Eng chip away at WI resistance

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Steve Harmison produced his best spell of the series and Monty Panesar struck shortly before lunch as England chipped away and West Indies' resistance on the fourth morning at Old Trafford. Chris Gayle was the victim of some welcome venom from Harmison, then Devon Smith was Panesar's first second-innings strike leaving West Indies a mountain to climb as they chase 455, reports Cricinfo.
Harmison's eight-over burst was hostile and accurate, for the first time this summer it was possible to count the number of leg-side deliveries on one hand.
He constantly tested Gayle's technique and rapped him a painful blow on his left thumb from a ball which spat off a length. In his next over, Harmison pitched a delivery fuller on off stump and a flat-footed Gayle poked an edge to second slip, where Paul Collingwood went low to his left to clutch a sharp chance. It was Harmison's 500th first-class wicket and 50th against West Indies.
Ryan Sidebottom shared the early duties with Harmison, causing problems with his swing, and could easily have gained an edge. But after nearly an hour of pace, England's main weapon, Panesar, was given the ball. A full toss was greeted with a mow past mid-on by Runako Morton and Panesar didn't quite settle in his early overs.
Smith responded to the threat posed by the footmarks with two well-timed cover drives and also used his pad to frustrate Panesar. But problems were lurking, one delivery rolling along the ground to emphasise the difficulties of a worn surface. Eventually the probing line paid off as a ball gripped out of the rough, took the glove, and looped to short leg.
Morton, who tried to hit the cover off everything in the first innings, played a different game this time around as he patiently left outside off. An aggressive drive was never far away, and the slips were kept on their toes, but the batsmen were putting a price on their wickets which wasn't always evident in the first innings. However, as with Saturday's late surge of wickets it has come too late.