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SPORTS: England v West Indies: Tourists fight back in style at Lord's (BBC)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

England v West Indies: Tourists fight back in style at Lord's (BBC)



First Test, Lord's, day four:
West Indies 243 & 345; England 398 & 10-2
A splendidly defiant West Indies batting display led by Shivnarine Chanderpaul frustrated England at Lord's and left the first Test heading for a dramatic final day.
Having hoped to wrap up the match by lunch, England were instead left to chase 191 and had struggled to 10-2 - still 181 short of victory - at stumps.
Chanderpaul fell just nine shy of his century but received fine support from the more attacking Marlon Samuels (86) and Denesh Ramdin (43) as the tourists first wiped out their overnight deficit of 35 and then inched on to 345 to set an intriguing target.
Kemar Roach produced fierce bounce and pace to have first-innings centurion Andrew Strauss caught at fourth slip for just one before nightwatchman James Anderson gloved the same bowler down the leg side.

Analysis

"No-one can forget what happened to England in Abu Dhabi, when they were rolled out for 72 chasing a much lower total. We will have a fascinating finale."
Jonathan Trott was struck on the pad first ball but, with the West Indies fielders celebrating, survived after the referral backed umpire Aleem Dar's not out decision.
It was a frantic end to a day that had been more about attrition than raw action until that late burst from the fiery Roach.
On a chill, gloomy day the overnight pair of Chanderpaul and Samuels battled with commendable application and skill during the morning session as England's bowlers struggled to find any life at all in a flat pitch with the old ball.
While Chanderpaul continued at the same geological rate as in hisunbeaten 87 in the first innings, Samuels began to accelerate as he passed 50 and drove Swann back down the ground for two breezy fours in the same over.
There was grey cloud overhead, as there has been all match. But it was cold and windy where Saturday had been warm and still, and there was minimal movement through the air for England's pace trio of Anderson, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan.

Highest run chases at Lord's

  • 344-1: West Indies v England, 1984
  • 282-3: England v New Zealand, 2004
  • 218-3: England v New Zealand, 1965
  • 191-8: England v West Indies, 2000
  • 163-2: England v Bangladesh, 2010
The new ball was taken after lunch and initially failed to yield dividends. Then, 25 minutes into the afternoon session and with the lead up to 67, Broad drew Samuels into the drive just outside off stump and Graeme Swann took a comfortable catch at second slip.
Samuels trudged back to the pavilion with head bowed, frustrated to have fallen just 14 short of a debut Lord's century, but the fifth-wicket partnership of 157 had given his side an unlikely glimmer of hope.
Broad and Bresnan immediately troubled Ramdin with devilish late swing. Chanderpaul, meanwhile, moved into his eighth and ninth hours at the crease in this Test with all the hurry of a meditating monk.
He was closing in on a richly deserved century when, after 250 balls with barely a false stroke, he aimed an injudicious sweep at Swann and was lbw.
It had been a remarkable effort, and one rewarded by a standing ovation from the wrapped-up Lord's crowd.
Broad then took the spotlight when he had captain Darren Sammy caught behind for an increasingly entertaining 37 - his 10th wicket of the match, which put him alongside Ian Botham as the only Englishman to have completed a Test century, taken five wickets in an innings and 10 in a match at Lord's.
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Kemar Roach fended to Ian Bell at point to give him his 11th and Anderson bowled Ramdin before Fidel Edwards and Shannon Gabriel stuck around for a further 40 minutes to further exasperate England.
Most had expected West Indies to capitulate after being second best for the majority of the first three days.
Yet they showed admirable fight to first slow England's victory charge and give themselves a genuine chance of a win that on Saturday had seemed impossible.
Listen to how the fourth day of the opening Test unfolded on the TMS podcast.

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