LONDON, England (CMC) - England captain Michael Vaughan joined an elite club yesterday in scoring his second century of the match, leaving his West Indian counterpart, Brian Lara, and the redoubtable fighter Shivnarine Chanderpaul to carry the battle for survival into today's final day of the npower First Test at Lord's.
Vaughan's commanding unbeaten 101, following his first innings 103, made him only the third player in Test history to score hundreds in both innings of a Lord's Test and facilitated a second innings declaration at 325 for five half-an-hour before the scheduled tea interval on the fourth day yesterday.
Set a world record victory target of 478 or, more realistically, a minimum of 125 overs to avoid defeat, the tourists reached 114 for three when fading light ended play 20 minutes before the scheduled close.
Lara, whose controversial first innings dismissal on the second day remains a major talking point, resumes on 11 in partnership with Chanderpaul (4 not out).
The first innings centurion enjoyed a generous slice of luck before he had scored, being ruled not out by South African umpire Rudi Koertzen when a defensive prod at Ashley Giles took the glove and was well caught by a diving Robert Key at short-leg.
On a pitch offering considerable assistance to the left-arm spinner and presenting occasional uneven bounce, England will be the heavy favourites to take the early lead in the four-match series before the teams move on to Birmingham for the Second Test beginning on Thursday at Edgbaston.
Underlining the vast difference between his struggles in one-day cricket and impressive record in the longer version of the game, Vaughan played with assurance throughout an innings that spanned 165 minutes, 144 deliveries and included 11 fours.
He was overshadowed in the final stages by a devastating knock of 58 off just 42 balls by Andrew Flintoff, but received a rousing and prolonged ovation when he completed his 13th Test century and third in as many Test innings against the West Indies.
In so doing he joined West Indian legend George Headley (1939) and former England opener and captain Graham Gooch (1990 against India) as the only other players to score separate hundreds in the same Lord's Test.
Gooch actually amassed 333 and 123 in a comprehensive England victory while Headley's innings of 106 and 107 could not prevent the hosts completing an eight-wicket win.
In those fledgling days of the West Indies in the Test arena, Headley carried the burden of a frail batting line-up manfully - a predicament not unlike what Lara has had to do in the last six years.
Vaughan's only faults during his historic innings were in his running between the wickets.
Coming to the crease after Marcus Trescothick was bowled for 45 and Andrew Strauss was caught by Ramnaresh Sarwan at square-leg, both off Pedro Collins, the skipper seemed too eager to scamper quick singles and ran out Key, the first innings double-century-maker, as Chanderpaul's direct hit from cover found the chunky right-hander hopelessly short of his ground at the striker's end.
Needing a measure of consolidation at 117 for three in partnership with the experienced Graham Thorpe, Vaughan should have been run-out himself when on 15, but Chanderpaul's throw from the covers found no one at the bowler's end with the England captain having almost given up.
The pair added 116 runs for the fourth wicket, capitalising on another listless effort from the West Indies in the field, before Thorpe, on 38, pushed forward to Gayle and prodded a catch back to the bowler.
But his departure only paved the way for Flintoff's murderous assault on all the bowlers. Dismissed for just six in the first innings, he made amends to a crowd keen to see him at his destructive best, smashing two sixes and five fours in reaching fifty off just 38 deliveries.
Wilting as they invariably do under such pressure, the West Indian outcricket completely fell apart with Sarwan dropping a straightforward chance on the backward-point boundary when Vaughan, on 86, slashed at Collins while Fidel Edwards seemed to be asleep on the ropes at cover, reacting far too slowly to another fearsome drive.
In 90 minutes after lunch, 160 runs were plundered until Flintoff's dismissal, caught behind off Collins, prompted the declaration.
Aware of Giles' success in the first innings, Vaughan summoned the slow bowler in just the sixth over of the West Indies second innings with immediate results - Devon Smith trapped lbw on the back foot for six.
Gayle was blazing away in typically spectacular fashion at the other end but soon lost Sarwan, leg-before for the second time in the match to Matthew Hoggard as his continuing tendency to shuffle in front of his stumps and then attempt to play across the line again brought about his downfall.
With the score at 35 for two, an extremely watchful Lara took 18 deliveries to get his first run.
That caution contrasted sharply with Gayle's devil-may-care exploits.
Facing up to Steve Harmison, he edged a delivery between the wicketkeeper and first slip to reach his second half-century of the match with eight fours off 53 balls, was dropped by a diving Thorpe at gully and generally flayed away fortuitously despite his team's predicament.
He had reached 81 off 88 balls when Harmison had the last laugh, bowling the big left-hander with a yorker that took the inside edge of his bat and uprooted the leg-stump to give the pacer his first wicket of the match.
Having dug themselves into a deep hole with an awful bowling effort on the first day, Lara, Chanderpaul and the remaining batsmen will need more good fortune and even more resolve and determination for the West Indies to deny England the early advantage in their defence of the Wisden Trophy.
ENGLAND 1st Innings 568 (R. Key 221, A. Strauss 137, M. Vaughan 103; P. Collins 4-113)
WEST INDIES 1st Innings 416 (S.Chanderpaul 128*; A. Giles 4-124),
ENGLAND 2nd innings (o/n 71 without loss)
M.Trescothick b Collins 45
A.Strauss c Sarwan b Collins 35
R.Key run-out (Chanderpaul) 15
M.Vaughan not out 101
G.Thorpe c and b Gayle 38
A.Flintoff c wkp. Jacobs b Collins 58
Extras: (b-3, lb-14, nb-16) 33
Total: (for 5 wkts declared - 76.4 overs) 325
Fall of wickets: 1-86, 2-104, 3-117, 4-233, 5-325.