Peter West: died on Tuesday aged 83

As South Africa got off to a flyer at The Oval thoughts in the press boxturned to absent friends. Peter West, who died earlier this week, didsome of his best work in the BBC’s box in the days when it wasprecariously perched on top of the pavilion here. With a seeminglypermanent smile, and a nearly ever-present pipe, West alwaysseemed so at home in front of the camera that it was a surprise tolearn that he was always asking colleagues how he was faring.David Frith, the founder editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly,recalled a slightly peeved West asking why his name had been left offthe caption for a magazine cover in the early ’80s that depicted IanBotham and Clive Lloyd. “All you could see was the back of Peter’shead. I suppose in a small way that backs up the stories about howinsecure he was.”Like many in the media, David Lloyd – the one from the EveningStandard not the ex-England-coach turned Sky pundit – remembersWest fondly. After he retired from the BBC, West fulfilled a long-heldambition by covering the 1986-87 England tour of Australia for theDaily Telegraph. “He was a lovely bloke,” said Lloyd. “That wasmy first tour too, so I remember it well. I’ve got lots of great memoriesfrom it – and Peter features in most of them. He was such a nice,genuine character.”That was a great tour from an England point of view – Mike Gatting’sside won the Ashes, and two one-day competitions to boot – but itwasn’t all fun for West off the field, however. I had a vague recollectionof his tour book, Clean Sweep, containing the odd pop at theTelegraph sports desk – but a quick re-read revealed almost dailyconflict, culminating in a therapeutic two-page letter (never actuallysent, which is often the best way) giving the then sports editor a blast.Edited highlights include: “I have received your latest letter and notedthat as seems to be customary you begin it with a complaint from areader … do you happen to realise that I have now been in Australia forseven weeks, filing every bloody day and never a day off, and, apartfrom sending congratulations on what you term my [Bill] Athey analysis,you have not yet been able to tell me that you have actually liked asingle thing I have written … I would ask you to remember that just anoccasional touch of the carrot can mean a lot.”There’s more – much more – in the same vein, which makes it ratheran unusual tour book. The desk’s daily demands must have clangedseveral bells with other journalists, and serves as a reminder of thosenot-terribly-distant days before e-mails and global-roaming phones,when overseas communication was by peremptory telex or a late-nightphone call (“Towards midnight, Sportsed calls from London. I amdisappointed to hear that he thinks Brisbane is eight hours ahead ofGMT, when in fact it is ten …”).In case you’re wondering, the cricket does get a look-in, with theoccasional shaft of West wisdom – such as this one, from the secondTest at Perth: “[Steve] Waugh finishes with 5 for 69 after bowlingunchanged for almost three hours. He looks an extremely promisingcricketer.” Waugh was still 30 months away from a Test century, butWest had the vertical hold on the old crystal-ball just right.Interestingly, the Telegraph‘s own obituary of West omits thattour book, although it does mention his autobiography and his book on Denis Compton. He also wrote two earlier tour books, but anyone might be forgiven for missing them – West’s 1986-87 tour account was more than 30 years after his previous effort, on Jim Laker’s triumphant Ashes series in 1956. My copy of that one bears the brief inscription “Salutations! Peter West”. And The Oval press box saluted him today.Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden CricInfo.Wisden Bulletin: Glorious Gibbs gives South Africa control

Hashan Tillakaratme, Sri Lanka’s 35-year-old Test captain, has vowed to makeup for lost time and continue to play Test cricket for Sri Lanka as long aspossible. Claiming he’s fit, healthy and, most importantly, still hungry forsuccess, Tillakaratne has made it clear that he has no retirement plans.

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“After two years out of the team I have a lot of catching up to do,” writesTillakaratne in the official England tour souvenir for Sri Lanka Cricket. “Imay be 35-years-old but I am fit, agile and hungry for success. I want toplay many more Test matches for Sri Lanka.”Tillakaratne had spent two years in the wilderness after the 1999 World Cup,a disastrous tournament for Sri Lanka that precipitated the implementationof a radical youth policy by the selectors. When he finally returned, aftertwo seasons of heavy scoring in the domestic competition, he scored a stackof runs, claiming back a regular place.Then, when Sanath Jayasuriya stepped down as Sri Lanka captain earlier thisyear, Tillakaratne assumed the captaincy – a surprise choice from theselectors. But now, after a drawn home series against New Zealand and a 1-0defeat in the Caribbean, Tillakaratne is under pressure to perform. Defeatagainst England would almost certainly end his tenure.

