BIRMINGHAM, England, CMC - After threatening a run-feast in the first hour, England were restrained by a battling West Indies team through much of the opening day of the second cricket Test, yesterday.
After being pegged back at 262 for five in the final period, the hosts surged forward against a tiring attack in the last hour to reach 313 without further loss when fading light ended play with 4.4 overs to be bowled.
A workmanlike 105 from Marcus Trescothick, his seventh Test century and first against the Caribbean side, proved the foundation of the England effort after the three century-makers of the first Test at Lord’s fell relatively cheaply.
Graham Thorpe played a useful hand in getting to 61, but it was the ever-present threat of Andrew Flintoff, unbeaten on 42, and the youthful promise of wicketkeeper-batsman Geraint Jones, not out on 27, that frustrated the visitors in an unbroken 51-run stand just when it seemed the balance might have tilted decisively in their favour.
In just his second Test, Dwayne Bravo impressed again with the ball, claiming the wickets of England captain Michael Vaughan and Trescothick in disciplined spells of bowling that cost 42 runs off 16 overs.
Jermaine Lawson did a decent job on his return to the team and snared the first wicket of the match, but it was the other returnee Corey Collymore and fellow Barbadian Pedro Collins who did not live up to expectations.
By far the most experienced of the frontline bowling options available to their captain, Brian Lara was again at his wit’s end as the pair failed to deliver in conditions that were generally overcast after a bright morning session.
In a combined 34.2 overs, they were hammered for 160 runs in circumstances that demanded they stood up and took the responsibility handed to them by their captain.
Sharing the new ball amid an air of West Indian trepidation after Vaughan won the toss and had no hesitation in choosing to bat first, the worst fears seemed about to be realised when Collins and Collymore were plundered by Trescothick and Andrew Strauss in a 77-run opening partnership at almost a run-a-minute.
If Collymore could have been forgiven for lack of work, having arrived in England only on Monday, Collins’ inability to recapture the control that brought him seven wickets in the first Test was puzzling.
It was left to the back-up bowlers Lawson and Bravo to pull things back and they did a fair job.
Strauss, obviously getting carried away with the ease with which runs were coming, aimed a loose drive at Lawson and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs took the straightforward catch to remove him for 24.
At the other end, Trescothick soldiered along, his 10th boundary bringing up his 50 off 61 deliveries before lunch.
He and Robert Key added 48 for the second wicket when Collins made partial amends for his earlier wayward line, taking the edge of Key’s bat in the midst of a testing spell to the right-hander after the interval for Lara to take the catch at first slip.
Removing the double century-maker from the first Test for just 29 was indeed cause for celebration, and there was even more joy when Vaughan’s run of three consecutive Test hundreds against the West Indies was ended by an alert Bravo, who juggled a firm drive back at him before clutching the chance that sent the England skipper back to the pavilion for 12.
At 150 for three, the visitors were back in the match, but Thorpe joined Trescothick in a determined 60-run, fourth-wicket stand that revived English hopes for a formidable first innings total.
Having endured a miserable tour of the Caribbean earlier this year and struggled for consistency so far in this English summer, Trescothick treasured this hundred almost exactly four years after making his Test debut against the same opponents in Manchester.
He reached the landmark just before tea by cutting Omari Banks for four, completing three figures in 233 minutes, off 162 deliveries with 19 fours.
The big left-hander was expecting to go on to even greater things in the final session, but the persistent Bravo struck again, watching for an agonising split-second when Lara juggled an edged slash at first slip before taking the opportunity on the rebound.
The now routine cheer from a three-quarter filled ground welcomed Flintoff’s arrival and with Lara spreading the field to deny him easy boundaries, the powerful right-hander resisted the temptation to go for glory, picking off the singles in a 52-run partnership with Thorpe that ended when Australian umpire Simon Taufel adjudged the experienced left-hander caught behind as he attempted to a pull a delivery from Collymore that did not make the height he anticipated.
At that stage, Lara was expecting his bowlers to turn the screws on England, or at least maintain control. But with Bravo off the field tending to a foot injury, the sixth-wicket pairing made easy progress, Jones impressing with his sublime timing, while Flintoff started to find his range before the light was offered, hoisting Banks over square-leg for the only six of the day.
In contrast to the first day at Lord’s, the West Indies have remained in the contest, but will be mindful that it can quickly run away from them on the second morning if inconsistency once again haunts their early-morning effort.
ENGLAND 1st Innings
M. Trescothick c Lara b Bravo 105
A. Strauss c wkpr Jacobs b Lawson 24
R. Key c Lara b Collins 29
M. Vaughan c and b Bravo 12
G. Thorpe c wkpr Jacobs b Collymore 61
A. Flintoff not out 42
G. Jones not out 27
Extras: (lb-2, w-1, nb-10) 13
Total: (5 wkts) 313
Fall of wickets: 1-77, 2-125, 3-150, 4-210, 5-262.