LONDON, (CMC) - Robert Key made the most of a rare opportunity and Andrew Strauss’ love affair with his home ground continued as the pair showed no mercy against an inexperienced and wayward West Indies bowling attack on the opening day of the first cricket Test at Lord’s yesterday.
Sent in to bat, England, lifted by centuries from Key and Strauss, reached 391 for two before bad light offered the visitors respite from the rampage 5.3 overs early.
Confounding his own pre-match comments questioning the quality of his bowlers, Brian Lara’s decision to field was made to look hopelessly defensive with Key compiling an unbeaten 167 and Strauss racing to 137, the pair featuring in a partnership of 291, a record for the second wicket
In the history of Test cricket at the headquarters of the game.
At one stage England looked well on course to erase their own record tally of 428 as the most runs scored in a day of Test cricket at Lord’s - achieved against South Africa almost 100 years ago.
But Key and skipper Michael Vaughan, unbeaten on 36, adopted a cautious approach in the final hour under gray skies to ensure they would resume together on the second morning to try and play the West Indies completely out of the match.
In the context of their commanding position, it was more than a little surprising that the pair accepted the offer from the umpires to leave the field for bad light after the second new ball had just been taken.
But by then, considerable damage had already been done to West Indian morale just a day into what is expected to be a very difficult four-Test series for the visitors.
On what transpired to be an excellent batting pitch, the young Caribbean bowlers were never allowed to settle, with Omari Banks suffering more than most.
The tall off-spinner started with a maiden, but was targeted for special treatment, being hammered for 111 runs off just 17 overs. He had the small consolation of breaking the Strauss-Key partnership when the left-hander attempted yet another square cut and edged a catch to the ‘keeper an hour after tea.
The only other success came within the first half-hour when Marcus Trescothick, who was missed off a caught-and-bowled attempt by Tino Best, failed to make the most of the reprieve in scooping a head-high catch for Ramnaresh Sarwan at square-leg off the same bowler.
His departure for just 16 after an opening partnership of 29 offered the visitors considerable encouragement even with the bowling already lacking in discipline and direction, but as so often happens, they contributed to their own predicament with a fielding lapse.
Key, who struggled in the preceding three-nation limited-overs series and only got the opportunity to play his first Test for 14 months because of a freak injury to the established Mark Butcher, should have gone on 16, but Chris Gayle, who has endured a horrible time in the slips on this tour, missed another chance high to his right at second slip as the stocky right-hander slashed at Best.
To add insult to injury, Gayle injured his right hand and was off the field for prolonged periods seeking treatment. He returned with his hand heavily bandaged and clearly unable to offer any support with the ball at a time when Lara had run out of ideas.
In spraying a depressing 12 wides and delivering six no-balls on a forgettable day, the West Indies bowlers earned little sympathy.
Their collective inability to even master the rudiments of a consistent line and length meant that there was no period, except for the final half-hour when Key and Vaughan had effectively closed up shop, when runs did not flow freely.
In driving powerfully on both sides of the wicket to a succession of half-volleys, Strauss and Key had already put England in control by lunch with the score at 91 for one.
Yet it was in the second session, when the bowlers were mauled for 142 runs off 27 overs, that the momentum swung decisively the way of the home side.
It was in the midst of that period of mayhem, much to the delight of a near-capacity crowd that Key had another narrow escape, edging the persevering Best just short of Devon Smith diving forward at second slip.
Sportingly, Smith instantly disclaimed the catch with Key then on 58, although television replays left lingering suspicions that it was much closer than the fielder seemed to think.
That was to be the last of the close shaves with the body-language of the West Indian fielders telling its own story as they chased forlornly and despairingly to the boundary with alarming regularity.
Having marked his Test debut with a hundred at Lord’s two months earlier against New Zealand and followed that up an even century in his first One-Day International on the ground 16 days earlier against the West Indies, it was almost too good to be true that Strauss would have registered yet another three-figure innings in a big match at the headquarters of the game.
The compact left-hander never looked in any trouble, except maybe for complacency at the ease with which he was able to compile his runs, and there was a sense of inevitability about his second Test hundred, which came up with his 15th boundary.
Key, whose previous Test best was 52 on England’s last disastrous Ashes campaign in Australia 18 months ago, reached his maiden hundred at the highest level of the game shortly after tea, smashing Fidel Edwards for a 15th boundary.
Like the number of fours, his other statistics at that stage - 225 minutes, 146 balls - were remarkably similar to that of Strauss, reflecting how positively both played in equally dominating a sub-standard attack.
Edwards, whose inclusion was not merited by his performances in the two first-class matches preceding the opening Test, failed to justify his captain’s faith in him, starting with an over that included three no-balls and a wide.
Strauss’ demise with the score at 320 hardly lifted West Indian spirits and with Key (346 minutes, 225 balls, 23 fours) in the mood to improve on already impressive statistics and Vaughan digging in for the long haul,
Friday could be another day of toil for Lara’s men.
SCOREBOARD
ENGLAND 1st Innings
M. Trescothick c Sarwan b Best 16
A. Strauss c wkpr Jacobs b Banks 137
R. Key not out 167
*M. Vaughan not out 36
Extras (b2, lb15, w12, nb6) 35
TOTAL (2 wkts) 391
Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-320.
G. Thorpe, A. Flintoff, +G. Jones, A. Giles, S. Jones, M. Hoggard, S.
Harmison to bat.
Bowling: Collins 13.3-2-58-0, Best 16-1-75-1, Edwards 15-2-60-0, Bravo
14-2-42-0, Banks 17-2-111-1, Sarwan 9-0-28-0.
WEST INDIES: C. Gayle, D. Smith, R. Sarwan, *B. Lara, S. Chanderpaul,
D.Bravo, +R. Jacobs, O. Banks, P. Collins, T. Best, F. Edwards.