The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
International Cricket Council (ICC) president Malcolm Gray has
described the cancelling of New Zealand's tour as another blow for
cricket in Pakistan.
Twelve people were killed and 34 injured by the blast, which
occurred near the teams' hotel just three hours before the
scheduled start of the second Test. "At the moment everything's up
in the air, as it has been since 11 September," Gray said.
The West Indies v India Test series moves to the Antigua
Recreation Ground (ARG) on Friday for the crucial fourth Test and,
by all indications, the batting-friendly track there promises runs
galore. If pattern follows, a draw is the most likely result but,
as we've seen so far this series, nothing is certain.
Here is a statistical look at Test cricket played at the ARG,
including the two Tests between West Indies and India and some
batting and bowling highlights/records:
West Indian cricket has been at its lowest ebb for over 30 years
in the past 12 months.
Following the retirement of stalwarts Courtney Walsh and Curtly
Ambrose, the last sticking plaster keeping the Caribbean side
together was removed.
A shortage of quality successors for the great fast bowling pair
made dismissing a side twice a difficult prospect. Several
pretenders fell by the wayside as the West Indies desperately
sought a a new spearhead.
Stuart Williams has been discarded from the West Indies team for
the fourth Test in Antigua and replaced by Jamaican middle-order
batsman Wavell Hinds.
Williams, who was picked for the current series against India based
on swashbuckling Busta Cup form, never got on track in the first
three Tests and was discarded Monday in favour of Wavell Hind, who
is coming off a superb ton in the recent Busta XI game.
The West Indies earned a crucial victory over India shortly
after lunch on the fourth day to level the five-match series
between the two sides at 1-1 with two Tests to play.
An entertaining stand of 74 for the eighth wicket between Sourav
Ganguly and Zaheer Khan meant the West Indies were at least
required to bat a second time.