MANCHESTER, England, (CMC) - Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s determined resilience and Dwayne Bravo’s restrained aggression rescued West Indies from a perilous position on a weather-beaten first day of the third cricket Test against England yesterday.
Chanderpaul, who has fought lone, futile battles more than once already in this four-Test series, scored 76 and Bravo overcame his desperate struggles against the spin of Ashley Giles in his last three innings to reach 77 to help West Indies reach 275 for six when bad light and then rain stopped play 19.1 overs early.
Chanderpaul and Bravo added 157 for the fifth-wicket at better than a run-a-minute and lifted the Caribbean side from the depths of 108 for four in mid-afternoon and frustrated the hosts when they fully expected to sweep through the middle and lower order, particularly after West Indies captain and batting star Brian Lara was bowled round his legs for a duck by Andrew Flintoff.
Matthew Hoggard, the persevering medium-pacer, who had taken the first wicket of the match when he had Chris Gayle caught at cover for five, returned to remove Bravo and then Chanderpaul in successive overs within two runs of each other, both to catches by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones.
His figures of three for 61 were well deserved, although it was inevitable that local hero Flintoff took much of the spotlight in front of a near capacity crowd in disposing of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lara in quick succession.
Having made four changes to the team that lost the second Test in Birmingham by 256 runs to go 0-2 down in the series, the West Indies captain took a calculated gamble in choosing to bat first under overcast skies when play started an hour late because of heavy overnight rain.
The early loss of Gayle, pushing uncertainly at Hoggard to give a straightforward catch to Andrew Strauss, would have heightened his anxiety about the decision with just 10 runs on the board and one of the few consistent batsmen gone.
Test newcomer Sylvester Joseph displayed the assurance of a man with runs under his belt, adding 75 for the second wicket with Sarwan before the West Indies vice-captain, not for the first time in the series, was bowled off the inside-edge aiming another extravagant off-drive.
In getting to 40, Sarwan again showed what his silky skills were capable of, if only he could maintain the required level of concentration for longer periods.
Joseph, heading towards a 50 on debut, also seemed to run out of patience and was badly missed by Graham Thorpe at third slip off James Anderson when on 34.
There was no reprieve for Lara though, as with more than the usual burden of expectation on his shoulders, he walked too far across his stumps to a full-length delivery and heard the sickening rattle of his leg-stump being clipped to the undisguised delight of England’s inspirational all-rounder.
Only the night before, he was confirmed as team captain for next month’s ICC Champions’ Trophy, fuelling intense speculation about his long-term tenure in the job, while the march towards 10 000 Test runs has slowed to a crawl over his last two innings, leaving him still seven runs short of the historic milestone.
Whether or not he was unsettled by the loss of his captain is debatable, but Joseph failed to make the most of the earlier chance, giving Thorpe the opportunity to make amends, again at third slip. The 25-year-old Joseph failed to cover a delivery from Steve Harmison and offered a head-high catch that ended his first Test innings at 45.
Three wickets had gone down for 23 runs and with the out-of-form Bravo joining Chanderpaul, Michael Vaughan sensed that Harmison, who was causing problems for the first time in the series with pace and bounce off the Old Trafford pitch would have been able to wreak havoc through the rest of a very suspect line-up.
It was no surprise that Chanderpaul defied all-comers. He had amassed 313 runs in the first two Tests and underscored the value of grit and courage over style and flair with a typical workmanlike effort.
The surprise was Bravo, who coped well enough with the challenge of Giles bowling over the wicket to the right-hander and trusted his judgement in going for his shots off the faster bowlers.
The left-arm spinner had taken 19 wickets in the first two matches, but did not pose much of a threat over his first 13 overs, conceding 55 runs.
With runs flowing freely as the sunshine briefly won the battle with threatening clouds in the final session, the fifth-wicket pair were well on their way to extending their face-saving stand to the close.
Bravo was first to his 50 off 69 deliveries with six fours, while a top-edged hook for six off Flintoff took Chanderpaul to his 32nd Test half-century off 70 balls, an innings that had also included five fours at that stage.
Yet, at a time when their concentration seemed to be wavering as the clouds rolled in once more and thundershowers were imminent, Hoggard capitalised. Bravo chased a wide delivery and a gleeful Jones snared the chance, while Chanderpaul pushed indecisively to one outside the off-stump to perish when another Test hundred was his for the taking.
With only the three fast bowlers to follow them, the task for two of the recalled players, Carlton Baugh and Dave Mohammed in lifting West Indies well beyond the 300-run mark looks a difficult one.
Whether they will have that opportunity promptly on the second morning is also questionable as the showers that ended play were forecast to linger overnight, enhancing Manchester’s unwanted reputation as a city of gloomy weather.
WEST INDIES 1st innings
C. Gayle c Strauss b Hoggard 5
S. Joseph c Thorpe c Harmison 45
R. Sarwan b Flintoff 40
B. Lara b Flintoff 0
S. Chanderpaul c wkpr Jones b Hoggard 76
D. Bravo c wkpr Jones b Hoggard 77
C. Baugh not out 9
D. Mohammed not out 0
Extras: (b-9, lb-10, w-1, nb-3) 23
Total: (6 wkts) 275
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-85, 3-97, 4-108, 5-265, 6-266.