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Cricket: Gower stays cool to guide England home: Fourth Test / Pakistan once again display the unappealing side of their nature as Gooch's men ride their luck to square the series

Martin Johnson
Sunday 26 July 1992 23:02 BST
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Pakistan 197 and 221; England 320 and 99-4

England win by six wickets

HEADINGLEY Test matches are seldom less than eventful, and this was another one for the collection. England's nerve ends tingled a good deal more yesterday than a victory margin of six wickets, which squared the series 1-1, might suggest. Had they been chasing the same number of runs as Pakistan lodged lbw appeals in this game, they would be resuming this morning requiring something in the region of another 200.

Given a pitch more worn than an umpire's eardrum, 99 was not a straightforward target, and when the temperature was threatening to melt the mercury in the thermometer, Graham Gooch could scarcely have been more grateful for having buried the hatchet with Hampshire's intrepid aviator.

On occasions such as this, David Gower somehow manages to convey the impression that he is lounging in a hammock, and wondering whether to order another dry martini. England were 65 for 4, the decibel count from Pakistan's fielders was unbelievable, and with Graeme Hick next man in, it was possible to argue that England were out of batsmen.

Gower was also caught up in (for all the close decisions that went against them) another unacceptably volatile performance from Pakistan in the field. Shortly after tea, Gower received such a furious lbw shout that Rashid Latif, one of the three substitute fielders, ran all the way from slip to congratulate the bowler, Mushtaq Ahmed.

In the same over, wicketkeeper Moin Khan travelled a similar distance to lodge more of a demand than a claim for caught behind, and this rejection prompted Latif to hurl his cap to the ground, and Mushtaq to make what appeared to be an attempt to eat his sweater.

The umpire, Mervyn Kitchen, was also subjected to a battery of dialogue that did not appear to be of a highly complimentary nature, and even Gower felt obliged to pass comment to Javed Miandad on the general lack of deportment. When Gower holds any sort of on-field conversation not related to that evening's wine list, all is not well.

However, Gower's newly acquired reputation of an old dog learning new tricks, is well-deserved, and his 31 not out represented two hours and 11 minutes of admirable self-denial. Mark Ramprakash, who fidgeted around for 20 balls before finally ridding himself of the possibility of a fourth consecutive Test match duck, was clearly settled by Gower's sang- froid, and these two finally saw England home in a flurry of strokeplay totally out of context with what had gone before.

Gower remained unbeaten for the second time in the match, having run out of partners in the first innings more rapidly than he did at Perth in the final Test of England's collapso tour of Australia two winters ago. Then, he was stranded on 28 as England went from 191 for 2 to 244 all out, and on Saturday, he was left on 18 as England evaporated to 320 from 270 for 1.

As a consequence, Pakistan were far from without hope when they resumed yesterday morning on 98 for 4, a deficit of 25, and had Salim Malik received any kind of sustained support, the tourists might have set England the sort of target (150 plus) that would have actually made them favourites.

Malik had a remarkable game given the conditions, batting for the thick end of nine hours for an aggregate of 166 not out. As he was dismissed, in 1987, for 99 in his team's last Test on a ground where no Pakistani has ever made a century, Headingley may not be his favourite venue.

There again, few batsmen do. For all Malik's brilliance, England collected Pakistan's last six wickets for 123 runs yesterday. They also did it with what was pretty well a two-man attack. Tim Munton was ineffective, Chris Lewis looked as though he was running in through a vat of treacle, and it was left to Derek Pringle and Neil Mallender to winkle out the opposition.

Mallender became the first England bowler to take five wickets in an innings on his debut since Nick Cook in 1983, and his match return was 8 for 122. Mallender was ostensibly a one-off, horses-for-courses pick, but it is hard to see how England can omit him for The Oval.

Pakistan's resistance might have been more concerted but for an unbelievably awful shot from Waqar Younis, and a not terribly good lbw decision against Mushtaq. The little leg-spinner nearly sustained a cricked neck attempting to view the video screen replay as he walked back, unaware that the Test and County Cricket Board had decided on Saturday that anything controversial would be censored.

In England's first innings, the Pakistanis spent so long gazing at the screen for replays, that the alternative was to send them out some armchairs and TV dinners. Throughout the entire match they remained convinced that the umpires were on some kind of personal mission to upset them, and had there been a replay yesterday of a rejected run out appeal against Gooch, they might have been straight out of Headingley and down the road to Heathrow.

The England captain, calling for a second run, was about two feet short of beating Waqar's throw, and heaven knows how a replay would have fuelled their sense of injustice. However, with the match's runs per over running well below Pakistan's appeals per over the tourists would do well to study Gower for an etiquette lesson. He is cricket's equivalent of Gary Lineker. Unbookable, unflappable.

However, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis worked up a rare head of steam with the ball as well as between the ears, and Gooch and Michael Atherton did not get through the early overs without a fair slice of the luck that has mostly gone England's way throughout the match. Wasim, in particular, must have run over a black cat on his way to the ground.

Remarkably, this was England's first victory in their last 16 Tests against Pakistan dating back to Headingley in 1982. Also, since England won the Ashes in 1985 this was only their seventh home victory (including two against Sri Lanka) in 39 Tests.

Full scoreboard from Headingley

(Pakistan won toss)

PAKISTAN - First Innings

Aamir Sohail c Atherton b Mallender 23

(55 min, 45 balls, 5 fours)

Ramiz Raja b Pringle 17

(114 min, 78 balls, 2 fours)

Asif Mujtaba b Mallender 7

(44 min, 33 balls, 1 four)

*Javed Miandad c Smith b Pringle 6

(18 min, 8 balls, 1 four)

Salim Malik not out 82

(227 min, 164 balls, 12 fours)

Inzamam-ul-Haq c Hick b Munton 5

(26 min, 19 balls, 1 four)

Wasim Akram run out (Gooch-Lewis) 12

(53 min, 37 balls, 1 four)

Moin Khan c Hick b Lewis 2

(15 min, 13 balls)

Waqar Younis c Hick b Mallender 6

(21 min, 21 balls, 1 four)

Mushtaq Ahmed b Lewis 11

(90 min, 75 balls)

Aqib Javed c Hick b Munton 0

(12 min, 3 balls)

Extras (b1 lb2 w7 nb16) 26

Total (342 min, 79.3 overs) 197

Fall: 1-34 (Sohail), 2-54 (Mujtaba), 3-60 (Ramiz), 4-68 (Javed), 5-80 (Inzamam), 6-111 (Wasim), 7-117 (Moin), 8-128 (Waqar), 9-192 (Mushtaq), 10-197 (Aqib).

Bowling: Lewis 23-6-48-2 nb1 w2 (First spell: 6- 2-13-0; Second spell: 10-2-23-1; Third spell: 7-2- 12-1), Mallender 23-7-72-3 nb5 (13-5-32-2; 6-2- 23-1; 4-0-17-0); Pringle 17-6-41-2 nb10 (14-4-38- 2; 3-2-3-0); Munton 10.3-3-22-2 nb3 (8-3-19-1; 2.3-0-3-1), Gooch 6-3-11-0 w2 (5-3-7-0; 1-0-4-0).

Progress: First day: Rain stopped play: 12.05- 2.29pm. Lunch: 36-1 (Ramiz 9, Mujtaba 0) 15 overs. 50: 89 min, 20.5 overs. RSP: 3.26- 4.20pm. Tea: 68-4 (Salim 5, Inzamam 0) 27 overs. 100: 180 min, 41.2 overs. 150: 264 min, 61.3 overs. Close: 165 for 8 (Salim 57, Mushtaq 6) 283 min, 66 overs. Second day: Innings closed: 11.59am.

Salim 50: 159 min, 112 balls, 8 fours.

ENGLAND - First Innings

*G A Gooch b Mushtaq 135

(415 min, 301 balls, 19 fours, 1 six)

M A Atherton b Wasim 76

(228 min, 186 balls, 9 fours, 1 six)

R A Smith c Javed b Aqib 42

(138 min, 104 balls, 7 fours)

A J Stewart lbw b Waqar 8

(36 min, 31 balls, 1 four)

D I Gower not out 18

(65 min, 49 balls, 2 fours)

M R Ramprakash lbw b Mushtaq 0

(1 min, 3 balls)

G A Hick b Waqar 1

(11 min, 7 balls)

C C Lewis lbw b Waqar 0

(14 min, 11 balls)

D R Pringle b Waqar 0

(5 min, 5 balls)

N A Mallender b Waqar 1

(9 min, 4 balls)

T A Munton c Inzamam b Mushtaq 0

(10 min, 3 balls)

Extras (b1 lb14 w1 nb23) 39

Total (469 min, 113.5 overs) 320

Fall: 1-168 (Atherton), 2-270 (Smith), 3-292 (Stewart), 4-298 (Gooch), 5-298 (Ramprakash), 6-303 (Hick), 7-305 (Lewis), 8-305 (Pringle), 9-313 (Mallender), 10-320 (Munton).

Bowling: Wasim 36-12-80-1 (nb12 w1) (14-5-31-0; 11-4-19-1; 11-3-30-0); Aqib 16-3-48-1 (nb5) (3-0-17- 0; 6-2-16-0; 7-1-15-1); Waqar 30-3-117-5 (nb4) (7-0- 35-0 5-1-20-0; 10-1-44-0; 8-1-18-5); Mushtaq 29.5- 6-60-3 (21-2-51-0; 8.5-4-9-3); Sohail 2-2-0-0 (one spell).

Progress: Second day: 50: 41 min, 10 overs. Lunch: 54-0 (Gooch 22, Atherton 25) 12 overs. 100: 121 min, 27.5 overs. Tea: 130-0 (Gooch 59, Atherton 54) 41 overs. 150: 200 min, 49.5 overs. 200: 270 min, 68.5 overs. Close: 216 for 1 (Gooch 93, Smith 22) 295 min, 74 overs. Third day: 250: 336 min, 83.5 overs. Lunch: 298 for 4 (Gower 1), 101.3 overs. 300: 420 min, 102.4 overs. Innings closed: 2.33pm.

Gooch 50: 152 min, 108 balls, 9 fours.

Gooch: 100: 306 min, 227 balls, 15 fours, 1 six.

Atherton 50: 161 min, 122 balls, 6 fours, 1 six (3 runs plus 3 overthrows).

PAKISTAN - Second Innings

Aamir Sohail c Stewart b Mallender 1

(13 min, 10 balls)

Ramiz Raja c Atherton b Munton 63

(143 min, 108 balls, 8 fours)

Asif Mujtaba c Hick b Mallender 11

(63 min, 45 balls)

*Javed Miandad c Stewart b Mallender 4

(12 min, 10 balls)

Salim Malik not out 84

(214 min, 154 balls, 10 fours)

Inzamam-ul-Haq c Smith b Pringle 19

(68 min, 41 balls, 1 four)

Wasim Akram c Ramprakash b Pringle 17

(39 min, 31 balls, 2 fours)

Moin Khan c Hick b Mallender 3

(22 min, 9 balls)

Mushtaq Ahmed lbw b Pringle 0

(5 min, 4 balls)

Waqar Younis b Mallender 3

(12 min, 11 balls)

Aqib Javed run out (Hick) 0

(10 min, 4 balls)

Extras (b4 lb1 w2 nb9) 16

Total (304 min, 69 overs) 221

Fall: 1-11 (Sohail), 2-53 (Mujtaba), 3-64 (Javed), 4-96 (Ramiz), 5-147 (Inzamam), 6-177 (Wasim), 7-205 (Moin), 8-206 (Mushtaq), 9-213 (Waqar), 10-221 (Aqib).

Bowling: Lewis 16-3-55-0 nb1, w1 (6-0-22-0; 1-1-0- 0; 9-2-33-0); Mallender 23-7-50-5 (5-2-8-1; 10-4- 18-2; 3-0-15-0; 5-1-9-2); Munton 10-0-40-1 nb1 (2- 0-13-0; 8-0-27-1); Pringle 19-2-66-3 nb11 (1-0-2-0; 9-2-30-0; 6-0-25-2; 3-0-9-1); Gooch 1-0-5-0 (one spell).

Progress: Third day: Tea: 45 for 1 (Ramiz 34, Mujtaba 9), 14 overs. 50: 72 min, 17.4 overs. Bad light stopped play: 4.37pm-5.46pm, 66 for 3 (Ramiz 47, Salim 0), 22.1 overs. Bad light stopped play: 6.41-6.52pm, 98 for 4 (Salim 13, Inzamam 2), 35.2 overs. Bad light ended play: 6.55pm. Close: 98 for 4, 154 min 36 overs. Fourth day: 100: 158 min, 37 overs. 150: 216 min, 49.5 overs. 200: 269 min, 61.2 overs. Lunch: 205-7 (Salim 74) 62.3 overs. Innings closed: 2.10pm.

Ramiz 50: 115 min, 84 balls, 6 fours.

Salim 50: 146 min, 102 balls, 5 fours.

ENGLAND - Second Ininngs

*G A Gooch c Mujtaba b Mushtaq 37

(118 min, 93 balls, 5 fours)

M A Atherton lbw b Waqar 5

(32 min, 19 balls)

R A Smith c sub (Zahid Fazal) b Waqar 0

(10 min, 8 balls)

D I Gower not out 31

(131 min, 97 balls, 1 four)

A J Stewart c Moin b Mushtaq 2

(8 min, 7 balls)

M R Ramprakash not out 12

(48 min, 37 balls, 2 fours)

Extras (b5 lb3 nb4) 12

Total (for 4, 175 min, 42.4 overs) 99

Fall: 1-27 (Atherton), 2-27 (Smith), 3-61 (Gooch), 4-65 (Stewart).

Bowling: Wasim 17-4-36-0 nb4 (8-2-20-0; 9-2-16- 0); Waqar 12-2-28-2 (9-2-18-2; 3-0-10-0); Mushtaq 13.4-3-27-2 (one spell).

Progress: Fourth day: Tea: 42-2 (Gooch 26, Gower 6) 18 overs. 50: 97 min, 23.4 overs. Bad light stopped play: 5.00-5.10pm at 71-4 (Gower 19, Ramprakash 0) 33.2 overs. Innings closed: 5.46pm.

Umpires: M J Kitchen and K E Palmer.

Man of the match: Graham Gooch.

ENGLAND WIN BY SIX WICKETS

Series tied 1-1

FIRST TEST (Edgbaston): Match drawn.

SECOND TEST (Lord's): Pakistan won by two wickets.

THIRD TEST (Old Trafford): Match drawn.

FIFTH TEST (The Oval): 6-10 August.

(Photograph omitted)

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