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But Tillakaratne, an adhesive player who clearly revels in adversity,rejects criticism that his captaincy has been too negative thus far, arguingthat with greater luck Sri Lanka could have bagged their last two Testseries against New Zealand and West Indies.”We failed to win my first two Tests series in charge, against New Zealandand West Indies, but the margin between success and failure is small and,with some more luck and a bit more application, we could have won both,” hesays in his column.”Against New Zealand, we were let down by our catching in the first Test. Wespilled an unacceptable number of chances. Then, in the second Test, we wereunfortunate to lose so much time to the poor weather. In the end we wereleft with too few overs to chase a modest victory target.”The first Test in the West Indies was rain-affected and drawn. We playedcreditably. In the second Test we were in the hunt for a series win.However, we batted badly in the second innings. Had we dismissed Brian Laraearlier in the final run chase – which we so nearly did – it could so easilyhave been a different result.”

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He’s looking forward to taking on the challenge of facing the English, and achance of securing some payback from two heavy defeats in the last twoseries between the sides, particularly the painful 2-1 loss at home in 2001.”This series, against a newish-looking English outfit, we need to pulltogether all departments of our game,” he says. “Although I didn’t play inthe last home series against England, my assessment was that we did more tolose the series than England did to win it. We must be tougher and play toour potential.”England have a sturdy top five that is stacked full of experience,” hesays. “One of the keys will be to make early inroads into this powerful toporder and put pressure on a lower middle order weakened by the absence ofAlec Stewart.”We have the bowlers to do that, especially the hard-working Chaminda Vaaswith his skilful swing bowling and Muttiah Muralitharan, a bowler who issurely destined to become the highest wicket-taker in Test history.”But we cannot rely solely on this pair. We have done so too much in thepast and that has held back our development. We need the bowlers to click asa unit. The support bowlers must maintain the pressure created by Murali andChaminda.”Once again our batsmen must be on guard. Our batting, especially the middleorder, has not lived up to expectations during the past year. It’s essentialthat we knuckle down to play with discipline and determination. The goodnews is that most of the top order has found good form in the currentdomestic tournament.Tillakaratne hopes that an extended four-month break for the players sincethe last tour will have a positive effect: “We are fortunate to have had aproper break. After nearly two years of non-stop cricket everyone needed tospend time with their families to refresh the mind and body. We should nowbe hungry and sharp.”

