Shiv stands tall... as Windies seize initiative with Edwards late burst
published:
Monday | June 18, 2007
West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul (right) hits the ball for six runs against England during the third day of the fourth Test at the Riverside Cricket ground in Chester-le-Street, England, yesterday. - AP
CHESTER-LE-STREET, England (CMC):
Shivnarine Chanderpaul provided the spark with his 16th Test hundred and Fidel Edwards provided the fire with three crucial wickets that kept West Indies on track in the rain-affected fourth and final Test against England yesterday.
Chanderpaul was undefeated on 136, as West Indies, sent in to bat, were dismissed for 287 in their first innings about 20 minutes after the scheduled tea break.
Edwards then removed Alastair Cook early and returned for a second spell at the tail-end of the day to scalp nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard, as well as key England batsman Kevin Pietersen with the last ball of the third day to leave the home team on 121 for four when stumps were drawn at the Riverside.
Blot
The only blot on the West Indies bowlers was that they failed to remove Andrew Strauss, whose previous scores in the series were 33, 24, 15, 6 and 0.
The West Indies bowlers served him a succession of juicy deliveries either side of the wicket and he unleashed a volley of strokes and was unbeaten on 72 at the close after driving Daren Powell through mid-off for three to reach his 50.
Edwards and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin made sure Cook, Strauss' opening partner, who has been in fine form had no such luck. Flicking at a delivery down the leg-side, he got a faint touch and he was caught down the leg-side for 13.
Michael Vaughan arrived, but was never at his fluent best he added 73 for the second wicket with Strauss. The England captain became the first of three wickets which fell for 11 runs in the space of 14 balls when he was caught at second slip off Corey Collymore for 19.
Next over, Edwards had Hoggard caught at first slip for a duck and followed up when he had Pietersen caught behind off the under-edge, when the England batsman essayed a pull at a short ball.
Edwards finished the day with figures of three wickets for 40 runs from seven overs.
Earlier, Chanderpaul reached his second straight hundred of the series, when he cut a short, wide ball from Steve Harmison through cover for the 14th of his 18 boundaries.
This follows his crucial, undefeated 116 in the second innings of the third Test at Manchester and his innings has pushed his career Test runs to 7,112 in 104 Tests.
The former West Indies captain had been dropped on nine the previous day, but he remained unflappable the rest of the way for a near seven-hour long innings to add beef to the West Indies' total.
He had passed 50, when he followed a fluent extra cover drive for four off Hoggard with a nudge into the leg-side for a single.
Left-hander Chanderpaul shared three vital partnerships that extended the West Indies" innings, after they continued from their bedtime total of 132 for four.
He shared 86 for the fifth wicket with Dwayne Bravo, then added 58 for the sixth wicket with Marlon Samuels, before he put on a defiant 58 for the final wicket with Corey Collymore.
Bravo scored 44, Samuels made 19 and Collymore got 13, but England left-arm medium-fast bowler Ryan Sidebottom ended with career-best figures of five for 88 from 29 overs.
Before lunch, Bravo had struggled to get the ball away before Hoggard eventually bowled him off the inside edge.
Bravo had come to the wicket the previous afternoon, when West Indies slumped to 55 for four and he batted circumspectly to help Chanderpaul rescue the visitors from deeper calamity before bad light prompted an early close on Saturday.
Samuels never suggested that he lacked batting practice when he came to the crease, despite his protestations to West Indies manager Mike Findlay last week in a letter which was leaked to the Press. He looked typically unflustered by the England bowlers and continued the West Indies" revival in company with Chanderpaul.
There was one moment of thoughtlessness though, when he cut a delivery from Panesar to backward point and set off for a single, only to turn his back on Chanderpaul midway down the pitch, leaving his more experienced partner to scramble to regain his ground.
Samuels was dismissed next over, when he was bowled behind his back for 19 trying to clip a delivery from Sidebottom into the leg-side.
West Indies ate lunch on 211 for six, but Sidebottom removed Ramdin and Edwards and in between Harmison got Daren Powell in the space of 25 balls after the interval to wobble the visitors" on 229 for nine.
West Indies lost Ramdin when Sidebottom had him caught at second slip for 13 edging a forward defensive probe and claimed his first five-wicket haul in Tests when he bowled Edwards for five.
In between, Powell was caught behind off Harmison for one when he miscued a short, rising ball prompting Collymore's arrival with Chanderpaul needing two more runs for his landmark.
Collymore stayed focused close to 1-3/4 hours to partner Chanderpaul to his milestone and frustrate the England bowlers before Panesar had him adjudged lbw on the backfoot playing across the line.
The entire first day of this Test was washed out on Friday and play started three hours later than scheduled on the second day.
West Indies trail in the four-Test series 0-2, after losing the second Test at Leeds by an innings and 283 runs - their heaviest defeat in Tests - and the third Test at Manchester by 60 runs.
