The West Indian juggernaut just rolled over the opposition four yearslater. For the 1979 World Cup, the Caribbeans had an even strongerteam. The batting still revolved round Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge,Vivian Richards and Alvin Kallicharran, while Desmond Haynes hadreplaced Roy Fredericks at the top of the order. But the bowling hadbecome much stronger with a string of fearsome fast bowlers in AndyRoberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft. In addition,they had an exciting all-rounder in Collis King. With this array oftalent and experience, they proved too strong and their retention ofthe title came as no surprise at all.

There was no change in the format and as in 1975 the eight teams wereplace in two groups. Pool A featured the West Indies, New Zealand,India and Sri Lanka while pool B comprised England, Pakistan,Australia and Canada. Sri Lanka and Canada had qualified for thecompetition by finishing winners and runners-up in the newlyconstituted ICC Trophy for associate members.Not unexpectedly, West Indies topped their group with victories overIndia (by nine wickets) and New Zealand (by 32 runs). But Sri Lankabecame the first team to get points against the West Indies when theirmatch at the Oval was abandoned because of rain.Once again New Zealand beat India by eight wickets with three overs tospare to gain the second semifinalists berth from the pool. And Indiathen plumbed the depths by going down to Sri Lanka by 47 runs in theirfinal league encounter. This was a truly embarrassing defeat thataugmented the theory that India had still to come to terms with theintricacies of limited overs cricket.England and Pakistan were the favourites to qualify for the semifinalsfrom group B with Australia being weakened considerably thanks todefections to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. That was the way itturned out after a closely-contested game between the two that decidedthe pool placings. England after being 118 for eight scrambled to atotal of 165 for nine in 60 overs after Bob Taylor and Bob Willisadded 43 runs for the ninth wicket. A spell of four wickets for threeruns in eight balls by Mike Hendrick saw Pakistan reeling at 31 forsix. Asif Iqbal, however, counter attacked and played splendidly forhis 51.But Pakistan fell 14 runs short of the England total. Earlier, Englandhad shot out Canada for 45, still the lowest total in the World Cupand till 1992-93 the lowest in all one-day internationals.

Even if they went according to form, the semifinals were not withoutthrills. New Zealand ran England pretty close before losing by nineruns while chasing a target of 222. Pakistan in the face of animposing West Indian total of 293 for six did not throw in the toweleasily and replied boldly.Majid Khan (81) and Zaheer Abbas (93) added 166 runs for the secondwicket and at 176 for one, Pakistan seemed to be in with a chance evenif the overs were running out. But then Croft and Richards got amongthe wickets and Pakistan were bowled out for 250.The 1979 final was not as closely fought as the title clash four yearsago but it was marked by one great hundred by the peerless Richards,some big hitting by Collis King and a destructive spell by Garner. Itwas fitting that the West Indies should provide all the highlights forthey dominated the match throughout, as the final margin of 92 runswill illustrate.A sell-out crowd of 25,000 was witness to England enjoying theascendancy in the initial stages, reducing the West Indies to 99 forfour. But then Richards and King initiated a recovery process thatended in a blaze of glory. In putting together a partnership of 139runs in 21 overs, both batsmen did pretty much what they liked withthe bowling, which to be candid was pretty mediocre. With Willisinjured, England had gambled on an extra batsman and that meant theyhad only four specialist bowlers with the likes of Geoff Boycott,Wayne Larkins and Graham Gooch having to do more than their fair shareof the work.Needless to say, Richards and King were not complaining! The 12 oversshared by the three went for 86 runs. King scored 86 while Richardsremained unbeaten with a breath-taking 138, his last-ball six offHendrick being talked about even today.The final total of 286 for nine in 60 overs was imposing enough butBoycott and Mike Brearley made England’s task even tougher. True, theyraised 129 for the first wicket but they consumed 38 overs in doingso. That left the remaining batsmen with the job of getting 158 offthe final 22 overs. This was never really on particularly with `BigBird’ Joel Garner in devastating form. The 6′ 8″ Garner just rippedthrough the order with a spell of five wickets for four runs in 11balls. He finished with five for 38 as England were bowled out for 194in 51 overs and Lord’s again resembled a carnival day in Port ofSpain.

