On Thursday, the West Indies had their best day of Test cricket since arriving in England. In fact, the post lunch session was probably the best session of Test cricket that the Windies have produced in a couple years. English captain Michael Vaughan won the toss at Old Trafford and decided to bat on what looked liked a fast scoring pitch. The decision seemed to have payed off as the Windies bowlers were flayed to all parts of the ground during the opening session. England survivied the early wicket of Andrew Strauss, who fell to Jerome Taylor, to race to 112/1 off 28 overs at lunch.
The Windies then produced their most impressive session in the field for a long time as they then took 4 English wickets for only 55 runs in the post lunch interval. Corey Collymore picked up 2 wickets in this session, including the biggie of Kevin Pietersen, who failed to control a pull shot and was caught, but it was the bowling of Fidel Edwards that must have brought a smile to the faces of West Indians. Fidel's bowling figures are not impressive. In fact they may be borderline horrible, but those figures of 15 overs 2 maidens 75 runs 1 wicket disguise the fact that for a while in that post lunch session, Fidel had the English batsmen hopping around like sitting ducks. He bowled with a fire and aggression that has been sorely lacking from the Windies bowling, directing several rising bouncers at the batsmen's throats.
In the post tea session however, England were able to regain some of their lost momentum with a 98 run partnership between Matt Prior (40) and Ian Bell (77n.o.). The Windies were able to break that threatening partnership at 264/6 when Prior misplayed a pull shot and was caught by Runako Morton. The wicket of Liam Plunkett left the Englishmen to battle to their close of play score of 296/7. It must have been a satisfying day for the Windies. However, Bell looks ominous and getting his wicket early will be key to ensuring that England do not manage to put together a score that is beyond the Windies.
Congratulations must also be in order for Darren Sammy, who made his Test debut. In fact, he is the first St. Lucian to ever play Test cricket. Sammy had a pretty good day, returning figures of 1/32 off 17 miserly overs. His selection was a bit curious, as the team management opted to go with 2 all rounders. There was no place for the newly recalled Marlon Samuels nor for Daren Powell, who previously spearheaded the attack in the World Cup and in the first 2 Tests.
UPDATE: For live BBC coverage, click on the link in the right sidebar.
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