Monday 28, June-2004 by Tony Cozier in England

The young guns of West Indies cricket set it up with the ball for the established batsmen to secure victory over England as the One-Day NatWest Series finally got going here on Sunday after two abandoned matches.

The margin of seven wickets with 11.4 overs in hand was as comprehensive and significant as any in recent times.

Nor did it flatter a thoroughly efficient all-round team performance that is an immediate boost to collective and individual self-confidence at the start of a potentially difficult tour.

It is not often of late that it has been possible to present such a report.

To boot, it earned the West Indies a bonus point to add to the basic five for a win and denied England the point they would have got from a closer result.

So, after two matches each, the West Indies have nine points, New Zealand, six; (three each from their two no results) and England three.

Ian Bradshaw, in his eighth One-Day international but, at 29, chronically ancient alongside his colleagues in the attack, pulled the rug from under England by despatching their seasoned openers with only two runs scored after the toss gave Brian Lara the preferred option of bowling.

Marcus Trethcothick flicked the left-hander’s fourth ball into Brian Lara’s lap at square-leg and captain Michael Vaughan skewed his seventh to mid-on.

Man-Of-The-Match Dwayne Bravo, Jermaine Lawson, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Smith, all under 23 and with no more than 45 such matches between them, then so effectively utilised a pitch that assisted their varied swingand cut that England were dismissed for 147 with 11.4 of their 50 overs unused. < Read more >

Saturday 26, June-2004 by Tony Cozier in England

West Indies captain Brian Lara with the Natwest Series Trophy.

Brian Lara is keen to eradicate a pattern that has developed since his return as West Indies captain.

The aim, he said yesterday on the eve of the team’s opening match in the One-Day NatWest Series against New Zealand today, was “to start winning from ball one” rather than to save face or prevent whitewashes.

“The trend in our cricket is that we tend to let the opposition make the running and then try to get back in the games,” Lara said. “We need to start in front and get ourselves hyped up as early as possible to win games.” < Read more >

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