Millions will have their eyes glued to television screens for the clash between India and Pakistan on March 1. It is the most anticipated game of the tournament, and the players carry the burden of the expectations of either nation on their shoulders. Both, Pakistani as well as Indian cricket fans are known to be unforgiving of losses to the arch-rival, and this time the tension is at its highest ever as the two have not played against each other for almost 3 years.This is possibly the first time in the last decade where the Pakistan heads into a match against India as underdogs. The Pakistanis have mostly had the better of India, especially in their encounters at Sharjah, but their record in the past World Cups is not quite as impressive. Pakistan has never managed to beat India in World Cup encounters, and it is about time that they break this run of defeats.The equation for Pakistan is quite clear they must win both their matches against India and Zimbabwe if they hope to make it to the Super Six stage. The only thing that could mess up the situation would be if England defeat Australia, then net run rates would be involved, where Pakistan are likely to suffer. However, it’s more important for them to focus on the task at hand, and that is beating India in this crunch game.The Indians come into the game with high spirits, and their batsmen looking in supreme touch. Tendulkar’s brief knock against England was simply awesome, and if he gets stuck into the Pakistan pace attack, then it will be hard to come back into the game. Sehwag looks to be in reasonable form as well, and the key for Pakistan lies in dismissing the opening pair early on. The Indian team looked highly pumped up against England, so this is by no means an easy task.Pakistan’s batsmen on the other hand seem to be going through the worst phase in their cricketing careers. Inzamam’s form is appalling and is his body language emphasized it more after being dismissed against Holland while trudging back to the dressing room. Youhana seems to be in reasonable touch, but has failed to carry on and get a big score after a few starts. Saeed Anwar is a mere shadow of his former self, while Younis Khan has been a huge disappointment over the last six months. Richard Pybus summed up the lack of consistency of our batsmen brilliantly, by saying that they either “operate in fifth gear or reverse.” Well, this is the right time for a gear shift!I personally feel that the Pakistanis should go into the game against India with the same side they played against Holland. There is a temptation to draft Afridi into the squad, but the management should refrain from that as Afridi upsets the balance of the side by being included at the expense of a genuine opener. Anwar and Taufeeq Umar must open, while there is a possibility of swapping Elahi for Younis Khan. Elahi is a good prospect as an opener, but doesn’t seem at home in the middle order. However the poor form of Younis Khan doesn’t warrant an automatic selection either. On performance, Inzamam deserves to be dropped, but while the mind may agree, the heart still feels that Inzamam might just have something up his sleeve for the big game. Either way, the Pakistani management could not be blamed if they persist with him. Youhana must be moved up the order, preferably at number 3 or 4.The bowling attack looks fine – it just needs the batsmen to be competitive if they are to win games for Pakistan. A special word of praise is necessary for Wasim Akram, arguably the best cricketer Pakistan has ever produced and maybe the best the world has ever seen. No praise is enough for what he has done for the side, and he thoroughly deserves the credit he is getting for reaching the landmark of 500 wickets. One just hopes that the World Cup 2003 will be a fitting swan song and that he can bow out of the game with dignity.For that Pakistan need to win and the match against India is the ideal way to turn things around. The Pakistan team has been known to be at their best when their backs are to the wall. Our cricket has sunk to the depths of despair, and hopefully there is only one way to go and that is up! It is difficult to be upbeat after viewing Pakistan’s recent performances, but the team only has a chance if the fans back them fully.The toss might just be the deciding factor, more so for Pakistan, as the Indians will opt to bat immediately if they win. Waqar must hope that fortune favours him at the start, and he should not think twice about batting first if he wins the toss. It would be foolish if he repeats the mistake made against the Aussies.So it’s all set for the big game, let us just hope that it will be close and exciting one! All the best, Pakistan, a nation is looking up to you!Ed: If readers wish to correspond with the author, please email Taha Noor

Scott Styris (NZ) needs 51 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Mathew Sinclair (NZ) needs 194 runs to complete 1000 ODI runs
Chris Cairns (NZ) needs 204 runs to complete 4000 ODI runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 53 runs to complete 6000 ODI runsNathan Astle (NZ) needs 5 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket club
Chris Harris (NZ) needs 6 wickets to join the 200 ODI-wicket club
Grant Flower (ZIM) needs 3 wickets to join the 100 ODI-wicket clubChris Cairns (NZ) needs 25 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Chris Harris (NZ) needs 115 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Nathan Astle (NZ) needs 199 runs to complete 500 World Cup runs
Grant Flower (ZIM) need 27 runs to complete 500 World Cup runsChris Cairns (NZ) needs 9 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club
Heath Streak (ZIM) needs 5 wickets to join the 25 World Cup wicket-club

