da supremo： Georgetown (Guyana), May 8: A tropical downpour flooded large parts ofthe Bourda pitch on Monday and washed out the fourth day of the firstTest between West Indies and Pakistan
da pinup bet： Qamar Ahmed09-May-2000Georgetown (Guyana), May 8: A tropical downpour flooded large parts ofthe Bourda pitch on Monday and washed out the fourth day of the firstTest between West Indies and Pakistan.It had been raining all through the night after play on the third dayhad been called off before time with West Indies on 222 for seven intheir first innings in reply to Pakistan’s 288.Umpires Steve Bucknor of the West Indies and his South Africancolleague did not even bother to step out on to the ground on thfourth morning as rain continued to pour down.From the steps of the pavilion balcony Koertzen signalled to the mediabox the decision of the umpires that play will not be possible at all.It will be a miracle even on the final day tomorrow (Tuesday) if anyplay gets under way with more rain forecast in the next 24 hours andthe field increasingly waterlogged.Like most of Georgetown, which is protected from the Atlantic ocean bya wall, the Bourda pitch lies one metre below sea level and isnotoriously slow to drain.The teams also did not appear at the ground, realizing well that itwill be nigh impossible for the opening Test to restart.When Pakistan captain Moin Khan was contacted he obviously showed hisdisappointment saying that his side had a fair chance of going intothe second Test at Barbados with a 1-0 lead.”I think we could have bowled them out on the fourth morning gainingat least a 30-run lead which in the end could have mattered a lotafter we had batted second time and set West Indies a target,” hesaid.West Indies fought back from a poor start to reach 222 for seven intheir first innings on a curtailed third day’s play on Sunday. Thehome side are still 66 runs short of Pakistan’s score of 288.Their recovery was brought about by a record seventh wicketpartnership of 74 between the obdurate Shivnarine Chanderpaul andNixon McLean after Pakistan had reduced them to 139 for six.West Indies lost skipper Jimmy Adams to the fourth ball of the daywhen Mushtaq had him nicely held low at slip by Younis Khan for20. Television umpire Colin Alfred was called in to adjudicate afterAdams stood his ground.Chris Gayle, one of the seven left-handers in the West Indies line-up,hit a couple of lusty blows but holed out to Wasim Akram at widemid-on off Mushtaq. He made 13.Wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs was run out for six in a terrible mix-upwith Chanderpaul. Wajahatullah Wasti’s return to Mushtaq at thebowler’s end left Jacobs stranded by miles.But then Chanderpaul and fellow left-hander McLean combined togetherto take West Indies at tea at 174 for six. After the interval, McLean,by far the more aggressive of the two batsmen, improved his previousbest score of 39 against South Africa at Cape Town last season beforethe second new ball was claimed by Moin Khan.With his score on 46, McLean was taken at second slip byInzamam-ul-Haq inches off Waqar Younis. The 74-run partnership in 133minutes had erased the previous best against Pakistan for the seventhwicket of 70 between Clive Lloyd and Joel Garner at Bridgetown in1976-77. McLean’s 95-ball innings contained eight boundaries.Chanderpaul’s 46 off 172 balls at stumps had already occupied thecrease for just over four hours. He hit three fours.Curtly Ambrose survived some anxious moments against Wasim Akram andWaqar Younis to remain unbeaten on two.
