WINDIES made a devastating start to their 2019 Cricket World Cup campaign when they bowled Pakistan out for just 105 in 21.4 overs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

Windies fast bowlers recalled the glory days of yesteryear at Trent Bridge IN Nottingham as they pummelled Pakistan into an early lunch by taking all ten wickets for 105 runs in a mere 21.4 overs.

Perhaps they were stung by compatriot Jofra Archer’s superb bowling yesterday – for England – and wanted to show that they were still the real thing. Robin Hood and his Merry Men who inhabited the woods surrounding this city some centuries ago could not have picked their prey any cleaner.

The match, which started under cloud cover and was mooted as being between the two most unpredictable teams in the competition, started with salutations to and from Sheldon Cottrell as he had the opener Imam-ul-Haq taken at the wicket with only 17 runs scored. 

Then it was the turn of his fellow Jamaican, Andre Russell, to show what conventional Test cricket has been missing by his absence. He beat Fakhar Zaman (22) for pace and then wicket-keeper Shai Hope caught Haris Sohail.

Oshane Thomas made it Jamaican fast bowling all the way – memories of Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh (and even Roy Gilchrist) – as Hope took his third catch to dismiss Babar Azam (22).

Yet anything they could do their captain could do better. Jason Holder set the seal on his team’s performance by ripping out the middle of the innings with 3 wickets for 2 runs in just 9 balls.

After Hope had taken a further catch to dismiss Sarfraz Ahmed, Chris Gayle picked up the wicket of Imad Wasim and Hasan Ali caught by Cottrell.

In-between Thomas had kept busy having Shadab Khan lbw while Mohammad Hafeez completed Cottrell hat-trick of catches.

It was Thomas, too, who finished off the rout – after some lusty hitting by Wahab Riaz (16) which took the score from 83/9 to 105 all out by bowling the latter.
 
It was a job well done with the honours shared by the fast bowlers – Thomas 4-27 (5.4 overs), Russell 2-4 ( 3overs), Holder 3-42 (5 overs) and Sheldon (1-18 for 4).

And this was the ground on which Frank Worrell, Basil Butcher and Viv Richards had scored Test match double-centuries – which unfortunately the present West Indies will not have the opportunity to emulate