END OF DAY REPORT - England v West Indies

Two very different hundreds for two very different captains, but it is Andrew Strauss, not Darren Sammy, whose side has the initiative going into the third day. Strauss (102*) and Kevin Pietersen (72*) made merry in another barnstorming evening session to leave England only 111 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.

For all that Samuels and Sammy had rescued West Indies with a seventh-wicket stand of 204, this was a day which emphasised that the failure of the tourists' top-order on Friday morning is likely to have cost West Indies a chance of victory, perhaps even the match. 

Strauss, who is now on 21 Test hundreds - one behind Hammond, Cowdrey and Boycott - looked a little uncertain on his way to fifty but was then in total control after tea. "It's a very strange game," Strauss said. "Sometimes batting feels very difficult, and other times, when you've got a few runs under your belt, it's a lot easier. It took a lot less out of me today than it did at Lord's last week."

A vintage Pietersen peppered the boundary with every sort of shot, including a scoop over his and the wicketkeeper's head off the bowling of Shillingford. 

Earlier, Sammy went to his first Test hundred in customary fashion: a flick to midwicket which turned into a miscued edge just evading gully. He was out shortly later, caught having a hook at Tim Bresnan (4-104). That is the way he succeeds or fails. Samuels, on the other hand, was culpable when swinging wildly at Bresnan to be caught in the gully. Had he batted an extra half an hour with the tail then West Indies might have made a truly imposing score.

Either side of lunch, the talk was of Kemar Roach and his no-balls. Twice he had Alastair Cook caught behind but had overstepped. Roach bowled eight no-balls in all. It was left to the Ravi Rampaul to lead the attack, which he did admirably, keeping England guessing about length, and also finding some rare movement through the air. This accounted for Cook, pushing and edging on the third occasion.

Rampaul also did for Trott, who had played a series of candied drives off both feet before tea but was lbw playing across the line four balls into the resumption. But thereafter there were no wickets for West Indies and plenty of runs for England on another beautiful summer's evening entertainment at Trent Bridge. 

Date: 26/05/2012 19:37:17 by Benj Moorehead
In: Today | England |