Hayden lies in wait © AFP

Sourav Ganguly certainly isn’t expecting any favours from the Australian bowlers when the first Test of the four-match series against Australia gets underway at the Gabba in Brisbane tomorrow.”I expect to get a few,” he said with a smile when asked whether he thought Australia’s bowlers would target his perceived vulnerability against the short ball. “We’re all prepared for that.”With torrential rain buffeting the area this morning, and further showers predicted over the next few days, the bowling attacks could well hold sway on a 22-yard strip that was tinged with travel-sickness green on the eve of the match.Steve Waugh, for one, wasn’t writing off India’s chances. “They have bowlers who can swing the ball,” he said, “and you can’t say the same about too many teams in international cricket.” Whether Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra can pitch it in the right areas against a formidable batting line-up is another matter altogether.”We’ve been practising on that,” said Ganguly, talking about the ideal length to bowl to the Australian batsmen. “A good ball is a good ball to any batsmen, regardless of whether it’s Matthew Hayden facing, or someone else. We need to hit the right areas of the pitch.”Ganguly admitted that the team had performed pretty poorly in the warm-up matches against Victoria and the Queensland Academy of Sport. “It takes time to get used to the new conditions … on the positive side, most of the batsmen were hitting the ball quite well.”He was also at his diplomatic best when asked whether the series would be special because his side would be the last to test their mettle against Steve Waugh. “It’s going to be a special series anyway,” he said. “We’re the only team to have beaten Australia in the past five years … I have a lot of respect for him [Waugh]. He’s taken them to another level in his years in charge, and I’m sure Australian cricket will miss him when he leaves.”Waugh admitted relief that the speculation was finally over. “Everyone knows what the deal is now, and we can just get on with things,” he said in typically acerbic fashion. Both captains will also get on with the toss in the time-honoured fashion this time, with none of the gamesmanship that plagued the last series between these sides. “Captains have to set the right example when it comes to the way Test cricket is played,” said Waugh, suggesting that both men will walk to the middle together tomorrow morning.Australia go into the game without Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath, but Waugh was emphatic that the resources he had – Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken to back up Jason Gillespie and Andrew Bichel – would be enough to “knock the Indians over”. Even with grey clouds still dominating the horizon, Stuart MacGill will get a look in.India’s selection dilemma centres around the spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Only one will play, and Harbhajan – hero of the 2001 triumph, and one of the individuals mentioned by Waugh as posing a special threat – should be the one. Ajit Agarkar, the only Indian pace bowler with previous experience of Australian pitches, should also start, with neither Irfan Pathan nor L Balaji having scythed through the opposition in the tour games.Sadagoppan Ramesh should open the batting with Virender Sehwag, having been one of the few batsmen to strike any sort of rhythm so far on this tour. Ganguly and Wright also have 24 hours to sort out a batting order. VVS Laxman played his best innings against Australia at No. 3, and there’s a good chance that he’ll be asked to do so again, with Rahul Dravid moving down the order to lend extra solidity in the event of the openers failing again.The focus of most Australian eyes tomorrow will be Sachin Tendulkar, 12 years on from the tour that established him as one of the brightest stars in cricket’s alltime firmament. “Special players like him have a way of working around whatever plans you make,” said Waugh. It’ll take some truly special work from Tendulkar if India aren’t to leave the Gabba with a fifth successive defeat. Tendulkar and rain – in that order – offer India the biggest hope, on a pitch where the bowlers should be into the swing of things from ball one.Australia (probable): 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Simon Katich, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Andy Bichel, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Brad Williams, 11 Stuart MacGill.India (probable): 1 Sadagoppan Ramesh, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Rahul Dravid, 6 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 7 Ajit Agarkar, 8 Parthiv Patel (wk), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

It turned out into a thrilling Test match but Sri Lanka departed fortressGalle without their now customary early series win. England, understandably,were overjoyed and Sri Lanka’s sense of frustration and disappointment waspalpable. But there is no reason for them being so.

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As new coach John Dyson has been at pains to point out, Sri Lanka dominatedthe match. England’s tenaciousness kept them within sight but they werealways behind the eight ball. Were it not for poor weather and some verypoor umpiring, Sri Lanka would be 1-0 up.Some pundits have criticised Sri Lanka for their slow batting on day four.The criticism is harsh. Scoring runs was never easy, as the England’sspinners did bowl well, and Mahela Jaywardene was under pressure after arelatively lean spell during the last 18 months.Moreover, if rain had not washed out 31 overs on the fourth afternoon therewould have been plenty of time to force a win. You can take account of theweather but only to an extent. It is an uncontrollable factor not easilypredicted in a tropical country like Sri Lanka.Even considering the loss of valuable time, Sri Lanka would surely havewrapped up an important victory had they not been at the receiving end ofthe bulk of the bad decisions. England suffered too, the most glaringmistake being Marcus Trescothick’s caught behind decision in the firstinnings, but Sri Lanka have every reason to be peeved.The last day was littered with umpiring blunders: Dinusha Fernando hadMichael Vaughan caught off glove first ball of the day, Gareth Batty wascaught at bat-pad off a thick edge early on in his important rearguardeffort, and Ashley Giles should have been send packing at twice whenpalpably lbw in the last session.The most bizarre decision though was third umpire Gamini Silva’s not outcall just before tea when Sri Lanka claimed a catch off Paul Collingwood,who then went onto bat for nearly three hours. Darryl Harper referred thedecision to double check whether it was a bump ball, which replays showed itwasn’t, but Silva pressed the green button.Replays proved less conclusive as to whether the ball hit the toe or bat (orboth), but that should not have been Silva’s concern. The playingregulations are crystal clear. The third umpire may decide on whether thecatch was taken clearly or whether it was a bump ball. The television umpireis not there to make a judgment on whether the ball touched the bat.Sri Lanka were seething afterwards and with good reason. They are in theprocess of making a full complaint to the ICC. The fear is that theone-sided nature of the decision-making has created the potential for anexplosive test match in Kandy. Don’t be surprised if there’s excessiveappealing by both sides.The important thing from Sri Lanka’s point of view is to focus on theupcoming match. The good news is that they appear upbeat and positive, happyto see their prize spinner back taking a hatful of wickets and pleased towatch Jayawardene bat himself into form. Expect another closely fought Testin Kandy – and the now normal dollop of hillcountry controversy.

