By Tony Becca , Contributing Editor
West Indies' fast bowler Tino Best celebrates with teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan after taking the wicket of England opener Marcus Trescothick for one on yesterday's second day of the second Test in Trinidad & Tobago. - Dellmar Photo
TEST CRICKET is supposed to be a battle of skill, wit and stamina, and if that is so, yesterday's second day of the second Test of the 2004 Cable & Wireless Series between the West Indies and England was almost a perfect day.
At stumps on another rainy day a day during which only 30.3 overs of the expected 101 were bowled due to rain which chased the players off the field at 10.48 a.m., did not allow them back until 3.15 p.m. and then chased them off again at 4.40, England, after losing two quick wickets to the experience of Pedro Collins and the pace of Tino Best and recovering due to the skill of Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain, were 54 for two replying to the West Indies first innings 208.
Resuming at 189 for eight after rain had limited the first day's play to 54 overs, the West Indies innings was over after 31 minutes and 6.1 overs with Ridley Jacobs, 29 overnight, run out for 40 and pacer Steve Harmison bowling Collins for 10 to finish with figures of six for 61 off 20.1 overs.
"That's not good enough," said a former England player now a member of the British press and, 12 minutes later when the England opening pair, captain Michael Vaughan and Mark Trescothick, strolled on to the field just behind umpires Daryl Harper of Australia and Billy Bowden of New Zealand and way ahead of the West Indies fielders, it appeared that they too were bubbling with confidence and eager to get at the Windies bowlers.
Within 17 minutes, inside four overs, however, both batsmen were back in the pavilion one for zero at two for one in the first over, and one for one at eight for two in the fourth over.
93-MILE AN HOUR BOUNCER
Cutting the ball both ways off the seam, left-hander Collins trapped Vaughan leg before wicket when the right-hander eased on to the front-foot and missed the ball that cut into his pad and, bowling with his usual fire, Best cut down Trescothick when the left-hander attempted to hook a 93-mile an hour bouncer and lobbed a catch off the shoulder of the bat to Adam Sanford at the left of the square-leg umpire.
For two overs before the rain intervened for the first time, and another four after the resumption, it was hell for Butcher and Hussain.
Best, pumped up by a home crowd that cheered him on as he ran in from the pavilion end, bowled fast - very fast, and he attacked the batsmen with some screaming bouncers and some well-pitched yorkers while taking one for 15 off six overs.
At the other end, Collins, Best's countryman from Barba-dos who finished the day with one for 15 off nine overs, bowled a good line, pitched the ball on a good length and confused the batsmen who had no idea which direction the ball was going after it hit the pitch.
Gradually, however, the left-handed Butcher, 25 not out with four boundaries, and the right-handed Hussain, 20 not out with three boundaries, got on top and played some handsome strokes off both bowlers before captain Brian Lara pulled them out of the attack and brought in Sanford and Corey Collymore.
Sanford, bowling from the pavilion end and looking tame in comparison to Best, was smashed for three boundaries. Collymore, however, was on the spot from his first delivery and was unfortunate not to pick up a wicket when Butcher, on 20 at 49 for two, went back, edged a sharp, rising delivery to second slip, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul dropped what, at any level of the game, was nothing more than a regulation catch.
SCOREBOARD
West Indies first innings
(Resumed at 189-8)
R. Jacobs run out 40
P. Collins b Harmison 10
C. Collymore not out 3
Extras: (7lb, 6w, 4nb) 17
TOTAL: (all out) 208
Overs: 60.1.
Fall: 1-100, 2-110, 3-110, 4-113, 5-142, 6-143, 7-148, 8-165, 9-202.
Bowling: Matthew Hoggard 15-3-38-1 (1nb), Steve Harmison 20.1-5-61-6 (1nb), Andrew Flintoff 10-3-38-0 (2nb, 5w), Ashley Giles 3-0-20-0, Simon Jones 12-2-44-1 (1w).
England first innings
M. Trescothick c Sanford b Best 1
M. Vaughan lbw Collins 0
M. Butcher not out 25
N. Hussain not out 20
Extras: (6lb, 2nb) 8
TOTAL: (for two wkts) 54
Overs: 24.2.
Fall: 1-2, 2-8.
Bowling: Pedro Collins 9-5-15-1 (2nb), Tino Best 6-2-15-1, Adam Sanford 6-3-17-0, Corey Collymore 3.2-2-1-0.