Disgraced and vilified after a disastrous World Cup, South Africa have plenty to prove when they kick off their TVS Cup campaign with a match against India. Graeme Smith makes his debut as captain, and Eric Simons, the coach, said all the right things about Smith on the eve of the match.”Smith is one of those few cricketers who have the real feel for the game,” said Simons. “He is a tactical person and his leadership abilities have been tested for South Africa A and Western Province.”At 22 years and 71 days, Smith will become the second-youngest captain in one-day international history, behind Waqar Younis, who was all of 21 years and 354 days when he led Pakistan against West Indies in Sharjah in 1993-94.With the retirement of Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald and Gary Kirsten, and the unavailability of Jacques Kallis, Smith has a largely inexperienced line-up to lead. Among the members in the current squad, only Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs have played more than 70 ODIs.The South Africans got their first taste of bowling on the flat tracks of Dhaka, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Playing against an invitation side on Friday, South Africa amassed 294, but then watched their opening bowlers – Mahkaya Ntini and Charl Willoughby – hit all round the park as the home team slammed 71 from nine overs. They were eventually bowled out for 167, but Simons admitted that the South African bowlers were yet to learn the art of bowling on the batsman-friendly pitches.”In South Africa you can sometimes get away with it, but not here. If you bowl wide here you get punished. I was very pleased with the match, especially from a bowling point of view because we learned a lot. It wasn’t nice to see us struggle, but perhaps it was good in the sense that we staged such a convincing comeback.”The South Africans might have to pay a far heavier price if they continue to spray the new ball against India. Despite the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, the Indian line-up of Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh is a formidable one. Simons echoed that view: “India can never be taken lightly, with or without Tendulkar.”The Indian bowling attack was incisive too, albeit against hapless Bangladeshi batsmen who were all at sea even in home conditions. Avishkar Salvi made an impressive debut, but he will be tested far more against the likes of Smith, Gibbs and Boeta Dippenaar.Sunday’s match should also – finally – result in Jacques Rudolph’s international debut. So impressive in the unofficial Test against India in 2001-02, Rudolph spent a more than year in the sidelines before finally breaking through to the national team. With so many spots in the middle order up for grabs, this is a golden opportunity for him to cement a place in the line-up.Probable teams
India 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 4 Mohammad Kaif, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 Dinesh Mongia, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ajit Agarkar, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10, Zaheer Khan, 11 Avishkar Salvi.South Africa 1 Herschelle Gibbs, 2 Graeme Smith (capt), 3 Boeta Dippenaar, 4 Neil McKenzie, 5 Jacques Rudolph, 6 Andrew Hall, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Shaun Pollock, 9 Robin Peterson, 10, Alan Dawson, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Stuart Carlisle celebrated his 31st birthday with the best century of his first-class career, a dogged marathon of 139 runs. He left the field unbeaten with the Zimbabweans on 296 for 8 in reply to Worcestershire’s total of 262.A brief light shower at about 10 am resulted in the start of play being delayed for 15 minutes. The Zimbabweans quickly lost the wicket of Barney Rogers, who dabbed at a ball from Australian Mark Harrity into the slips to depart for 4, leaving them on 75 for 4, having added only six to their overnight score.Tatenda Taibu, as usual, looked to take the initiative, and hit one particularly superb cover drive to the boundary. Both he and Carlisle had to handle dubious light, though, conditions far removed from their normal experience. Carlisle moved slowly to his fifty, working hard for every run, and then the rain returned briefly.Gradually after lunch the batsmen tried to accelerate, although whether it was wise to do so – against good bowling extracting movement off the pitch – was debatable. Carlisle got away with a top-edged hook over the keeper’s head and a snick over the slips, both going for four, but these should not detract from an excellent innings of concentration and determination. Taibu too had a couple of narrow escapes, and had any of these blemishes gone to hand, there would have been an inappropriate end to a gallant innings.Frustrated, the Worcestershire bowlers resorted to an overdose of short-pitched bowling, forsaking pitch movement. Taibu reached his fifty with a hard slash over the slips for four, and in the same over another slash over gully brought up the hundred partnership, which took 35 overs. However, within minutes he was on his way, caught at the wicket off Kabir Ali for 57. The Zimbabweans were 178 for five.Andy Blignaut scored only 2 before he was brilliantly caught at first slip by Andrew Hall in the same over. Joined by Travis Friend, Carlisle began to open up, surviving a hard chance at backward point on 92, and brought up his first century in England in remarkable style, cutting a six off Kabir into the stands below the Worcester pavilion behind backward point. It took him 221 balls.Friend too played a few handsome drives and Zimbabwe took the lead with six wickets down, an achievement that had not appeared very likely when play started. They survived the new ball until Friend was well caught at first slip for 39. Raymond Price made 5, but Douglas Hondo stuck around with Carlisle, who even now did not look fully in touch, playing and missing with some regularity.Unlike many players in the modern era, the batsmen did not appear over-eager to leave the field as the light worsened, and were discussing the matter with the umpires when bad light dissolved into rain. The lost overs could not be made up, so Zimbabwe finished 34 runs ahead with two wickets to fall – although it is not certain Heath Streak, still suffering back spasms, will decide to bat.