Cricket Australia today announced that the women’s national selection panel has chosen a 13-player squad to take on New Zealand in the first leg of the six-match Rose Bowl series beginning in Auckland on 11 February.The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars squad is:

Player	State	Player type	ODI caps
Belinda Clark (captain)	Victoria	RHB	89
Karen Rolton (vice-captain)	South Australia	LHB, LM	67
Alex Blackwell	New South Wales	RM, RHB	5
Kris Britt	South Australia/ACT	RHB, LB	3
Leonie Coleman	New South Wales	RHB, WKT	0
Shannon Cunneen	New South Wales	RHB, WKT	0
Cathryn Fitzpatrick	Victoria	RF, RHB	67
Julie Hayes	New South Wales	RM, RHB	23
Melanie Jones	Victoria	RHB	38
Lisa Keightley	New South Wales	RHB, OB	54
Clea Smith	Victoria	RHB, RM	12
Lisa Sthalekar	New South Wales	RHB, OB	17
Emma Twining	New South Wales	RM, RHB	12

Team management: Stephen Jenkin (coach), Claire Connolly (team manager), Barry Nievandt (assistant coach), Lisa Ross (physiotherapist), Sally Bailey (physical conditioning coordinator).In a series of changes, New South Wales pair Leonie Coleman and Shannon Cunneen have been drafted into the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars team for the first time.Cunneen comes into the Australian team from outside the original 2003-04 Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars squad named in April 2003. The 26-year-old has scored 230 runs in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) at an average of 32.85, finishing in the competition’s top 10 run-scorers.Wicket-keeper Coleman, 24, has previously represented Australia at youth level and has enjoyed a consistent year for the New South Wales Breakers, with six dismissals behind the stumps.A further change to the Australian line-up sees New South Wales stalwart Lisa Keightley step out of retirement to make a return to the national team.Keightley, who announced her retirement from the international level in December 2002, played 54 one-day internationals for Australia. She did not play in Australia’s recent Ashes Tests or its limited-overs series against New Zealand, India and England last year, but has played for state team New South Wales this season.Wicket-keeper Julia Price and top-order batters Melissa Bulow and Michelle Goszko have been omitted from the squad which contested the Ashes and one-day international series in 2003.Chairperson of selectors Margaret Jennings said the changes to the squad were about keeping the team balanced and flexible.”Shannon Cunneen has had an exceptional year in the WNCL, playing as an attacking batter and that’s something we encourage and are looking for in terms of developing the right squad for next year’s World Cup,” said Jennings.”Certainly the three players who have been left out of the team are still in the minds of selectors, but we have to take into account current form among other factors in choosing the best side for the series.”Julia Price is obviously a very experienced player to lose from the side and was a little unlucky to miss out. She started the year slowly and has come through the season with some strong form.”But by the same token, we want to give Leonie Coleman a chance and see how she performs in New Zealand. Leonie has had a consistent year and done everything asked of her, so she deserves this opportunity.”The side will gain the experience of Lisa Keightley who makes her return. Lisa has had a great season and put herself back into contention for the national team and we feel she will fit in well and add some stability to the middle order.”Cunneen said she was thrilled with the news of her selection. “This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I really want to make the most of it,” said Cunneen.”Even though I wasn’t named in the original Australian squad, I still set the goal for myself to work hard because you just never know what can happen, and it shows that selection is open for anyone who is playing well enough.”Coleman said her experience at youth level would assist in making the step into the international arena. “I’m rapt that the selectors have shown faith in bringing me into the squad,” said Coleman.”The chance to represent Australia at the highest level has been my dream and after gaining a taste of international competition with the youth side, I’m looking forward to this next challenge of playing with the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars.”The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars team was chosen by the three-person national selection panel consisting of former Australian players Margaret Jennings (Chairperson) and Wendy Weir, and former Australian coach Peter Bakker.Australia plays New Zealand in six one-day international matches in the annual clash for the Rose Bowl trophy.The six-match limited-over series includes three matches in New Zealand (11, 15 and 17 February) and three matches in Australia at Sydney’s Bankstown Oval (21 February), Victoria’s Albert Ground (25 February) and Hobart’s Bellerive Oval (27 February).The Australian squad will be reselected at the end of the New Zealand leg of the tour, and announced on 18 February.Meanwhile, a 13-player Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars squad has also been named to play New Zealand A in four limited-over matches at Lincoln, New Zealand, beginning on 8 February.The Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars squad is:

