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 Field invasion Fans storm field as Australia-West Indies match ruled a tie
Posted: Thursday April 22, 1999 09:23 AM
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) -- A last-ball invasion of the field by hundreds of frenzied fans turned a nail-biting finish to the fifth, rain-shortened cricket one-day international between Australia and the West Indies into chaos here Wednesday. Needing three to tie and four to win off the last ball, Australia's captain Steve Waugh hit left-arm spinner Keith Arthurton towards Stuart Williams at long-on. By the time he and partner, vice-captain Shane Warne, completed two and tried for the tying thid run, the crowd had stampeded across the ground and reached the pitch, snatching stumps and bouncing into Waugh and Arthurton. It was an hour and a half before International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Rama Subba Row declared the match a tie. It left the series tied 2-2 with two matches remaining in Bridgetown next weekend. Subba Row, a former England international, met for 20 minutes with umpires Eddie Nicholls and Billy Doctrove, captains Steve Waugh of Australia and Jimmy Adams, leading the West Indies in the absence of the injured Brian Lara, and managers Clive Lloyd of the West Indies and Steve Bernard of Australia. They had several viewings of the television replay of the last ball before Subba Row announced his decision. "It is a great shame when we get situations like that but if they do happen I believe that cricket has got to be the winner," Subba Row said. "We can't go off with any rancor that such and such a thing might or might not have happened. When you get chaos like that I think you've got to make sure that common sense prevails." Six years ago, in similar circumstances on the same Bourda ground in a one-day international between the West Indies and Pakistan, Subba Row had also ruled a tie. Then, West Indies batsmen Ian Bishop completed the winning second run off the last ball but Subba Row ruled the Pakistanis had been impeded by the marauding spectators. Australia, 172 for seven off their 30 overs, were one run short of the West Indies' 173 for five as Waugh and Warne tried for an improbable third. Arthurton gathered the ball on Williams's throw but, by then, the crowd had taken over. Waugh was unbeaten 71 off 65 balls with three sixes and five fours as his main scoring shots. He placed Australia in a winning position, blasting a six and two fours off the 28th over from off-spinner Carl Hooper that cost 17. Warne hit a six off the second ball of the 29th over from fast bowler Courtney Walsh that yielded 11 for Australia so that Waugh needed only four off the last over, bowled by Arthurton to win. Even at the end of the 29th over, hundreds, presuming the match was over, stormed the pitch, uprooting stumps and interrupting play. When it restarted, Arthurton, compelled to bowl the last over after medium-pacer Phil Simmons limped from the field with a muscle injury after four overs, restricted Waugh to two off his first ball and none off his next four as the excitement reached fever pitch. It overflowed into the invasion that led to the mass confusion at the end. Overnight and early morning rain delayed the start and reduced the match from 50 to 30 overs an innings. Waugh won the toss for the fifth successive time in the series and Australia seemed to hold the advantage after restricting the West Indies to 173 for five on the small ground. Openers Ridley Jacobs, with 33 off 49 balls, and Sherin Campbell, with a run-a-ball 41, put on 83. Te West Indies then faltered against steady bowling from the two Shanes, medium-pacer Lee who took three for 39 and Warne two for 35. It needed Simmos' belligerent unbeaten 15 off five balls with two sixes to boost its total. Australia was stalled by purposeful West Indies bowling and fielding that reduced them to 119 for seven and seeming defeat before Waugh and Warne, whose 19 came from 17 balls, carried them to within sight of victory. They added 53 for the eighth wicket but their effort proved in vain. Fast bowler Merv Dillon was the West Indies best bowler with three for 25 while Simmons had two for 25 before his injury forced him out of the action.
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