Morale boost for Pakistan

Daniel Laidlaw

Pakistan achieved their desired psychological advantage and will now enter Saturday's NatWest final at Lord's having finally beaten Australia.

With only one victory over Australia in international cricket since the 1999 World Cup final, the win was an important morale boost for Pakistan as they proved that Australia could be toppled.

The win meant a lot to an emotional Pakistan, defeating the Aussies by 36 runs at Trent Bridge in a convincing team effort but also with another stunning individual performance by Waqar Younis.

Waqar continued where he left off with seven wickets against England, rocking the Australian top order with three early wickets before returning in the 32nd over to dismiss both Steve Waugh and Andrew Symonds in a match-winning over.

Pakistan won the toss and batted, evidently wanting to avoid having to bat under lights. Damien Fleming, seeking to make a big impression in a bid for a final berth, put too much pressure on himself and consequently lacked control, bowling seven wides. The erratic start made by Fleming and Jason Gillespie was seized upon by Saeed Anwar and Saleem Elahi, often beaten one ball only to put away a poor one for four the next.

Having helped Pakistan make a boundary-laden start to reach 61 without loss, Anwar departed for 34 in Brett Lee's first over. Anwar, to whom Australia had reinforced the point region with three fielders in order to prevent him from carving balls through that area, walked across his stumps to play to leg and was trapped in front of off by a straight one.

Lee, who like Gillespie produced excellent deliveries followed by ones short and wide that were hit for four, had two in two overs when he dismissed Abdur Razzaq for 5. Trying to hit over the top, Razzaq did not quite connect cleanly and Fleming, back-pedalling at mid off, made a difficult jumping catch.

Elahi, who began with near-fatal uncertainty when he was caught in the slips off a Fleming no-ball, was trapped plumb lbw in Shane Warne's first over, propping onto the front foot to a straight one, but umpire Mallender ruled not out. Australia, who had stated their intentions to experiment and "try something different", gambled more than usual with the opposition in control, seeking wickets with attacking fields but bowling too many 'four' balls to support it.

With Youhana, Elahi grew in confidence, playing very straight and correct. After 15 overs Pakistan were 75/2 and after 20 100/2, a clear indication even by that stage that the positive start had them on track for a total well in excess of 250. Elahi batted deceptively well, often presenting a seemingly dead bat to with no follow-through whatsoever, only for the ball to speed away through latent timing.

Youhana and Elahi were able to maintain a run rate of approximately 5 per over, as at no stage were the inconsistent Australians able to restrict the scoring to any significant degree, lacking sharpness both with the ball and in the field.

With Youhana and Elahi laying the foundation of a Pakistan score around 300, Warne was re-introduced and asked to turn the game. Although he captured a couple of wickets, his bowling did not meet the standard required by the field and he suffered. An inventive and aggressive Youhana shouldered the responsibility of lifting the run rate until stumped off Warne for 44. Youhana overbalanced to a ball pushed down the leg side and was stumped as he switched his weight from one leg to the other.

Australia took wides at regular intervals but ultimately it made no difference as each new batsman continued where the last left off. Elahi fell to Warne for 79 in identical fashion to the appeal that was turned down 20 overs earlier, the same umpire ruling in the bowler's favour as Elahi came forward to a quicker straight ball. Although he played a fine innings, Elahi would have felt he got out too early considering he was anchoring the innings.

It was obvious Australia were in trouble when the fifth bowler had to bowl 6 of the last 11 overs. Damien Martyn was given the duty and dismissed Younis Khan in his first over, a slow full toss lobbed to mid on. Pakistan were 233/6 when Mark Waugh caused Faisal Iqbal to be run out, making a wonderful one-handed save at mid wicket and flicking the ball to Gilchrist with Faisal and Latif both at bowler's end.

At 250/6 after 45 overs play was halted for 18 minutes after a firework was thrown onto the field near Brett Lee and the Australians walked off in protest. Steve Waugh had warned that Australia would not hesitate to forfeit the game if his team's safety was in any way threatened and was good to his word. Persuaded to continue, the Australian camp had reportedly stated that if another incident occurred the game would be off, but the remaining five overs passed without alarm.

Pakistan were boosted to a total of 290/9 thanks to an explosive cameo by Wasim Akram, who hoisted part-timers Symonds and Martyn for a couple of sixes over square leg in finishing 28 not out from 15 balls, Australia's 'fifth bowler' costing a combined 90 runs from 11 overs.

