- Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
England's opener Marcus Trescothick is bowled by Jermaine Lawson (out of picture) during yesterday's opening day of their warm-up game against the Vice Chancellor's XI at Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground, UWI Bowl, Mona.
Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
THE TOURING England cricketers stepped up their preparation for Thursday's first Test against the West Indies with an impressive performance against the Vice Chancellor's X1 at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Ground, Mona Bowl, yesterday.
On a hot and windy day and on a slow pitch with a low bounce, the tourists, led by pacers Steve Harmison and Simon Jones and left-arm spinner Ashley Giles, blew away the Vice Chancellor's batsmen for 119 in 51.2 overs.
Then, after losing Marcus Trescothick - bowled first ball by pacer Jermaine Lawson - the tourists eased to 152 for two with captain Michael Vaughan 66 and Nasser Hussain 76 not out.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Vice Chancellor's XI lost Kennedy Otieno - caught by Jones in the covers off Harmison at 12 for one, and Dwayne Bravo at 37 for two before captain Jason Haynes - 45 off 105 deliveries in 145 minutes, and Steve Tikolo - 23 off 63 deliveries in 81 minutes - lifted them to 88 for two in the 34th over.
DRAMATIC COLLAPSE
In a dramatic collapse engineered by Jones - three for 43 off 10.2 overs; Harmison - four for 17 off 11; and Giles, with two for 26 off 17, the Vice Chancellor's XI lost eight wickets for 31 runs in 17 overs with the first six tumbling for seven runs in eight overs, as the home team dropped from 88 for two to 95 for eight in 45 minutes.
With Darren Sammy, 17 not out, and Ryan Cunningham, sticking around and looking like breaking the spell, Jones, one for 30 off seven overs in his first spell in the England shirt since November 2002 when he suffered an injury in Brisbane, returned and ended the innings by bowling both Cunningham and Lawson in his fourth over.
Although he never attempted to bowl at top speed, Jones bowled well.
Starting with his first delivery, so too did Lawson who bowled a bit faster than he did at Sabina Park a few days ago.
With three members of the West Indies Board's Review Committee - David Holford, Brian Davis, and Colin Croft - looking on and cameras focused on him from almost every angle, Lawson, running in from the south, bowled Trescothick with a lovely yorker and really looked good, reasonably good, before he was replaced after four overs.
