The Sublime and the Ridiculous (16 June 1999)

16 June 1999

The Sublime and the Ridiculous

John Houlihan at Old Trafford

New Zealand's dream of a World Cup final place was finally shattered as Pakistan made short work of a target of 241 at Old Trafford, with Saeed Anwar (113*) and Wajahattulah Wasti (84) spearheading Pakistan's run chase with a magnificent record breaking first wicket partnership of 194 in a game which ran almost perfect to its David and Goliath billing.

Outgunned and certainly comprehensively outplayed on the day, one can't help but feel a certain sympathy and sneaking regard for the New Zealanders, a decent enough team and one of the hardest working sides in the tournament, who seem forever destined to be always the semi-final bridesmaids.

This encounter always had the air of a catchweight contest with the Kiwis cast in the role of the Bantamweights and Pakistan tipping the scales a couple of pounds above Super Heavy and with one or two notable exceptions (Allott, Cairns and Twose - and only Allott truly notable), at the end of the day, the Kiwis simply didn't have the raw talent, firepower, or indeed the semblance of an answer, when Pakistan chose to turn on the style and finally play to their true potential.

Yet mid way through the contest, after the Black Caps had posted a respectable 241 for seven, this now seemingly inevitable result was by no means a sure fire certainty. Pakistan are a team which are capable of the sublime and the ridiculous, often in the same innings and watching them in the field in the morning, you half suspected they may be suffering 'one of those days' which was probably the Kiwis only realistic chance of achieving a result.

The 'Ridiculous' was typified by their gifting the Kiwis 47 extras and a fielding display which often made the Keystone Cops seem like a disciplined, highly tuned and thoroughly professional outfit. Pakistan were seemingly unable to field a ball without picking up an injury and Shoaib and Saeed Anwar went down holding various parts of their anatomy, while Inzamam was safely hidden away at fine-leg or third man for most of the time. Yet when the did come his way he swooped like an albatross - and a particularly ponderous ungainly albatross at that - and was nutmeged by the dusty Duke which sped clean through his legs.

The 'Sublime' of course was provided by Pakistan's pace bowlers, and the chief attraction of the morning's play was the duel between Shoaib Akhtar and the Kiwi middle order of Fleming, Twose and Cairns. Skipper Wasim Akram also showed he was no slouch in the pace department, with a fiery yorker which gouged a huge chunk out of Chris Cairns' bat, but every time the ball nestled in Shoaib's hand and he began to pace out that hugely threatening run up, he generated the levels of electricity, excitement and expectation which have so often been lacking from this competition. A vicious ball swept Twose's feet from under him, the yorker that did Fleming weighed in at 92 mph and this young man is so quick, Michael Schumacher must be hoping he never takes up Formula One.

Of the batting, there was little to tell, except that Anwar and Wasti seemed in total control from the first to last and even Allott's inspirational bursts at the beginning and end (where he still managed to beat the outside edge of centurion Anwar's bat) couldn't put the brakes on a Pakistani run machine which at last is looking well oiled and ready and waiting for whoever faces them in the final.

Source :: CricInfo