Zimbabwe v West Indies

At Bulawayo, November 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 2003. West Indies won by 128 runs. Toss: West Indies.

This Test was memorable for one of Brian Lara's peerless innings, which proved the difference between the sides, and for abysmal batting on the fourth day, when 18 wickets fell for 205 runs.

Gayle had been West Indies' beacon: he seemed determined to shatter the bowlers' confidence from the start. West Indies rushed to 41 off the first seven overs, and Gayle made 47 in an opening stand of 73, his straight driving particularly fearsome. In the afternoon, Lara took over, racing to fifty in 53 balls and excelling in the cut, the sweep and the slash through the covers.

On the second day, Lara seemed deliberately to play the ball straighter, gaining many runs with drives between mid-on and mid-off. He and his partners targeted Price as the danger man, assaulting his left-arm spin for almost five an over. Price held up well and was again the backbone of the bowling; remarkably, his only maiden over was his last.

Lara's 22nd Test century arrived off 124 balls and, when he reached 107, he overtook Vivian Richards's aggregate of 8,540 to become West Indies' all-time highest scorer in Tests. He was eventually caught at second slip, trying to glide Blignaut to third man.

West Indies struck quickly when Zimbabwe batted, taking three wickets by the 14th over. But Vermeulen and Wishart fought back courageously. They added 154 before the more aggressive Wishart lost his nerve on the verge of a second Test century and was lbw, swinging across the line to Collymore. Vermeulen, handicapped by a thigh injury that restricted his trademark drives through the off side, was much more restrained but completed an admirable maiden Test hundred, batting over seven hours in all. Zimbabwe conceded a first-innings lead of 104, but dismissed Gayle with the first delivery of the second innings, when Streak moved a ball in off the seam to trap him just before the close of the third day.

A crumbling pitch could not account for the mayhem next day, when the West Indies batsmen displayed a serious lack of discipline and the Zimbabweans a similar lack of courage. The home side had begun with little hope of victory, but by mid-afternoon, to their own astonishment, they found themselves facing an attainable target. Streak and Blignaut cut through the West Indian top order like knives through butter: among the victims was Lara, bowled for a single by the ball of the series from Streak, a wicked in-swinging yorker that pierced his high backlift and knocked his middle stump out of the ground.

Zimbabwe seemed quite unprepared to chase 233, however. With Edwards unfit, Hinds showed how to succeed by bowling simple line and length, while the batsmen were all too ready to make mistakes. It was a major error for the experienced Streak to bat at No. 9, and he was stranded at the end. Nine wickets were down for 75 when, all too late, Streak and Mahwire dug in to suggest what could have been done, batting on 40 minutes into the final day before West Indies sealed their victory.

Man of the Match: B. C. Lara.