Brooks stars as West Indies surprise Australia
West Indies captain Sharmarh Brooks claimed figures of 5 for 25 with his legspin in their five-wicket win over Australia in a warm-up match in Kuala Lumpur
The Bulletin by George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur
14-Feb-2008
West Indies U-19s 160 for 5 (Powell 51, Creary 45*, Jeremy Smith 2-30) beat Australia U-19s 159 (Sarna 32, Brooks 5-25, Permaul 2-18) by five wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
The Under-19 World Cup will be formally opened tomorrow and the first
round of matches kick off on Sunday. But Thursday's warm-up fixtures offered
a preview of the talent on display: Sri Lanka were playing South Africa,
Bermuda with Namibia, and Zimbabwe against Nepal.
The pick, though, was Australia versus West Indies. One could watch Philip
Hughes, the batsman who's already played for New South Wales, perhaps spot
a future West Indian tearaway fast bowler, and check out if the
Australian U-19 outfit was as clinical, relatively speaking, as their
national side.
The weather in Kuala Lumpur is more humid than hot and the conditions are
quite sapping, especially since the tournament's schedule allows little
time for rest. As it turned out, Hughes was given the day off so Australia
opened with Marcus Stoinis and Kumar Sarna, the Delhi-born batsman who
plays his cricket in Victoria. The openers were patient and after a slow
start - 16 came off the first six overs - they had added 63 by the 15th.
Sarna made 32 off 65 balls and Stoinis 22 off 48. They were the only
batsmen to pass 20 as Australia collapsed and lost ten wickets for 96 to
finish on 159.
So which fast-bowler wrecked Australia? Larry Gomes, the coach, had said
that all the three quicks had the attributes necessary to grow into good
fast bowlers. Jason Dawes wasn't express pace but bowled a testing line
and length, as did Dawnley Grant. And when you look at Delorn Johnson, his
tall physique and long arms give away what he offers to the side. So which
of the three was it? Was there an individual that stood out or was it a
pack-attack?
There was a stand-out performance but it came from a spinner- the West
Indies captain Sharmarh Brooks - who picked up 5 for 25 off 9.2 overs with
his legbreaks. Brooks, who plays for Barbados, varied his flight and pace
cleverly and several Australian batsmen holed out as they tired to clear
the boundaries. Brooks received solid support from left-arm orthodox
bowler Veerasammy Permaul and the offspinner Steven Jacobs, who is his
deputy. Permaul took 2 for 18 off his seven overs while Jacobs had 1 for
29 off his ten, giving the spinners a total of eight wickets to the fast
bowlers' one (one batsman was run out).
Adrian Barath, who plays for Trinidad and Tobago, was another batsman to
watch. Gomes said he's not been in the best of form of late
and wasn't feeling 100% fit either. However, it was Kieran Powell who impressed
the most today. Powell is a tall left-hand opening batsman who hits
the ball powerfully. One shot stood out: Powell drove the ball straight
and so hard that the sound of the ball hitting bat made heads turn. Most were
too late for the ball was already nearing the boundary ropes. Powell
finished with 51 and his attacking start had set the platform for a
successful run chase.
Australia opened their bowling with a four-pronged pace attack: Jeremy
Smith and James Pattinson shared the new ball while David King and James
Faulkner came on first and second change. The first spinner on display for
Australia was the left-arm orthodox bowler from Victoria, Clive Rose, who
had Powell caught at mid-on in his second over. West Indies then lost a
few batsmen in quick time but chased down the target with five wickets in
hand.
Beating Australia, albeit in a practice match, was a huge boost to West
Indies, who also beat Sri Lanka in their first warm-up fixture. "It will
be difficult to pick a final XI," said Gomes. "I prefer to be in that
position."
George Binoy is a staff writer at Cricinfo