da bwin： Port-of-Spain – From the moment Heath Streak earned himself anearly 26th birthday present with the wicket of Adrian Griffith,off the third ball of the match, to the time rain set in 13balls after lunch, the first day of the inaugural Test against
17-Mar-2000Port-of-Spain – From the moment Heath Streak earned himself anearly 26th birthday present with the wicket of Adrian Griffith,off the third ball of the match, to the time rain set in 13balls after lunch, the first day of the inaugural Test againstZimbabwe was 28.1 overs of hard labour for the West Indies.It was a little less of a struggle when the weather relentedand play restarted four hours, 25 minutes later in soft eveninglight at 57 for two.But another wicket in the remaining 11.5 overs, that ofShivnarine Chanderpaul, left the Lara-less West Indies havingto revert to Curtly Ambrose as nightwatchman.They finished at 79 for three, the kind of bind that has becomeall too familiar.Given the chance to bowl on a well-grassed pitch and in steamyconditions after captain Andy Flower won the toss, Streak, theonly Zimbabwean to have over Test 100 wickets, and his threeseam bowling accomplices, Henry Olonga, Pom Mbangwa and NeilJohnson, none of threatening pace, adhered strictly to the fulllength and direct line required.Loose deliveries were few and far between and, once Griffithwas lbw on the defensive, opener Sherwin Campbell and ChrisGayle, the tall, 20-year-old left-hander on debut, were sorestricted they managed only 19 runs off 17 overs.They came through a succession of reasonable lbw appeals andGayle’s edged chance to Murray Goodwin at third slip offMbangwa when he was six, but were going nowhere when Gaylesuddenly allowed himself the freedom of a few strokes.Kept scoreless for 38 balls at one point, he gave evidence ofthe temperament that is one of his principal assets.Like his experienced partner, he did not lose patience andfinally spotted something with the width or the length, orboth, to play some strokes.He found the boundary six times in the space of 40 minutes, allon the off-side. Two were steered to third man, two driven downthe ground off successive balls from Mbangwa and two punchedthrough the covers off the backfoot.The remission of lunch was only ten minutes away when hispromising innings was cut short by confusion with Campbell overa second run.As Brian Murphy chased his backfoot shot off Johnson fromextra-cover, Gayle completed one and turned for a second, onlyto be halted quarter-way down the pitch by his partner.The throw to the bowler was wide but Johnson had time tounderarm the ball onto the stumps with Gayle six inches shortof his ground.It was ironic that the stand should have ended in a run-out forthe two had sprinted positively between the wickets from thetime they came together.Not many batsmen have to start their first Test innings afterthree balls of the match but Gayle coped with no signs ofnerves.Zimbabwe’s is not the most lethal attack in the game but it wasstill a stern test of his character all the same and, for thehour-and-three-quarters he was in, he comfortably passed it.Campbell has several times passed his.His timing was so out of kelter that he wasn’t even puttingaway his favourite square cuts and he laboured to nine off 84balls when the rain arrived. But he refused to budge,appreciating the importance of his presence.In contrast, Chanderpaul was all action from the start, drivingand glancing with urgency.The acceleration provided by him and Gayle brought 39 runs offthe nine overs prior to the interruption. The previous 19 overshad yielded a mere 17.On resumption, after busy work by the groundstaff and a dryingsun, Chanderpaul’s mood remained the same. Campbell’s changed,and he finally found the boundary with a squarecut off Streak.Streak conceded nine in the over, and gave way to Olonga whoangled the last ball of his first over across Chanderpaul.Chanderpaul drove at it, the edge was thick and wicket-keeperFlower’s gloves were safe.Ambrose arrived in an unusual role and managed to remain to theend only through a sharp chance to Trevor Gripper at short-legoff leg-spinner Murphy. It was that sort of unconvincing dayfor the West Indies.