Player	State	Player type
Leah Poulton (captain)	New South Wales	RHB, LB
Kate Blackwell (vice-captain)	New South Wales	RHB, RM
Sarah Aley	New South Wales	RHB, RM
Sarah Andrews	New South Wales	RHB, RM
Kelly Applebee	Victoria	RHB, RM
Reanna Browne	Queensland	RHB, LB
Lauren Ebsary	South Australia	RHB, RM
Kirsten Pike	Queensland	RHB, RMF
Jodie Purves	Queensland	RHB, RM, WKT
Leteysha Randall	Queensland	RHB, RF
Emma Sampson	South Australia	LHB, RM
Lauren Stammers	Western Australia	RHB, RM
Julie Woerner	South Australia	RHB

Team management: Ken Davis (coach), Rina Hore (team manager), Chris Teale (physiotherapist).The Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars will contest four limited-over matches against New Zealand A in New Zealand from 8 February. The schedule is

Sunday 8 February	Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars v New Zealand A	Lincoln Uni
Monday 9 February	Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars v New Zealand A	Lincoln Uni
Wednesday 11 February	Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars v New Zealand A	Lincoln Uni
Thursday 12 February	Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars v New Zealand A	Lincoln Uni

Scorecard

Ricardo Powell: made a valuable 50 before the rain came down © Getty Images

Heavy rain had the final word at Kingsmead, as the third one-day international between South Africa and West Indies was abandoned early after the change of innings. West Indies will be especially disappointed, as they would have fancied their chances of victory after Duckworth/Lewis calculations meant South Africa faced a potentially tricky run-chase. The five-match series is now beyond Brian Lara’s grasp.West Indies made an encouraging start to defending their total of 147 for 8 from a reduced 40 overs, restricting the South Africans to 15 for 1 from five overs. On a soggy, seaming pitch, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs started uncomfortably before the heavens opened, and they still required 154 runs from 35 overs. Smith was the man out, caught at mid-off by Lara, off the impressive Merv Dillon (10 for 1). The bowlers’ tails were up, but another downpour washed out their hopes.West Indies’ innings began slowly, but ended in dramatic fashion, with a flurry of wickets and an entertaining array of poor shots, as they failed to make good use of a nine-over dash, once rain had shortened the game.Resuming after two breaks, with the score on 98 for 3, Lara immediately upped the tempo, swivelling outside off to hit the shot of the innings down to the fine-leg boundary, much to Lance Klusener’s bemusement. Ramnaresh Sarwan countered Shaun Pollock’s menacing bounce on the damp wicket, with a majestic blow to the cover boundary, but the very next ball he was comfortably caught on the ropes by Boeta Dippenaar (118 for 4).Two balls later and Lara was gone as well, just when his team desperately needed him to stay for the duration. He top-edged Jacques Kallis’s first delivery, and Mark Boucher took a high catch (119 for 5). Dwayne Smith enjoyed a scintillating, if brief, dual with Klusener, first smashing him through mid-off for four, and next ball hoisting him over midwicket for six. But Klusener had the last word, as Pollock raced round to mid-on to catch Smith after he mistimed a wild swing (134 for 6).The batsmen continued to come and go, with Kallis accounting for Ryan Hurley and Dillon in successive balls, and Ridley Jacobs was left marooned at the non-striker’s end. It represented a tame end, and the beginning wasn’t much better either.From a slow start, Ricardo Powell wrestled West Indies back to some sort of parity amid the gloom, with a responsible 50 runs from 71 balls, after Pollock and Andre Nel kept things tight. Chris Gayle fell to Nel, spooning a leading edge to the safe hands of Gibbs (3 for 1).Powell and Shivnarine Chanderpaul then shared a 49-run partnership, but Chanderpaul was completely out-of-sorts, struggling to 17 off 55 balls. Eventually he realised he had to get on or get out, and he duly obliged, edging Klusener to deep square-leg, where Jacques Rudolph held a steepling catch (52 for 2).Powell, who played with a confident fluency and hammered a series of boundaries on the on-side, claimed his seventh one-day half-century, but two balls later he was out, lofting Klusener to Dippenaar at square-leg (79 for 3). In the grand scheme of things, his innings meant little, but at least it brightened up a dull Durban day.

