da realbet： Colombo – The youth team brought a welcome shaft of light into thegeneral gloom presently enveloping West Indies cricket with anemphatic victory in their opening match of the third Under-19 WorldCup in Sri Lanka yesterday
13-Jan-2000Colombo – The youth team brought a welcome shaft of light into thegeneral gloom presently enveloping West Indies cricket with anemphatic victory in their opening match of the third Under-19 WorldCup in Sri Lanka yesterday.While the senior team were ending their New Zealand tour with theirseventh successive defeat, the teenagers were defeating Zimbabwe by 57runs in a rain-shortened match at the Nondescripts Cricket Club inColombo, climaxing their triumph with a hat-trick by the Jamaican fastbowler Jermaine Lawson.The West Indies compiled 234 for six from their 50 overs after winningthe toss, then restricted Zimbabwe to 92 for nine from the 31 oversavailable after a rain-break. Their target had been adjusted to 149under the Duckworth-Lewis system.The West Indies based their challenging total on a fifth-wicketpartnership of 125 from 19 overs between captain Ryan Hinds and MarlonSamuels that started in the 30th over with the innings at thecrossroads at 102 for four.Hinds, the Barbadian left-hander, made 58 from 86 balls and played thesupporting role to the rampant Samuels who hit three sixes and sixfours in 83 off 61 balls that seized the initiative for the WestIndies.Swing bowler Carlitos Lopez put the skids under Zimbabwe with thefirst three wickets in his first three overs with the new ball, allcaught by wicket-keeper Gregory Francois. Lawson removed captainMlukeki Nkala through Francois? fourth catch in the 11th over asZimbabwe slumped to 24 for four.They were not allowed to recover as the West Indies used six bowlers.Lawson returned to finish off the innings with Zimbabwe alreadybeaten, bowling wicket-keeper Travis Friend for the topscore of 39,Hilton Mazakadza and Mike Sherren with the last three balls.The West Indies started slowly, scoring only 12 from their first 12overs. Opener Brian Parchment made 26 and Kirk Wilkinson 31 off 58balls before Samuels joined Hinds at the fall off Narsingh Deonarinefor 2.Samuels immediately took the bowling apart, scoring his 83 out of astand of 125 with his captain.