangladesh to 194 for 9.Pakistan, after winning the toss, got off to a sluggish and found themselves struggling at 38 for 2. However, they recovered through a 61-run partnership for the third wicket between Nain Abidi (27 off 45) and Maroof. Two more quick wickets reduced Pakistan to 99 for 4, but Maroof kept the score ticking by anchoring the lower order and helped her team past the 200-run mark. Salma Khatun, Bangladesh’s captain, was the pick of the bowlers, ending with 3 for 31 from her 10 overs.The visitors began the chase cautiously, and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Rumana Ahmed was the only batsman to put up a resistance, scoring 70. She was involved in two crucial stands worth 44, for the fourth and eighth wickets, but they were in vain, as none of the other senior players stood up with a substantial knock. Besides Amin’s scalps, Asmavia Iqbal, Sana Mir, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz and Maroof claimed a wicket each.

Friday marks the beginning of a T20 season that continues on till the end of April 2016 for Bangladesh, so naturally their captain Mashrafe Mortaza wants to find the best team combination looking ahead to the World T20. But his opposite number only has one thing in mind.”Every international game is important. T20 is a format where everyone can express themselves. We have to execute well and hopefully have one in the bag, especially in the first one,” Elton Chigumbura said.Zimbabwe’s wait for their first win on their tour to Bangladesh is getting longer and longer and is making Chigumbura more morose with every passing press briefing. But men like Tinashe Panyangara and Graeme Cremer should give him reason enough to feel encouraged.Panyangara bowled excellent first spells in all three ODIs and although he only has taken five wickets, he was easily the best Zimbabwean bowler on show. He is also showing improvement in his death-bowling skills, bowling good yorkers and helping Chigumbura squeeze the runs down. Cremer, meanwhile, has been doing well in the middle overs without much reward as well.”I thought Tinashe Panyangara and [Graeme] Cremer bowled well over the three games,” Chigumbura said. “[Taurai] Muzarabani, besides the first game, came back well. Luke Jongwe can bowl better than what he did in the ODI series. It wasn’t bad as well. Obviously when you are playing in that kind of a wicket, I thought they did reasonably well.”Panyangara is our main bowler. He is a guy who shares his experience with the youngsters. I am sure they are learning from him. Hopefully they can be close to his level soon for the betterment of the team.”It’s the batting that has worried Zimbabwe. Bangladesh, meanwhile, have had a cruise. They’ve even managed to win without Shakib Al Hasan, who is on paternity leave. The two T20s against Zimbabwe will be another chance to find out how they can cope without their best allrounder.”Our first target would be to find our best combination,” Mashrafe said. “We wouldn’t’ have many chances later on to do so. Winning is important, but not as much as finding our combination. If we had Shakib around, we could have played Sabbir up the order but nowadays you need a good hitter at No. 6, who can win you games when you need 40 off 20 or 30 balls. We have asked all 14 players to be prepared for a place in the XI.”Chigumbura too has the World T20 in his mind, but his last word was the win and a way to resurrect their tour.”It is another way of finding our best combination going forward to the World T20. Every guy in the team wants to perform and make sure that they will be in the World T20 squad. Obviously this series is important for us, at the same time to try and bounce back in this tour.”

Mark Ramprakash (99 n.o.) returned to run-scoring for Middlesex in theirDivision Two championship match against Worcestershire at Southgate. And he hopes that the England selectors will have noted. Middlesex were comfortable at 275-8 by the close.Ramprakash looked more at ease batting in his accustomed position away from the opening the innings. He came in to bat at 96-2 and quickly put on 85 runs with Andrew Strauss (90) before the latter was caught at short fine-leg. Yet Middlesex were never fully confident as Worcestershire bowling with tenacity. Thankfully Ramprakash kept the team together and not even Glenn McGrath bothered him.

