Brian Lara, whose century in Karachi seven years ago ended South Africa’s 1996 World Cup dream, returned to international cricket at Newlands on Sunday to lift the West Indies to an impressive 278 for five against South Africa as the 2003 World Cup got underway.
Under a cloudless Cape Town sky, Lara took 116 off the South Africans to rescue the West Indians from a dreadful start to the tournament. The Caribbean islanders had the advantage of winning the toss and choosing to bat first, but they quickly found themselves pinned down by the South African new-ball attack, slipping to seven for two inside the first seven overs before Lara arrived at the crease.
In the 1996 Karachi quarterfinal Lara and Shivernarine Chanderpaul added 138 for the second wicket in a partnership that effectively batted South Africa out of the tournament. At Newlands on Sunday they produced another century stand, this time 102 for the third wicket. With South Africa still to bat, it remains to be seen how influential this partnership will prove, but without it the West Indies might have disintegrated at the first hurdle.
Much had been expected from the West Indian openers, Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds, but they barely got a bat on ball during a fiery opening burst from Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini, and when they did, it was only to get themselves out.
Hinds was adjudged caught at the wicket without scoring off Pollock in the fifth over of the innings and Gayle chopped Pollock on two overs later.
The departure of Gayle brought Chanderpaul in to join Lara and together they resurrected the innings. As ever, Lara was the senior partner, but it fell to Chanderpaul to hit the first boundary of the innings, a straight drive four in the 13th over as Allan Donald came into the attack.
The early inroads ensured that the West Indies managed only 30 off their first 15 overs, but with Pollock and Ntini out of the attack, the edge went out of the South African bowling. Donald, particularly, looked out of sorts and his mood could not have been improved when Lara hit him back over his head for the first six of the tournament.
The partnership was finally broken in the 31st over when Chanderpaul tried to run Klusener down to third man only to be well taken by Mark Boucher, standing up at the stumps, for 34.
Lara’s last international innings was played in September when he took a century off Kenya in the ICC Championship Trophy in Sri Lanka in September before succumbing to a mystery virus. On Sunday he proved conclusively that he is fully recovered, accelerating his innings perfectly to lift the West Indies to a position of some authority.
Carl Hooper followed Chanderpaul to the crease to provide Lara with more assured support, but it was the left-hander who dazzled Newlands, the full house rising as one to acknowledge the century when it arrived off 121 deliveries.
It is fair to say that the South Africans fell away in the field the longer Lara and Hooper stayed together. As the fifth bowler, Klusener and Nicky Boje were expensive — Boje’s three overs cost 24 — as was Donald, but what was most impressive about a fourth wicket partnership that realised 89 off 79 balls was the calmness with which both batsmen worked the ball around.
Hooper eventually fell as Ntini returned for his last spell, caught by Kallis as he came off the midwicket fence for a run-a-ball 40.
Hooper went at 198 for four in the 44th over and Ntini finally accounted for Lara, well held by Pollock and midwicket after he and Klusener had looked at each other under the high ball, in the 46th over.
In all Lara batted for just on three hours, facing 134 balls during which he helped himself to 12 fours and a pair of sixes. There was a late flurry in the closing overs as Ricardo Powell and Ramnaresh Sarwan took 23 off the 47th over (from Pollock). Together their unbroken partnership for the sixth wicket added 63 off just 28 balls. Powell finished not out on 40 off 18 balls while Sarwan made 32 off 15 balls.
The measure of how well the West Indies recovered is given by their run rate. After 10 overs, it was 1,2 runs to the over. Forty overs and 266 runs later runs later it had surged to 5,56 to the over.
More cricket in our Cricket World Cup special report