John Ward
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2nd Test: England v West Indies at Lord's, 29 Jun - 3 Jul 2000 John Ward |
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England 1st innings:
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Ambrose kept finding the edge, both Caddick and Gough snicked balls into the slips, both times bouncing just before the fielders. At the other end Caddick nudged Walsh perfectly between slips and gully for four to the vacant third-man boundary, although the home batsmen were not finding that area as productive as the tourists’ had. But it dud not look likely to last, and Walsh turned Caddick (6) around and had him caught at second slip by Campbell. England were 118 for nine.
Gough and Matthew Hoggard at first looked as clueless as their predecessors against Ambrose and Walsh, but Hoggard did provide a well-timed off-drive for two off Ambrose go give him his first Test runs. He scored another two with a leg-side heave off Ambrose that skyed the ball to midwicket, but the only leg-side fielders were short leg and fine leg. Then he anticipated a short ball from Ambrose and played a quite respectable pull to the midwicket boundary, and swung a two to long leg.
The atmosphere almost of comedy continued, as Gough tried to pull Walsh and instead lobbed the ball into vacant space less than ten yards beyond the stumps at the bowler’s end, to take a single. The stand came to an end at 134, though, as Gough (13) slashed at Ambrose and hit a comfortable catch straight to Lara at first slip. Hoggard was left unbeaten on 12. Once again Ambrose and Walsh had done for England, taking four wickets apiece, for 30 and 43 runs respectively. England had just managed to score more than half of the West Indian total, by the smallest of margins.
Walsh returned from the Nursery End, but pitched his first ball too short; Stewart played a cracking square cut for four to ensure that England avoided the follow-on. Later in the over White edged a ball that fell short of third slip. Thereafter progress was slow, although another force off the back foot past point by White earned rapturous applause from the crowd, about 60% of capacity by now. Later in the over White snicked a ball just short of slip.
Backward point seemed to be White’s only scoring area as he continued to take his runs there, until he managed a three towards long leg, which was reduced to two when one of the batsmen ran one short. But, just as a useful partnership was developing, Stewart (28) followed a ball from Walsh that moved away outside the off stump and edged a catch to the keeper; England 85 for six.
Batting suddenly looked a near impossible task again, with both White and new batsman Dominic Cork flirting and missing outside off stump. It was quite a while before any more runs were scored, when White snicked King through the then vacant fourth-slip position at a catchable height to the boundary. Cork finally chanced his arm to get off the mark, chipping Walsh uppishly through mid-on for four. Runs began to come again, and England raised the hundred when White steered Walsh to the third-man boundary.
The cynic won the day again over Hick. Ambrose beat him through the gate between bat and pad as he tried to force him off the back foot, and he was bowled for 25, another infuriating dismissal for those who just long for the real Graeme Hick to stand up for more than a few minutes at a time in Test cricket. England were now 37 for four.
Stewart steered Rose backward of point to the boundary, but most of the runs thereafter came in singles. Rose was unable to exert the same pressure as Walsh had, but the English policy now was to play safe. Or it was until Stewart, on 9, drove loosely outside off stump to Rose and Lara put down what was probably the easiest of his three chances during the morning.
Ambrose was rested after taking three wickets for 17 runs in his nine-over burst, and King took over from the pavilion end. He almost immediately struck with a wicket, as Nick Knight almost committed suicide, trying to hook a ball that was moving too far outside his off stump and skying the ball high towards fine leg, fortunately for him out of reach of either fielder in the vicinity. Rose was somewhat erratic, and he bowled the no-ball that took England to 50 in the 20th over.
England were to get no further before losing Knight (6), another whose Test future is in serious question. A flying delivery from King had him fending just outside the off stump and edging a catch straight to Campbell at second slip. Runs then seemed to dry up until Stewart produced a fine forcing back-foot stroke past point to the boundary off Rose, followed next ball by a classic off-driven boundary. But this was a temporary aberration, as had been the brief Hick onslaught, and England went in to lunch without scoring another run or losing another wicket.
Andy Caddick, continuing his unfinished over of the previous night, moved his first ball back in to Courteney Walsh (1), who waved his bat in the general direction of it, was struck on the pad and given out lbw by umpire Srini Venkataraghavan. Reon King was left unbeaten on 12, and the West Indies dismissed for their overnight score of 267.
Mike Atherton opened England's account ten minutes later when he nudged Curtly Ambrose's first ball between slips and gully for a single. But England, perhaps inevitably, were not to make a good start in reply. With the final ball of his over, Ambrose drew Mark Ramprakash, who had not scored, forward to snick a low catch to Brian Lara at first slip, and England were one run for one wicket. Unless he can produce something remarkable out of the bag very quickly, Ramprakash's second career as an England opener may well grind to a halt after four largely unsuccessful Tests.
England plunged further into the mire when Atherton (1) played a nightmare stroke to the last ball of Walsh's opening over. He went on what appeared to be a half-hearted cut or dab outside off stump, with a diagonal bat, and the ball flew straight to Lara again. England were one run for two wickets and again the vultures were circling. It is hard to conceive what possessed the experienced Atherton to play such a ghastly stroke at any stage of an innings, let alone this crucial situation.
Michael Vaughan played out a maiden over from Ambrose before Walsh had his turn at Graeme Hick, whose arrival at the crease in this situation evoked hoots of scorn in the press box. He survived the over rather tentatively but safely enough. Ambrose then found the edge of Vaughan's bat, but Sherwin Campbell at second slip just failed to reach what would have been a marvellous low catch, the ball rocketing through to the boundary.
Walsh strayed to leg at times but Hick was unable to get a bat to them, although he managed some leg-byes. Nowadays Walsh and Ambrose have slowed down to an average speed of just over 80 miles per hour, but such is their expertise and experience that the hapless English batsmen seem to have no idea how to score off them at all. After eight overs the score was also eight - three leg-byes, Vaughan's snick and Atherton's single.
There was great applause around the ground as Hick finally pushed Ambrose into the covers and took a single to get off the mark. But another wicket was to fall in the over, as Vaughan (4) suffered an unlucky dismissal: an inside edge bounced on to his thigh pad and then rebounded on to the stumps, giving Ambrose his 150th wicket against England, who were now 9 for three. A back-foot push through the covers by Hick off Walsh brought two and took England into double figures. It was followed by a cracking back-foot swat to the cover boundary, a fierce pull for four to midwicket, a superb front-foot four past cover off a no-ball, and a back-foot force through the covers for the fourth boundary of the over. In the eyes of the eternal optimist, it aroused thoughts of at last a dominating innings in a Test crisis by the most prolific batsman of the last 15 years. Will it happen, or will the cynic again be able to say, "I told you so" after another brief, glorious cameo?
Date-stamped : 01 Jul2000 - 10:22