Frank Mooney, who played 14 Tests for New Zealand between 1949 and 1953-54 and went on to become a national selector, has died in Wellington at the age of 82.On the field Mooney was taciturn, almost never smiling and rarely speaking; but away from the middle he was the life and soul of the party, and his endless socialising and tireless dancing earned him the nickname “Starlight”.A neat, undemonstrative wicketkeeper, he made his debut for Wellington in 1941-42, and in 1943-44 played for a New Zealand XI against the NZ Services side. But his batting was limited, and he was generally considered to be second or third choice for the national side.His selection as first-choice wicketkeeper for the 1949 tour of England was, therefore, a surprise – dockside workers in Dunedin went on strike, preferring the claims of Otago’s George Mills – but he enjoyed a successful trip, playing in all three Tests and scoring a hundred against MCC at Lord’s.He played against England at home in 1951, West Indies in 1951-52 and South Africa in 1952-53, and did well enough to keep rivals out of the reckoning.In 1953-54 he toured South Africa, and despite being hampered by a finger injury sustained while exercising on the voyage from New Zealand, he played in all five Tests. He retired at the end of the 1954-55 domestic season.

Umar Gul: will miss the series decider© AFP

Pakistan’s hopes of testing the Indian batting line-up again in the final Test at Rawalpindi suffered a blow when Umar Gul, the Man of the Match at Lahore, was ruled out with a back injury. Also missing from the 17-man squad were Shabbir Ahmed, Moin Khan and Abdul Razzaq. All three haven’t recovered from the injuries which kept them out of the second Test – Shabbir has shin problems, Razzaq has a back strain, while Moin has a groin injury.Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Fazl-e-Akbar, Abdur Rauf and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan – all right-arm seamers – were named as replacements. Naved played one match in the ODI series against India, while Anjum was part of the squad, but didn’t play a single game.Announcing the squad, Wasim Bari, the chairman of selectors, admitted that he was worried about the injuries to key players, but insisted that the replacements had the capability to fill the breach. “I am confident that the boys will put this [the injuries] behind them and display the same standard of cricket that earned them victory by nine wickets in the second Test.” The 17-member squad will be pruned down to 15 by the team management on Sunday [April 11].Squad
Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Taufeeq Umar, Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Shoaib Malik, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Fazl-e-Akbar, Abdur Rauf, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.

West Indies 144 for 3 (Williams 54) beat Pakistan 142 for 8 by 7 wicketsNelly Williams led West Indies to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Women’s one-dayer at Karachi. She scored 54 in a total of 144 after Pakistan put on 142 for 8 in their allotted 50 overs.Pakistan had begun badly, losing their first wicket with just 20 runs on the board. But Kiran Baluch (32), who smashed a world-record 242 in the Test match last week, and Batool Naqvi (36) top-scored, before the middle and lower-order lost their way against Jackie Robinson, Phillipa Thomas, Envis Williams and Doris Francis, who were miserly and incisive.Nadine George, in good form recently, was dismissed cheaply, but Williams and Juliana Nero struck up a 66-run partnership. After Nero was out, Verena Felicien partnered Williams, and together they took West Indies close to the target. But on the brink of victory, Williams fell, and it was left to Felicien (31 not out) and Robinson (4 not out) to help their team draw first blood in the series.

ScorecardAfter two draws and two defeats, New Zealand have finally completed their first victory of the tour, as Leicestershire were rolled over for 232 on the final day at Grace Road, to lose by 328 runs.Daniel Vettori was New Zealand’s star performer, picking up figures of 5 for 92, after Leicestershire had resumed on their overnight 68 for 2, still needing an improbable 493 for victory. But their faint hopes evaporated as soon as John Maunders was caught behind off Kyle Mills for 54 (124 for 3).It was a bit of a procession thereafter. Chris Cairns snuck in to bowl John Sadler for 18, and then it was over to Vettori, who grabbed five of the last six wickets. Only Darren Maddy offered any resistance. He played three Tests against New Zealand on their last tour in 1999, and his 87 was one of only four scores in double figures.Maddy was aided and abetted by Charlie Dagnall, who provided a bit of late resistance with a brisk 17, but Vettori swept both batsmen aside, as New Zealand gave themselves a timely shot in the arm before Thursday’s second Test at Headingley.