Revitalised by their impressive efforts in the recent Twenty20 series, West Indies put together a disciplined bowling performance to take control in overcast conditions in the first ODI at Lord's. After being asked to bat first, England's batsmen battled their way to 97 for 2 at the halfway mark, having been reined in by the efforts of Ravi Rampaul and Daren Powell in particular, reports Cricinfo.
The mainstay of England's performance was Matt Prior, who had been sent in as a designated pinch-hitter, but instead assessed the conditions and decided that discretion was a much better option. He made 34 from 65 balls before falling lbw to Dwayne Smith, leaving Ian Bell -- back in the side after a groin strain -- to carry the innings with 28 not out from 34 balls.
The only other wicket to fall was that of Alastair Cook, who mistimed a pull shot in Fidel Edwards' first over, and was caught off a top-edge by Dwayne Bravo at backward square. Edwards, West Indies' quickest but most erratic bowler, had been included at the expense of the slow but steady Darren Sammy - a clear signal of intent from a newly invigorated team.
Nevertheless, it was the time-honoured virtues of line and length that lifted West Indies into the ascendancy. Powell in particular was superb. Picking up where he left off in the Twenty20 at The Oval, he bowled a fast, straight and probing line, and had both Cook and Prior flinching in their attempts to break the shackles.
Rampaul, playing his first ODI for three years, was scarcely less impressive, and England had to wait a full seven overs for their first boundary -- a rare loose delivery from Powell that Cook lashed over point with the desperation of a starving man. Prior didn't register his first boundary until his 27th delivery, but it was a flowing drive through the covers that suggested that his time assessing the conditions had been well spent.
Bell had a much easier introduction to the crease. His first full over came against the misdirected medium-pace of Dwayne Smith, whom he clipped through midwicket and drove through the covers for two welcome boundaries, and thereafter he was content to deal in ones and twos as England picked up their tempo as the nip went out of the pitch.
Scorecard
England innings:
AN Cook c Bravo b Edwards 29
MJ Prior lbw b DR Smith 34
IR Bell run out (Gayle/Samuels) 56
KP Pietersen c Samuels b Bravo 33
OA Shah run out (Ramdin) 42
PD Collingwood b Edwards 5
AD Mascarenhas b Edwards 2
LE Plunkett c Ramdin b Edwards 4
SCJ Broad c Ramdin b Edwards 0
MS Panesar lbw b Rampaul 1
JM Anderson not out
Extras: (b 4, lb 6, w 8, nb 1) 19
Total: (all out; 49.5 overs) 225
Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Cook, 13.3 ov), 2-96 (Prior, 24.2 ov), 3-148 (Pietersen, 36.6 ov), 4-177 (Bell, 41.6 ov), 5-186 (Collingwood, 43.6 ov), 6-199 (Mascarenhas, 45.6 ov), 7-209 (Plunkett, 47.2 ov), 8-210 (Broad, 47.4 ov), 9-216 (Panesar, 48.6 ov), 10-225 (Shah, 49.5 ov)
West Indies innings:
CH Gayle c Broad b Plunkett 6
DS Smith run out (Anderson/Prior) 4
RS Morton b Anderson 0
MN Samuels c Prior b Anderson 0
S Chanderpaul not out 9
DJ Bravo not out 20
Extras: (lb 3, w 1, nb 1) 5
Total: (4 wickets; 11.1 overs) 44
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Gayle, 3.1 ov), 2-12 (Morton, 4.3 ov), 3-12 (Samuels, 4.4 ov), 4-13 (DS Smith, 5.1 ov)
Prior drops anchor in tough conditions
FE Team | Published: July 02, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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