Saturday May 16th 2009. Fast bowler James Anderson ripped through the Digicel-sponsored West Indies top order on Saturday to leave the visitors uncertainly poised on 94 for three in pursuit of England’s formidable 569 for six declared at close on day three of the second Test.
Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the Caribbean’s classiest pair, carry their team’s hopes of salvaging a draw into the final two days. Sarwan, the calendar year’s heaviest scorer, played a number of handsome strokes in an unbeaten 41 off 68 balls with six fours. Chanderpaul, whose double failure at Lord’s saw him drop out of the No. 1 ranking for Test batsmen, dropped anchor for three not out off 33 deliveries.
Anderson claimed three for 36 with the new ball, one of those a fortuitous LBW dismissal of captain Chris Gayle.
Earlier, opener Alastair Cook stretched his first day century to a career-best 160 and the rest of the England middle order also cashed in against modest bowling and more faulty catching.
The hosts, resuming on 302 for two after the complete washout of day two, got a boundary-studded 49 from Kevin Pietersen and confident half centuries from Paul Collingwood (60 not out) and wicket-keeper Matt Prior (63). Stuart Broad also helped himself to an unbeaten 28 off 25 balls.
Left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn claimed two for 146 from 43 overs while Lendl Simmons’ medium pace earned him a maiden Test wicket.
The West Indies began the day aggressively through Fidel Edwards and his pacy and hostile burst at nightwatchman Anderson was engrossing. A fired-up Edwards had the left-hander dropped down the leg side by wicket-keeper, Denesh Ramdin, and then saw a catch at third slip negated by a no-ball call. But the Barbadian pacer eventually got his man when Anderson’s timid back foot defence was breached and he was bowled off his pads.
The arrival of Pietersen quickly changed the mood as the England ace collared Taylor and doused Edwards’ fire. He played a series of glorious strokes, getting going with three driven boundaries in one over off Taylor in the arc between midwicket and bowler.
Cook continued his calculated progress and eased past his previous Test best of 139 not out (at Bridgetown earlier this year in the Digicel Series) with a sweet cover drive for four off Taylor.
Pietersen dominated a stand of 84 for the fourth wicket before losing Cook to Benn just before lunch. The left-hander, who hit 17 fours off 339 balls in 485 minutes, spooned a catch to extra cover off the leading edge.
Benn, in the course of an impressive spell, added Pietersen’s scalp soon after the break as West Indies hit back at 419 for five. The dynamic right-hander (nine fours, 57 balls) tried to hit over the top but sliced to backward point. But Collingwood, Prior and Broad anchored England’s charge to an imposing total, the highest ever in a first-class match at this venue.
West Indies’ out-cricket became scrappy with Ramdin fluffing a run out opportunity and another catch and Brendan Nash and Benn also missing chances. Benn did grasp one at deepish mid-on to claim Prior off Simmons but there was no more success before England declared on the stroke of tea.
Collingwood, on his home ground, hit four fours off 80 balls while Prior cracked seven off 83 deliveries. Anderson quickly put the skids under the West Indies by bypassing Devon Smith’s drive and rattling his stumps at 14 for one. His second wicket was due to a palpable mistake from umpire Asoka de Silva and cut short Gayle’s promising cameo of 19 off 24 balls.
Gayle padded up to one that would have sailed over the stumps but was ruled LBW by the Sri Lankan official, his first error in an otherwise efficient series.
Anderson added a third when Lendl Simmons (8) edged an open-faced back foot stroke to first slip at 68 for three.
Light, for the second time in the day, stalled England and, on resumption, so did Sarwan and Chanderpaul before the day finally ended at 7:25 p.m. local time. The Guyanese pair added an unbroken 26 for the fourth wicket in just under an hour. .