St. John’s – Mr. Justice Malik Qayyum might not be entirely convincedof their commitment, but Pakistan relied on their tried and trustedcampaigners to get them out of a couple of tight spots on the thirdday of the third and final Test yesterday.Wasim Akram, the 33-year-old veteran in his 95th Test, first turnedthe match on its head with a lengthy, unbroken spell of incisive,controlled left-arm swing bowling in the morning.It brought him the last six West Indies wickets at the miserlypersonal cost of two runs from 28 balls as the home team collapsedfrom 214 for three at the start to 273 all out two balls after lunch.Their lead was limited to a meaningless four runs, transforming thematch into a straightforward second innings contest.When the two West Indies old-timers, Courtney Walsh and CurtlyAmbrose, immediately hit back with two wickets of their own, and athird fell at 49 on the stroke of tea, it was left to Inzamam-ul-Haq,Pakistan’s leading batsman in his 64th Test, to see the emergencythrough.Just as he and Younis Youhana were seizing the initiative in apartnership of 80, Inzamam cut hard at Franklyn Rose and was given outfor 68, caught at the wicket, by umpire Billy Doctrove, standing inhis first Test.Inzamam stood transfixed in apparent disbelief before slowly trudgingtowards the pavilion, lingering on the boundary’s edge to exchange afew words with remonstrating spectators. International Cricket Councilmatch referee Peter Burge took careful note and later fined thelingerer 50 per cent of his match fee for dissent.Although he also lost captain Moin Khan for ten, Youhana, centurymaker in the second Test and the first innings here, comfortably heldfirm to the end of a day that was prolonged to over seven hoursbecause of the continuing sluggish over-rate and another spate ofvarious interruptions and delays.Youhana resumes this morning on 41, nightwatchman Saqlain Mushtaq twoand Pakistan 157 for five.They are ahead by 153 on a pitch still in excellent condition, withtwo days remaining, a situation as wide open as the second Test atKensington with two-and-a-half innings complete. The difference isthat this is further advanced.The West Indies were strongly placed when captain Jimmy Adams andShivnarine Chanderpaul resumed their fourth-wicket partnership of 130.Their first mission was to see off the second new ball, just 3.2 oversold, but Akram and his long-time pace partner Waqar Younis, in his64th Test, first throttled them with their persistent accuracy beforeAkram swept through the lower order.The West Indies had no answer to the combination. Akram kept goingunchanged for 11 consecutive overs from the northern end in themorning while Waqar hardly bowled a bad ball in seven on the trot.If Qayyum’s match-fixing findings, in which Akram, Waqar and Inzamamwere all fined, had any effect it was only positive.Akram’s final figures were six for 61, the 23rd time in his 95 Teststhat the 33-year-old champion has taken at least half the oppositionwickets in a Test innings, and moved his overall tally to 393.Only Walsh, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee have taken more and, onceinvestigations don’t spring something off, he will challenge them all.A measure of the Pakistani pair’s precision was three lbw decisionsthey gained from umpires who had not granted one over the first twodays.For good measure, Akram bowled Chanderpaul for 89 with a late,inswinging full toss when he was the last of the established WestIndies batsmen.Waqar set the collapse in train by pinning Adams on the backfoot after25 minutes in which he couldn’t add a run.Akram had to wait somewhat longer to make his impact. Chanderpaul andRamnaresh Sarwan, once more impressively serene in the face of thetype of quality, each-way swing with which he has seldom had to dealin his young career, kept going through to the first drinks break.But once Akram claimed Sarwan for his first lbw, uncertainly forwardan hour and ten minutes into play, there was no stopping him.Ridley Jacobs, enduring a lengthy run-drought, was hit on the boot byan inswinging yorker and also lbw, prompting Chanderpaul to attackAbdur Razzaq, who had replaced Waqar, with a four and a six, both inthe direction of long-on, in the same over.As soon as Chanderpaul returned to Akram’s end, he missed a late, indipping full toss that hit the stumps quarter-way up.He had resisted for five-and-a-half hours and his return to somethingnearing his old confidence was an encouraging sign for futureengagements.Ambrose lasted five balls before he sliced a catch to backward pointand Rose, after a few meaty boundaries off the returning Waqar, andKing were bounced out.The former skied a catch to long leg, the latter only got his as faras the bowler.Once more, the West Indies bowlers were left with the job ofreclaiming the initiative. Walsh and Ambrose wasted no time.Imran Nazir cut Walsh’s second ball fiercely but directly intoSarwan’s safe hands at gully, and Younis Khan ended an unproductiveseries with an ugly crosshaul that provided Ambrose with a clearcutlbw.The West Indies regained the initiative when King somehow conjured upa late inswinger to hit the overcautious Mohammad Wasim’s unprotectedoff-stump in the last over to the second interval.The West Indies have known that Inzamam is Pakistan’s batting championsince the hefty right-hander scored the first of his ten Test hundredson this ground seven years ago.Youhana, with hundreds at Kensingtonand here on Thursday, is not far behind.They were relieved to dispose of the ominous Inzamam. They won’tbreathe easily until they see the back of Youhana.