Pakistan made a sensational start with the ball when Waqar Younis dismissed Mark Waugh and Matthew Hayden for ducks in his first over in what was to become a thrilling display of attacking fast bowling and equally counter-attacking batting. Waugh followed a wide ball with his hands as it swung out and kept going, tentatively feeling for it and getting an edge that Latif held superbly in line with the right hand of first slip. Holding nothing back, Waqar got Hayden with a brilliant ball, a dramatically inswinging yorker that deflected to the keeper. Although given out caught behind, it looked more like lbw. Hayden is yet to make a run in two innings in the series.

Striving for ultimate damage, Waqar was prepared to continually pitch the ball full and Gilchrist, also needing runs, was likewise prepared to throw the bat at everything. In the midst of spraying wides, no-balls and being slammed to the boundary, Waqar cleaned up Michael Bevan for 5, following a short ball with another full one that bowled Bevan through the gate as he drove. It had reached a point where it seemed every ball was either going to be a wicket or a boundary. In 3 overs, Waqar had figures of 3/27, while Wasim was just as expensive but without the wickets.

At the other end, Gilchrist was batting like a hurricane. Sick of being slammed down the ground, Waqar began dropping short and was quickly dispatched for boundary after boundary as Gilchrist pulled, cut or drove at anything off target. Gilchrist reached his half-century from 29 balls and after just eight overs the score was an amazing 75/3, with Waqar's spell of four overs returning 3/43.

The captain understood it was time for a change and replaced himself with Saqlain, who eventually had the desired affect. Gilchrist took too may risks against the off-spinner, lucky to survive top-edged sweeps that fell safely in Saqlain's first two overs. After being driven for 6 over long on Saqlain screamed at himself and was shouting again next over when he bowled Gilchrist for 70 off 44 balls. It had to happen, as Gilchrist came down the pitch and missed the famed 'doosra', bowled between bat and pad when he would have been comfortably stumped had the ball not hit.

If Saqlain thought that was good, his dismissal of Damien Martyn in the same over was stunning. Waqar attacked, installing two slips and a silly point, and Saqlain produced an unplayable delivery to match the field. We have had Warne's ball of the century and this must have been a candidate for best one-day delivery of the Millennium. Saqlain produced an impeccable 'doosra,' the mystery ball pitching on leg and turning to off to catch the edge of a shocked Martyn on the way to slip. And to think the experts claimed it was not possible for an off-spinner to turn the ball from leg. Try telling that to Martyn!

At 113/5 chasing 290, under normal circumstances the game would effectively have been over. But such was Australia's run rate, with that fifth wicket falling in just the fifteenth over, the Aussies still retained hope. Everything depended on Steve Waugh and Andrew Symonds and how much of a partnership they could establish.

They settled in to accumulate against the seam of Razzaq and Mahmood, who should have had Steve Waugh lbw with a toe-crushing yorker that was somehow ruled not out. The situation was strange - Australia were so far ahead of the run rate that if they kept wickets intact they could actually have won comfortably, but conversely Pakistan had claimed so many wickets that one more would almost have sealed it.

Having reached 190/5 after 30 overs, the partnership was typically broken by Waqar in his return over. Tied down by a period of scorelessness against a ball that had begun to seam around as night fell, Waugh tried to loft Waqar over mid off but the ball held up on him, struck high on the bat, and Saqlain held the catch running back. Symonds departed just three balls later, flicking Waqar powerfully to deep square leg where Imran Nazir held a juggling catch on his knees at the fourth attempt, realistically finishing the contest.

The Australian tail fought bravely to push the total up by then all interest centred on the crowd reaction at the end of the game and the effectiveness of the flimsy plastic fences. Waqar, truly possessing a golden arm in the last two matches, collected his sixth wicket when he bowled Brett Lee with a swinging yorker and had a further two overs in which to again press for the record, but strangely elected to remove himself from the attack. Warne skied Mahmood to cover and when Razzaq bowled Gillespie in the 47th Gillespie over to end it, the stewards' work began.

The plastic fences lasted a few seconds before fans began to break through the barriers sporadically, eventually pouring on in hundreds in scenes no different to the previous invasions in Edgbaston and Headingley. At least the players had time to leave the field in relative safety.

Pakistan's victory sent it to the top of the table and undoubtedly provided a renewed sense of self-belief, setting up an intriguing final at the scene of Pakistan's World Cup final mauling two years ago.