Monday, Mar 15, 2004
Monday, Mar 15, 2004 |
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Cricket
By Ted Corbett
KINGSTON, MARCH 14. The third day of the first Test produced the most wretched cricket so far, partly because there were two long rain breaks and partly because the West Indies attack was too raw, too lacking in confidence and for too long without the guiding hand of its captain Brian Lara, resting his injured right hand in the pavilion. When Fidel Edwards joined him with a side strain, it was quite clear that something dramatic was needed to turn this mediocre attack around. Lara obviously thought so. He left his seat on the players' balcony and went on to the field to take the reins from Ramnaresh Sarwan, every West Indian pundit's choice for the captaincy when Lara steps down. No one can say that Sarwan firmed up his application for the job. Faced with the task of getting rid of Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe, England's senior pair, he failed to get the right results from Edwards while he was bowling and appeared to have no idea of the proper strategy beyond changing his fast bowlers around at pre-determined intervals. When Thorpe and then Hussain fell to the persistent bumper attack from Tino Best, another bouncing tiny quick in the Edwards style, Sarwan failed to attack Chris Read, the England wicketkeeper, and no lover of fast bowling. Read must have surveyed the empty spaces near him with some satisfaction for it meant he could edge the ball, or loft it, with impunity. The sight of a short leg would have put Read in a dither but the helmet remained unused though Best peppered the young 'keeper with short stuff.
Lara steps in...
There was admittedly little Sarwan could do to stop Andrew Flintoff. The big all-rounder strolled to 46 at a run-a-ball without either breaking sweat or trying one of the huge swings that are his trademark. Lara watched the proceedings for half-an-hour after lunch and could contain his frustration no longer. He moved out into the middle and within eight overs both Flintoff and Read were back in the pavilion. Lara magic or Lara luck? No one can tell but his bustle and changes caused wickets to fall and that is all a captain is required to achieve. Flintoff went first when Lara put Sarwan on to bowl and his fourth ball tempted Flintoff to go for the boundary and hit a catch to mid-on. Next, Lara brought back Best with the new ball and Read pulled the ball to midwicket. England was 278 for seven, 33 behind and far from certain to get a first innings lead although if Flintoff had continued to play carefully it might have been in a position to reach 400. The rest of the England batsmen pushed beyond West Indies' 311 by a sensible cautious approach in which Ashley Giles made 20, Matthew Hoggard, promoted to No. 9, batted for an hour and Simon Jones played a flashy shot or two before more rain halted play with 27 overs to bowl. It was a crucial stage of the game. Jones, who made 44 in his only other Test innings, was caught off the third ball after the break for seven. Steve Harmison, whose 6ft 6in fit awkwardly into a batting crease, was run out but not before England had built a lead of 28 and the right to bowl at West Indies in the encroaching darkness. Chris Gayle hit a spanking on-drive off Hoggard but West Indies finished on eight without loss, knowing it had to make 300 to avoid defeat. The fact that 60 extras contributed most to the England innings was a sign of a disjointed performance from the West Indies. Not since the mid-70s has it had such a poor team, despite the presence of Lara. England is not one of the most feared sides in the world and must feel greatly comforted to see how inept the West Indies is today.
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