West Indies defeat Zimbabwe in second Test to win series

West Indies captain Brian Lara looks up at the 
Clive Lloyd trophy after beating Zimbabwe in the 
second test to give the visitors a series win at the 
in Bulawayo 16 November 2003. AFP PHOTO

Monday, November 17, 2003

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, (AFP): West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 128 runs in the second and final Test here on Sunday to take the series 1-0, retaining the Clive Lloyd Trophy

The first Test in Harare last week ended in a draw.

Only 35 minutes play was needed on the final morning to wrap it all up. Zimbabwe were 90-9 overnight requiring an impossible 143 runs to win with just one wicket remaining.

Captain Heath Streak and last man Blessing Mahwire survived seven overs before Mahwire was bowled by Mervyn Dillon.

When West Indies scored 481 runs in their first innings the match was effectively put out of Zimbabwe's reach, even though they managed to get 377 in reply, a deficit of 104.

Brian Lara's 191 runs won him the "man of the match" and it also made him, with 8,625 runs to his name, the highest scoring West Indies batsman, surpassing Viv Richards.

Zimbabwe's Mark Vermeulen and Craig Wishart scored 118 and 96 respectively. But it was all not quite enough.

Even though West Indies surprisingly slumped to 128 all out in their second innings, it left Zimbabwe with far much to do. 

And poor batting, on a surface that held up well, accounted for their dismal response. 

Wickets fell in rapid succession and Zimbabwe did what they do too often - collapse in the face of even a modest target. 

Streak tried to achieve a decent personal score, which he did with 33 not out, and also protect Mahwire as much as possible. But it worked for only a short period of the morning.

Streak said: "We certainly had a chance and we missed it. But we are a young side and will learn a lot from this."

West Indies skipper Brian Lara, who picked up the man of the match award after his 191 runs, praised Zimbabwe's performance.

"A lot of people will say that Zimbabwe are one of the minnows of world cricket," said Lara.

"But I thought the 11 guys who played 10 days of Test cricket against us were very determined." 

"We're all very pleased to have won our first test match away from home for some time.

"We don't do it very often. It was also my first victory away from home as captain. We didn't bat well in our second innings but it was enough."

Zimbabwe coach Geoff Marsh refused to blame the state of the pitch for his side's batting collapse.

"I can only speak for Zimbabwe but it was simply rank bad batting," he said.

West Indies celebrate their victory with a visit to a wildlife park while Zimbabwe head for the nets for some serious coaching and training in preparation for the upcoming five-match one-day series.

Full scoreboard on the fifth day:

West Indies 1st innings 481
(Brian Lara 191, Wavell Hinds 81, Ramnaresh Sarwan 65, Ray Price 5-199)

Zimbabwe 1st innings 377 (Mark Vermeulen 118, Craig Wishart 96; Corey Collymore 4-70)

West Indies 2nd innings (overnight 13-1)
Wavell Hinds c Carlisle b Price 28
Chris Gayle lbw b Streak 0
Daren Ganga c Carlisle b Blignaut 8
Brian Lara b Streak 1
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Wishart b Blignaut 9
Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw b Streak 15
Ridley Jacobs c Blignaut b Price 10
Omari Banks c Vermeulen b Price 16
Mervyn Dillon not out 27
Corey Collymore b Price 0
Fidel Edwards b Blignaut 0
Extras (5b, 3lb, 2nb, 4w) 14
Total 128

Fall: 1-0, 2-17, 3-21, 4-51, 5-51, 6-82, 7-82, 8-127, 9-128

Bowling: Streak 15-2-39-3 (1w), Blignaut 14.4-6-29-3, Mahwire 2-0-16-0 (3w, 2nb), Price 21-7-36-4)

Zimbabwe 2nd innings (overnight 90-9)
Vusi Sibanda c Lara b Dillon 0
Trevor Gripper c Ganga b Banks 8
Mark Vermeulen b Hinds 24
Craig Wishart c Jacobs b Hinds 13
Stuart Carlisle c Jacobs b Banks 9
Andy Blignaut lbw b Banks 3
Stuart Matsikenyere run out (Edwards) 5
Tatenda Taibu lbw b Collymore 1
Heath Streak not out 33
Ray Price b Collymore 4
Blessing Mahwire b Dillon 4
Extras 0
Total 104

Fall: 1-0, 2-32, 3-33, 4-54, 5-56, 6-62, 7-63, 8-67, 9-75

Bowling: Mervyn Dillon 8-2-17-1, Corey Collymore 15-6-29-2, Wavell Hinds 9-2-20-2, Omari Banks 15-3-35-3, Sarwan 2-1-3-0

Result: West Indies won by 128 runs

Toss: West Indies
Umpires: R Koertzen (RSA) and S Taufel (AUS)
TV Umpire: I Robinson
Match Referee: G Viswanath (IND)
Man of the match: Brian Lara 

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