Peter Towler (Romsey)Aged 50, a practising barrister. Experienced in town planning and development.A committee member since 1999. Committed to raising the stardard of Hampshire Cricket from Under 10’s and to the completion of a test match ground with first class members facilities.Peter is Chairman of Marketing and Fund raising at Hampshire. A former Trojans and village cricketer.

Calmore Sports captain Tom Pegler refuses to believe that all is lost in the Totton club’s bid for ECB Southern Electric Premier League survival, even after a crushing 138-run defeat against the Hampshire Academy at the Rose Bowl."We are only 19 points behind Liphook & Ripsley and if we can beat them in the last `time’ game on August 2, there’s no reason why we can’t stay up," he said defiantly.But Pegler acknowledges that , if Calmore are to avoid the drop, they will have to start producing some much improved batting displays.Having chased 239-8 in the heat, Calmore were bowled out for 101 on a Nursery ground surface that will have few equals this season."Our batting against the Academy wasn’t good," conceded Pegler, whose Calmore team has gleaned only 15 batting bonus points in ten matches, nine of which have ended in defeat.Calmore’s only win this season came against the Young Hawks, but there was little likelihood of a repeat of that seven-wicket early May victory.The Academy simply batted Calmore out of the game, declared in just under 60 overs and gave themselves ample time in which to bowl the basement boys out.Charlie Freeston struck an early blow by rearranging Jimmy Adams’s stumps, but the Academy youngsters gradually began to dominate.Alex Richardson, the King Edward VI youngster, played some nice shots before playing all around a delivery from left-arm spinner Mark Boston.But it was the pre-lunch third-wicket stand between Chris Benham (82) and Kevin Latouf (54) which set the Academy up for a match-winning score.Benham, surviving a confident appeal at 33, went on to hit 14 fours in a fine 82, while Layoff (54), one of eight teenager Hawks, celebrated his maiden Premier half-century.From 145-3 at lunch, the county pushed on to 239-8 declared – Boston wheeling away and finished with 5-88 off 23 overs : his longest spell in five years !Directly Martin Bushel misspelled a short ball from Matt Metcalfe into square-leg’s waiting hands, the game was up for Calmore, who might have a quiet word or two with the Berkshire youngster about the petulant behaviour which immediately followed.As skipper Ian Hilsum attacked, Gary Stinson (20) and Stuart Bailey (20) picked gaps in the field.But the pair both fell to James Manning (2-17) before the Calmore innings went into free fall from 57-2 to 86-9 and an eventual 101 all out.Hilsum (4-13), whose leg spin action has been tampered with by far too many coaches in recent seasons, cashed in as Calmore slipped to 101 all out in 32.1 overs.