A quick look back at this Test match, with neutral eyes, would tell thecomplete story. One team was totally prepared for the fray, the other shouldnot have even bothered to turn up, since they did not compete. To be honest,Australia probably won this 1st test while the West Indies were still ontheir way to Australia, or even by in the Caribbean. Some explanations aredue. These are not excuses, mind you, but real hard facts. Also, Australiaare not responsible for West Indies cricket.Australia have not played a Test match since March/April, against New Zealandearlier this year. The West Indies not only played against England in theEnglish summer, but even before that, managed to just beat Pakistan at home,via some very dubious decisions, and Zimbabwe too. While Australia did playsome out of season cricket, one day games, at the Colonial Stadium againstSouth Africa in August this year, that was actually very ideal, since itwould have brought their minds back gradually to the task at hand inNovember, when they would be making their assault on the West Indies’ recordof 11 Test wins in succession.In the meantime, after the West Indies returned from England, they played ina one day competition in Kenya, like Australia, but then a one day regionalcompetition in Jamaica. That one day competition in Jamaica should have beenvery instrumental in telling the Caribbean powers-that-be in West Indiescricket that something was amiss. No one heeded the signs.In the Red Stripe Bowl competition just before coming to Australia, there wasonly one century by any batsman at all, over nearly three weeks of cricket.Ironically, that batsman, Junior Murray of the Windward islands, is not evenin Australia. All of the Test players competed for their respectivecountries in that competition. Additionally, in the final set of games, thesemi-finals and finals, none of the teams in “The Final Four” managed to get200 in any 50 over spell. That in itself should have been a warning that theWest Indian batsmen, who comprised most of the batsmen for that finalsegment, that they were not up to speed for a tour of Australia.Then the West Indies had a camp in Jamaica for about a week or so beforecoming to Australia. This was like water on a duck’s back. Already tired,that camp would have done little to entice the West Indian players to eitherbe up for the tour, or to enhance their abilities, already drained from thelast year. Like Australia, they needed pure rest. Unlike Australia, theycould not get it.To add fuel to that fire, if you will, the team’s normal psychologist, Dr.Rudi Webster, was nowhere to be seen. His last assignment was ended just asthe West Indies were losing that tortuous Test match at Lords which turnedaround the team’s English summer after they had beaten England in the 1stTest. The West Indies cricket team has not been good for some time, as SirGary Sobers suggested, but being beaten by England was exactly the laststraw. The team has not been itself since Lords, in June last.Rather weirdly, Dr. Webster is being used at home for the West Indies cricketteam, but not away, fully, where the team has been struggling for the lastseveral years overseas. If anyone could explain that to me, then they couldhave my lost fortunes too. Australia, on the other hand, tries to use theiron-call psychologists as often as they require them. The case of Mark Waugh,with the match-fixing situation, is a case in point.With that kind of preparation, the West Indies were on a tight tether, onlywaiting to explode. Unluckily for them, the Australians knew this too. TheWest Indies were simply not ready at all for the fray. Steve Waugh and hisguys knew that and worked at making it even more difficult for the WestIndies to effect any elasticity and come-back. In a word, the West Indieswere beaten before this first Test started.In 1996, Perth was used for the last Test match. In this tour, pointedly,the West Indies will be struggling there next week to avert anotherhumiliation, via Glen McGrath and Brett Lee. That is not incidental.Australia knows that the West Indies are cannon fodder now, and are using it,as they should, to their advantage. Notice that the best batting pitches,Adelaide and Sydney, will only be used after Australia had calculated thatthey will have broken the record, just in case Brian Lara and co get going.The West Indies batsmen are all in need of rest and some specialpsychological help too. The body language of especially the senior batsmen,and this is even going down to the newer ones too; Ramnaresh Sarwan has losthis way, his confidence and his bounce too; speaks volumes. Notice that theWest Indies bowlers have tried to even things out. Not only are theyhearing, but, seemingly, they are listening. In the meantime, Jimmy Adams,Brian Lara, even Shiv Chanderpaul, at least in the 1st innings, SherwinCampbell, Darren Ganga and Ramnaresh Sarwan seemed somewhat misplacedcollectively.Steve Waugh was brilliant as a captain in this game. His move to bring onStuart MacGill as the first change in the 1st innings was a master stroke,since all expected it to be an all out war with fast bowlers. MacGill dulyrepaid his captain’s cunning and confidence with the prized, almostinvaluable wicket of Sherwin Campbell, probably just less so than that ofLara. Campbell is normally the pebble, as opposed to the rock, that the WestIndies try to build their innings on.When Lara strode to the crease, the psychological trap was already set, asMcGrath had been on a rest break for over a half an hour, ready for theeffort once more. He too did not disappoint. Lara duly edged McGrath’sfirst delivery to him, the batsman badly out of place in foot movement, tothe ‘keeper. That, for all intents and purposes of the game, was that.Waugh had outplayed the entire West Indies cricket team’s hierarchy in just afew overs of the first day. With Lara gone, removed psychologically morethan physically, the rest of the team simply could not be strong enough tocope.As Glenn McGrath, the eventual “Man of the Match” suggested after his sixwickets in the 1st innings; “I will bowl much better than I did today and getmaybe one wicket.” He too knew that, while not really lucky, he had notreally bowled as well as he could to get those wickets. They were not reallypresented to him neither. He and his captain had worked for them long beforethe game started.Perth will be another matter altogether next week. The West Indies have verylittle time to recoup. There is even talk of perhaps a psychologist for theteam being brought in. Talk about closing the door after the horse hasbolted. For the West Indies to catch up now, they will have to work at warpspeed. From very recent testimony, they do not even seem to be able to comewith the speed of Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath.