West Indies 169-7 England 173-5 (Eng. win by 5 wkts): Shah the class act as England raise game

By Angus Fraser at The Oval
Saturday, 30 June 2007

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Rarely can a Middlesex player have been cheered so loudly on this side of the Thames as Owais Shah was last night. The rivalry between Middlesex and Surrey is not as strong as it once was, and it was completely forgotten here last night as an excitable capacity crowd watched Shah calmly guide England to a five-wicket Twenty20 victory over the West Indies.

The win, achieved with three balls of the match remaining, gave Paul Collingwood his first triumph as England captain and allowed his side to draw level in the two match series.

Shah's unbeaten 55 highlighted what a classy player he has become. His runs were accumulated off 35 balls and he struck seven immaculate boundaries. To many Twenty20 cricket is a power game won by big hitters but Shah's runs were collected from delicate sweeps behind square on the leg side and wristy guides through the backward point region. It was an innings that Shah and England desperately needed.

The 28 year-old Shah was rated as one of the most gifted batsmen in England as a youngster but he has shown only brief glimpses of what he is capable of in international cricket. Two fifties in 18 one-dayers is a poor strike-rate for a top-order batsman, although 88 on his Test debut against India in Mumbai showed what could be achieved.

His independent and at times stubborn manner did not warm him to Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach, but Peter Moores would have been fully aware of what he was capable of having watched him during his time with Sussex. Nerves affected Shah badly in his second Test appearance at Lord's earlier this summer but this performance should ensure that he gets a decent run in one-day cricket. It is just what he deserves. For several seasons he has been one of the outstanding batsmen in county cricket, winning more one-day games for his club than most other players.

Dimitri Mascarenhas, who shared a 69-run partnership with the man-of-the-match, gave Shah composed and intelligent support. When the pair came together, following the loss of Collingwood for 27, the West Indies looked set for a second win, with 66 runs needed off six and a half overs.

The run-rate increased as both batsmen acclimatised but neither panicked, using their extensive experience in domestic Twenty20 cricket to get them through. Shah then went for it and 32 runs were taken off the next 12 deliveries. It left England requiring just 24 runs off three overs.

Chris Gayle bowled the final over and the winning runs came via five wides down the leg side. Gayle had had another pretty good game up until then, winning the toss under a threatening sky and scoring 61 powerful runs.

Lendl Simmons, the West Indian captain's opening partner, was one of two new faces in the side following the withdrawal of Devon Smith and Shivnarine Chanderpaul with thigh and knee injuries. The pair, who shared 102 runs in the first encounter on Thursday, were badly missed.

England retained the same 11, a move that deprived Monty Panesar the chance to show his prowess. Perhaps the selectors were trying to protect their star bowler from a confidence losing mauling prior to the one-day international series, which starts at Lord's on Sunday. Whatever the reason, the crowd missed him.

Simmons and Austin Richards each scored at less than a run a ball, but in the first 15 overs of the West Indian innings Gayle and Marlon Samuels more than made up for their shortcomings. Gayle's half century was brought up off the 29th ball he faced, while Samuels continued to strike the ball with immense power. The Jamaican hit three huge straight sixes in his 20-ball innings of 42.

Stuart Broad was smashed in to the second tier of the pavilion and a Michael Yardy delivery made contact with the strengthened glass windows that protect the press box. Collingwood ended the fun when he dismissed both in consecutive overs. Gayle top-edged a swipe at a slower ball to short fine leg, while Samuels hit a steepling catch to Mascarenhas at long-on.

The wickets reduced the West Indies to 130 for 4 and helped England prevent the tourists from posting a similar total to that on the previous night. In the final six overs of the innings only 43 runs were scored. The West Indian batsmen were guilty of trying to be funky with their shot selection, but England's bowling was much improved from that witnessed on Thursday.

Throughout the innings England's attack bowled fuller and straighter. Ryan Sidebottom and James Anderson were the most impressive, particularly Sidebottom who varied his pace beautifully. England's fielding was far better, too.

The improvements made captain Collingwood's second outing in the field a much more pleasurable experience and ultimately won the game for England. Now that this is out of the way, Collingwood can turn his mind to 50-over cricket. It will seem leisurely in comparison.

Scoreboard

West Indies won toss

England won by five wickets; two-match series drawn 1-1.

West Indies

*C H Gayle c Broad b Collingwood 61

L M P Simmons c Broad b Anderson 9

A C L Richards lbw b Broad 10

M N Samuels c Mascarenhas b Collingwood 42

ÝD Ramdin c Collingwood b Sidebottom 10

R S Morton c and b Sidebottom 18

D R Smith run out 5

D J Bravo not out 0