Lendl Simmons played positively after the early wicket

Lendl Simmons played positively after the early wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 3rd ODI, Barbados, April 28, 2011

©AFP

Lendl Simmons played positively after the early wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 3rd ODI, Barbados, April 28, 2011

©AFP

Lendl Simmons led a positive West Indies innings by rushing to a 31-ball fifty

Lendl Simmons led a positive West Indies innings by rushing to a 31-ball fifty, West Indies v Pakistan, Only Twenty20, St Lucia, April 21, 2011 ©Getty Images

Lendl Simmons led a positive West Indies innings by rushing to a 31-ball fifty, West Indies v Pakistan, Only Twenty20, St Lucia, April 21, 2011 ©Getty Images

West Indies won by 7 runs

West Indies v Pakistan, Only Twenty20, St Lucia

Simmons and Bishoo give West Indies victory

The Bulletin by Sahil Dutta

April 21, 2011

It's just one match, that will fade into obscurity by the end of the next, but West Indies began their latest New Era impressively, beating Pakistan by seven runs in the first ever Twenty20 match between the teams.

Lendl Simmons made 65 to help West Indies set something competitive before Devendra Bishoo's four wickets brought them victory.

Such has been Ottis Gibson's desperation for renewal after a disappointing World Cup campaign that five debutants were fielded. Critics, though, could point to a desire for greater control as much as freshness after a clutch of senior players were jettisoned from the squad.

Lendl Simmons led a positive West Indies
innings by rushing to a 31-ball fifty © Getty Images

That certainly seemed to be the view held by Chris Gayle, the former captain, who vented his frustration with Gibson and the WICB by joining Royal Challengers Bangalore and issuing a withering assessment of both in a radio interview. The off-field wranglings dominated the build-up to the match and are likely to rumble on for some time to come but West Indies fans could at least enjoy a moment of on-field catharsis.

Such drama is familiar to Pakistan but of late they have been alarmingly stable. Their last game was a passionate spectacle against India in the World Cup semi-final against in Mohali, so they could be forgiven for looking a little underwhelmed by St Lucia.

Barely a smattering of spectators showed up but those who did were treated to an entertaining opening from Simmons. Filling the immense hole left by Gayle's absence he cracked 65 from 44 balls and shared a 99-run stand for the second wicket with a fluent Darren Bravo, who made 42. The pair struck 15 boundaries between them which proved crucial as West Indies collapsed in familiar fashion after they were separated.

Luckily for them the bowlers, led by legspinner Bishoo, masked the errors in an energetic display. The six no-balls and pointed to performance lacking polish but the attack used a tiring pitch to good effect.

Darren Sammy ensured Pakistan's chase got off on the wrong foot as he had Mohammad Hafeez caught at fine leg for 3 before Ahmed Shehzad spooned Ravi Rampaul to mid-on for 12. Asad Shafiq threatened a revival with Umar Akmal before Bishoo intervened with two wickets in his first over. Shafiq was brilliantly caught for 25 by Danza Hyatt diving forward from midwicket after looping a leading edge before Misbah-ul-Haq was dismissed for a duck treading on his stumps a ball later.

Even modest legspinners have proved potent in 20-over cricket and Bishoo, who impressed on international debut in the World Cup, is better than that. Mixing his pace and flight nicely he got his third wicket when Shahid Afridi scythed a cut to point for 12 to leave Pakistan's hopes entirely with Umar.

Having reached a run-a-ball 41 Umar fell victim to his own misunderstanding. The previous delivery he had alerted the umpires to a no-ball caused by West Indies not having the required three men in the ring but, thinking the following ball was a free-hit, swung Rampaul to Marlon Samuels on the square-leg rope. Umar lingered but the umpires this time knew better.

What should have been a doddle from there became fought with tension as Rampaul's no-ball-ridden penultimate over cost 15 but Andre Russell held his nerve in the final over to seal victory.

The lacklustre showing from Pakistan's batsmen was in sharp contrast to Simmons and Bravo. Happy to use their feet, both were proficient against the pace and spin and used the small boundaries to good effect. The 100 was crossed in the 13th over and at that stage West Indies looked set to post something really significant but a trademark collapse punctured the optimism.

Bravo holed out long-on off Abdur Rehman before Simmons was run out by Samuels two overs later. Samuels, on his comeback after serving a two-match ban for alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers, endured a torrid return as he laboured to 4 from 11 balls before running past a Saeed Ajmal doosra. Sammy followed quickly for 1 and it needed a last-over boundary to take the total past 150. Pakistan looked to have the edge but Bishoo ensured otherwise.

Innings Dot balls 4s 6s PP1 Last 4 overs NB/Wides West Indies 56 13 6 47/1 32/4 1/4 Pakistan 50 12 1 47/2 41/3 6/1

Sahil Dutta is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan in West Indies, 2011

'Mature' Simmons keen to make a mark

ESPNcricinfo staff

April 17, 2011

West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons, who was recalled to the national squad for the upcoming one-off Twenty20 and first two ODIs of the five-match series against Pakistan, has said that he has become a "mentally stronger" cricketer from the one who last played for West Indies in 2010.

"I see myself as a more mature player," Simmons said, "and I'm putting a lot more thought into my preparation for games and when I go onto the field of play as well.

"It feels really great to be back in the West Indies team set-up and among the players again as we look forward to facing Pakistan. I was away for a year and in that period I had a lot of time to reflect and analyse my game. I am happy to be back and I believe I am mentally stronger."

Lendl Simmons

Simmons, who made his ODI debut for West Indies in 2006, was one of the star performers for his country in the World Twenty20 in England in 2009, making 150 runs at 30.00 and taking six wickets. However, this was followed by a poor run of form in the ODI series in Australia in February 2010 where he managed just 50 runs in five one-dayers with a high score of 29. He was dropped from the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in 2010 and wasn't picked in any format after the Australia tour.

Simmons pressed his case for a recall with strong performances in the domestic circuit. He was the highest run-scorer for T&T with 249 runs in their victorious Caribbean T20 campaign and was their second-highest run-scorer in the Regional 4-day competition with 513 runs that included an unbeaten double-century.

"I believe I can make a major contribution to the team in the upcoming T20 as well as in the ODI series and I will be looking to move on from there. I am in good form as we get ready to go over to St Lucia and I want to take that form into the series. I am batting with a lot more maturity and I am looking forward to making everyone proud," he said.

"I am totally focussed on what I have to do and I am looking to stay in control of the things I have control over. No matter what I'm asked to do I am willing to do it for the team and look to make a contribution to the team's success."

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.