Pakistan limped to 46 for three in 25 overs at lunch on day one of the second Test against the West Indies at Warner Park in St Kitts. Ravi Rampaul continued to expose the frailties of Pakistan’s top order, removing three of the top four to leave the tourists hamstrung. Rampaul effectively laid to waste Misbah-ul-Haq’s correct decision to bat first on a blameless surface.
As good as Rampaul’s figures look, and as well as he did bowl, it’s difficult to pick out what he did that was so exceptional. As in the last Test – in fact as he has done since the ODIs – he ran in precisely with the enthusiasm of a man unable to believe how his career has turned upside down completely, racing in so the dream doesn’t suddenly end. The lines and lengths were always tight and if the pitch didn’t offer the movement of Providence, it provided the bounce that fast bowlers so love.
Otherwise there was nothing in the surface to suggest anything other than what has gone in two previous Tests here: big runs, forgotten draws. And yet, by the time rain interrupted play for nine minutes just after the first drinks break, Pakistan’s top order was almost done and dusted. It took Rampaul four overs to strike, but once he did he couldn’t be stopped. Taufeeq Umar went first, gloving one that bounced while trying to leave it; Mohammad Hafeez perished in his next, edging essentially a straight ball that bounced a little more than it should have; Asad Shafiq fell in the over after, cutting a wide ball straight to point.
Darren Sammy came on and did what he did all-Test last week, bring his stock ball in off a good length. And remarkably, Pakistan continued to treat it as if it was some unfathomable delivery thrown down by a freak concoction of Dennis Lillee, Muttiah Muralitharan and Paul Adams. They prodded forward unsure, fell across the line, brought bat in front of pad late, got inside edges, padded up, missed scoring opportunities, jumped down the pitch, and generally crawled their way to lunch, four of the last six overs to the break maidens.
More than poor batting – much more worryingly in fact – the impression remained strongest of them maybe just not being good enough; still or yet, depending on which batsman you looked at. There were some confident strokes, no doubt, a Hafeez caress through covers early and an Azhar Ali drive through extra cover after the rain break but effectively, the going was pretty miserable. Pakistan have made one change for the match, replacing Umar Gul with left-arm fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed.
West Indies suffered a huge setback, with veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul sidelined with a sore shoulder. He was replaced by Marlon Samuels as one of two changes to their squad. Kraigg Brathwaite made his debut at the expense of left-hander Devon Smith, to become the sixth youngest West Indies Test player, and youngest since Robin Bynoe began his career against the same opponents 52 years ago in Lahore.