Less than five days after Pakistan’s 1-2 defeat by England in the NatWest Challenge, the voices of dissent have already started against Rashid Latif, the captain, and the entire team management.Imran Khan suggested that Latif wasn’t a good bet as a long-term captain, and recommended a bowler or an allrounder as the next captain, as he would have a better understanding of when to bowl specific bowlers.Speaking to reporters while on a visit to a cricket clinic at Peshawar, Imran opined: “We need to have a man who knows how to field the bowlers during the tough matches. The approach of the captain must be aggressive. He has to accept every challenge and should take bold decisions and should go all out for victory. The fighting and challenging approach is a key factor in crucial encounters,” he said. “I accept the qualities of Latif as a wicket-keeper but as captain, he cannot run the team for longer duration.”Earlier, Aamer Sohail, the chief selector, had held Pakistan’s team management responsible for the series defeat, saying that the inclusion of too many allrounders resulted in the losses. Latif refused to respond to Sohail’s charge. According to The News, a Pakistan daily, Latif said: “I don’t want to make any comments. It is for the board to look into this. The series is over and we were expecting such things. It is not a big surprise for us.”Reiterating the fact there was no lack of commitment from the team, Latif stated that he had no idea what had prompted Sohail’s comments. “The defeat at Lord’s was heartbreaking but we went down fighting and showed we can challenge any team.”I didn’t ask for the captaincy, but once the board gave me this responsibility I have tried to do my best with a team which is a blend of some experience and youth. I don’t know why people are criticising my captaincy or want me out. It really does not bother me because they are also a lot of other people who have called me up and encouraged me and appreciated the hard work put up by the team.”

In an interview to ABC radio, Shane Warne has hit back at Dick Pound, World Anti-Doping Agency president. He said: “As far as I’m concerned it’s got nothing to do with these guys (WADA).””I’m an employee of the Australian Cricket Board and both the ACB (now called Cricket Australia) and us have come to a decision," said Warne. “I’ve abided by their rules and had an arbitration meeting and they said I can play in charity games, I can train with the team, I can do all those things.”Pound and David Howman, WADA chief executive, earlier criticised Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to allow Warne to play in charity matches and train with the team, saying that it was “bizarre” and “anti-ethical” to “allow a cheater to play”.Jason Warne, Shane’s brother and manager, said today that Shane didn’t have immediate plans to play charity games anyway, putting to rest rumours that he had a game lined up for the rich Lashings club in England on August 18.”The first thing is, Shane has no charity games booked in at the moment – no, he’s not playing for Lashings, simply because he’s unavailable,” said Jason. “Right from the word go, not once has Shane been told he can’t train with the team, as long as he’s invited.”CA ruled Warne was ineligible for any form of cricket when it suspended him in February for testing positive to a diuretic.But in July an independent arbitrator gave Warne the green light to take part in charity fixtures, forcing CA to comply.Warne will finish his ban on February 10 – just before Australia leaves for a tour of Sri Lanka.In the meantime, he can be invited to train as a guest with the Australian team – another development the WADA hierarchy disapproves of.Warne, who hasn’t bowled a ball since a guest appearance at a net in June, will be commentating on Channel Nine during Australia’s home Test series against Zimbabwe in October.

Wisden Asia Cricket“There was a motorcade around the island for me.”

“From the time I was 12, my coach would tell me that I had it in me to play for West Indies – but then coaches always tell you positive things. The first time I really it this might happen was when we lost the first two Tests against Australia in the home series and the talk throughout the Caribbean was that we needed a spinner in the XI.”I was at my girlfriend’s house when the captain called me. I knew Brian Lara somewhat from earlier – I had got him out once! He rang and said, “Congratulations”, and I said, “For what?” even though I knew exactly what it was for. I was really excited inside, but wanted to appear calm.”I kept telling myself not to get caught up in the moment. It was only a cricket match, and I had played plenty before. The debut didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. But though I conceded more than 200 runs, I knew I hadn’t bowled that badly, and I batted okay. I was just happy playing for West Indies. Then came St. John’s and that record chase: the best day of my life, on or outside the cricket field. When I was waiting to go in to bat in the last innings, I kept reminding myself of the team’s objectives. The worst that could happen was that I could get out; the best was we could win the Test – which we did. That night, I celebrated by playing with Curtly Ambrose and Richie Richardson’s band – my dad is a musician, and I play some guitar too. Anguilla was all excited when I returned. There was a big reception for me at the airport, and then there was a motorcade all around the island, which is only 35 square miles.”I look back happily at my first international season. Playing with spinners like [Stuart] MacGill and [Muttiah] Muralitharan was a great experience. Murali is awesome, something special.”There are no international matches for a while now, but I’ll play some club cricket. I like to play the year round. And even if there is a break from matches, I don’t like to ever take a break from practice.”