MATTHEW Hoggard conjured up memories of his Barbados hat-trick, as ball dominated bat on the second day of West Indies' tour match against MCC at Arundel, yesterday.
Nineteen wickets tumbled in the day, including four in the first two overs, and it wasn't until Chris Gayle and Brian Lara came together for a vital unbeaten 65-run partnership that a semblance of normality was resumed.
Scores: West Indians 380 and 115 for 5 (Gayle 60*, Lara 34*) MCC 260 (Koenig 79) by 235 runs
By the close, West Indies had recovered from a dicey 50 for 5, with Gayle on 60 and Lara on 34, and with a useful lead of 235, they will harbour high hopes of setting a useful victory target on the final day. Mind you, with Graham Thorpe in MCC's line-up, they have just the man to pace the run-chase.
The trend of the day's play was set in the very first over. Simon Jones, who is pushing for a Test recall at Lord's later this month, trapped Pedro Collins for 2, before Hoggard removed Jermaine Lawson and Omari Banks in rapid succession.
Collins and his brother, Fidel Edwards, then made a wayward start with the new ball, as Alistair Cook, England's Under-19 captain at the recent World Cup in Bangladesh, cracked his way to 49 from just 51 balls. Gayle denied him his half-century, but Sven Koenig made no mistake, top-scoring with 79 before Lawson struck.
Thorpe and England's one-day hopeful, Michael Powell, made useful starts, and the South African Dale Benkenstein reached 39, but the end of the innings was a messy collapse, which culminated in an astonishing one-over spell from Dwayne Smith. He removed Benkenstein with his third ball, and then wrapped up proceedings with his fifth and sixth, as MCC lost their last seven wickets for 65, and their last five for 20.
But what Smith could do, Hoggard was more than ready to emulate. He exacted revenge for his second-ball duck by removing Smith for a first-baller, moments after Devon Smith had fallen for 3. Shivnarine Chanderpaul - the middleman in Hoggard's Test hat-trick - later followed suit for a fourth-ball duck, as West Indies struggled to 50 for 5. But with Gayle going like the clappers, it was a lop-sided scorecard. (Wisden Cricinfo)
WEST INDIES 1st innings
C.Gayle c Cook b Jones 43
D.S. Smith c Cook b Stephenson 142
D.Bravo stp. Wessels b Patel 4
BC Lara retired hurt 113
S.Chanderpaul lbw b Hoggard 0
D.R. Smith c Wessels b Hoggard 2
C.Baugh b Patel 38
O.Banks c Thorpe b Hoggard 16
P.Collins lbw b Jones 2
F.Edwards not out 2
J.Lawson b Hoggard 0
Extras: (b-1, lb-9, w-4, nb-4) 18
Total: (all out, 95 overs) 380
Fall of wickets: 1-90, 2-99, 3-295, 4-307, 5-329, 6-369, 7-374, 8-380, 9-380.