The six-wicket margin with 13 balls to spare suggests comfort. In fact, yesterday's victory by the West Indies over Zimbabwe that ensured a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup's second phase, the Super Eight, was a nervous, less-than convincing effort, later described by Coach Bennett King as "scrappy".

But after an opening week in Kingston that has included a tie, the ousting of Pakistan by lowly Ireland and the tragic death of Bob Woolmer, at least the result was predictable.
Sent to bat on what may well have been the most batsman-friendly pitch in Group D thus far, Zimbabwe got to 202-5 in their 50 overs, thanks to a fine unbeaten 88-ball 74 from man-of-the-match, Sean Williams.

Zimbabwe's Friday Kasteni is clean bowled for a duck by West Indies' Jerome Taylor (out of picture) for the hosts' first wicket of the day in their Group D ICC CWC 2007 match at Sabina Park yesterday. West Indies won by six wickets. (Photo: Michael Gordon)

The 20 year-old lefthander who also bowls left-arm orthodox spin, well supported by Brendan Taylor (50 from 121 bals), led a Zimbabwe recovery from 0-1 in the first over, 2-2 in the third and 59-4 after 17.4 overs.

The West Indies, in reply, looked easy at 73-0 in the 18th over especially as Chris Gayle (40 from 48 balls with 3 sixes and 3 fours) showed signs of form by slamming seamer Tawanda Mupariwa for three successive sixes. But the loss of four wickets for 56 runs in 16 overs triggered fears of another mortal collapse before skipper Brian Lara, not out 44 (68 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) and Dwayne Bravo not out 37 (46 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) carried the team home.

Lara, uncharacteristically painstaking, ended the game with a flourish - hitting pacer Elton Chigumbura through cover for four and over midwicket for six off successive balls to take his team home at 204-4 in the 48th over. The job against Zimbabwe done, Lara and his men must now beat Ireland on Friday to make sure they carry points to the next round.

Both teams wore black arm bands yesterday in memory of Woolmer and there was a minute's silence just before the start with players and officials lined up on the field.
As has been the case in all the games at Sabina thus far, the fast bowlers enjoyed the early conditions, finding seam movement and good bounce.

Following a testing maiden first over from Daren Powell (1-15), fellow fast bowler Jerome Taylor (2-42) gave the hosts early dominance when he bowled ODI debutant Friday Kasteni for a first-ball duck. The left-handed Kasteni, who turns 19 on Sunday, looked back bemused to see his stumps disturbed by a delivery that swung back to find a path between bat and pad.

Then second ball of the third over, Vusi Sibanda (1), having seen Powell consistently swinging away from the right-hander's off stump, shouldered arms only for the ball to cut back and smash into the top of off-stump.

Chamu Chibhabha (12) and Taylor shared 29 runs before the former was yorked by Taylor, and with 59 on the board in the 18th over, Stuart Matsikenyeri (16), attempting to break the shackles, hit a catch to mid-on off Dwayne Smith's medium pace.

But the very selective Taylor and the enterprising Williams gradually pulled their team out of trouble and asserted themselves with a stand of 83 for the fifth wicket. Taylor came out of his shell to punch Smith back over his head for six and Williams followed up with two elegant cover driven fours off Smith and Gayle.

He would keep going in similar vein and by the close had counted eight fours all around the ground.
It was a needless run-out that eventually broke the partnership in the 41st over. Taylor had only just reached the half-century mark when he was caught short of his ground while attempting an impossible single.

Chigumbura (30 from 29 balls, five fours) gave needed acceleration at the end as Powell (6-1-15-1), who had bowled so well at the start, and Corey Collymore (9-0-29-0) were surprisingly not asked to bowl full quotas. Coach King later explained that this flowed from the need to give off-spinners Gayle and Marlon Samuels extended bowls. They delivered 10 overs each.

West Indies openers Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (21 from 60 balls) survived a testing first 12 to 13 overs from the Zimbabwe seamers before the near 10,000 crowd found cause to relax.

They were out of their seats and cheering as Gayle went after Tawanda Mupariwa hitting the first three balls of the 14th over for sixes - over long on into the upper echelons of the huge new North Stand, high over midwicket and again over long-on, into the lower reaches of the North Stand.

Sensing a stroll to victory, the crowd was soon indulging in Mexican waves and the like. But Zimbabwe had other ideas. Chigumbura angling across the left-handed Chanderpaul found the edge of a tentative hanging bat for Sibanda to take a fine diving catch at slip. And you could have heard a pin drop in the following over as Gayle similarly hung his bat to edge Mpofu's length delivery slanted across him.

Wicketkeeper Taylor spilled the regulation catch, but the alert Sibanda caught the rebound. All of a sudden, it was 73-2 in the 19th over and not looking so good.
Ramnaresh Sarwan (12) and Samuels (28) appeared to be taking charge in a stand of 33 when the tall pacer Anthony Ireland collected a return catch from a loose drive by Sarwan.

And when Samuels, having hit three fours from 48 balls drove loosely, with bat away from body, to slice a catch to backward point in the 33rd over at 129-4, another 74 runs were still needed and there were wet palms and bitten finger nails all around.

But Lara stayed for the long haul to take his team home with Bravo - though the latter's stroke-play kept the heart leaping with fright. There were groans when the right-handed Bravo lofted what looked a straightforward catch to substitute fielder Gary Brent at third man off Chigumbura with 18 runs still needed in the 46th over. But Brent, who had only ran on to the field moments before to replace an injured Ireland, spilled the catch.

At the end, the cheer that went up as Lara cover-drove Chigumbura for four then lofted over midwicket for six was as much out of relief as it was in celebration.

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