LUNCH Interval: With the sun finally winning the battle, the West Indies too will be very pleased with their morning's work, thanks again to the incomparable Courtney Walsh. At lunch on Day 1 of Test 1 here at Edgbaston, England are 51-3.

The West Indies won the toss and elected to field first, which was surprising, given that the pitch appeared to be very flat and good for batting. After the first ten overs, the benign nature of the pitch was confirmed, as openers Mark Ramprakash, who passed a late fitness test this morning, and Michael Atherton, looked relatively untroubled.

The score progressed steadily to 26, with both Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, both of whom had not played in any of the three games before the Test, looking very much as if they needed more preparation work. Then Walsh struck.

Ramprakash was less than fully forward, and was smartly snapped up, from bat and pad, by Wavell Hinds at forward short-leg; out for 20. That was Walsh's 450th Test wicket.

Atherton then pulled Reon King through mid-wicket for three boundaries before he nibbled at a Walsh leg-cutter, only to be caught by wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs. Atherton out for 20; England 44-2.

That quickly became 45-3 as Graham Hick also sparred at a leg-cutter, playing away from his body, the edge going to Chris Gayle at 3rd slip, who juggled it to 2nd slip where Sherwin Campbell completed the catch; Hick out for 00.

England's captain Nasser Houssein is 02 not out, while Alec Stewart is 04 not out and a lot will depend on this pair. Courtney Walsh has been the only wicket-taker so far, with 3-23 from 13 probing overs. At lunch, then, on day 1 of this Test series, England are 51-3.

TEA INTERVAL: The West Indies continued their domination of the first day of this Test series by getting a further four wickets in the second session, while England made a further 78 runs.

At tea on Day 1 of this 1st Test, England are 129-7, after being 51-3 at lunch.

England's captain, Nasser Hussain, and Alec Stewart had put on 12 for the 4th wicket when Curtly Ambrose, bowling as mean as ever and getting the ball to cut sharply off the pitch, induced Stewart to play outside a delivery, the resulting inside edge cannoning on to the leg stump. Stewart had gone for 06, England 57-4.

A nice partnership was developing between Hussain and Nick Knight, for the 5th wicket, when Franklyn Rose got a delivery to bounce somewhat, just clipping Hussein's gloves; out caught by wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs for 18; England 82-5. The 5th wicket partnership realized 25 runs.

The hundred came up in the 44th over, but England will have a very hard and long way to go to pull themselves out of this hole as the West Indian fast bowlers have completely dominated the day so far and proceedings so far.

At 112, Knight played with leaden feet, away from his body, only to see the resulting edge from King's bowling ending up in Brian Lara's hands at 1st slip. Knight out for 26; England 112-6.

That became 112-7 when Andy Flintoff sparred at a shortish ball from Walsh, with the same result, caught at 1st slip by Lara; Flintoff out for 16.

Courtney Walsh has 4-23 and has bowled rather well, if not quickly, while Ambrose, King and Rose has a wicket each.

At tea on Day 1, having being inserted by West Indian captain Jimmy Adams after he won the toss, England are 129-7, with Robert Croft on 16 and Andy Caddick yet to score.

CLOSE OF PLAY: The West Indies are moving cautiously towards that eventual England total of 179. They are 50-2, scored in 17 very aggressive overs from England's fast bowlers, Darren Gough, Andy Caddick and Ed Giddins. Sherwin Campbell is 28 not out, playing cautiously, while Brian Lara, playing in his first Test for nearly six months, looks ominous on 06 not out.

Already out are Chris Gayle, who was hopelessly beaten for pace by Gough; palpably LBW for 00, and Wavell Hinds, caught at mid-off by Nasser Hussain, from Caddick's bowling, while playing a poor aerial drive immediately after hitting a good boundary. He made 12.

Earlier, the West Indies had struggled somewhat after tea, when England was 129-7, to get those final three wickets. Through some very good tail-end batting by Robert Croft, Darren Gough and Andy Caddick, England managed that 179.

Robert Croft and Andy Caddick took the score from 112 before tea to 134 after tea with an intelligent mix of hitting and defensive shots, ensuring that the tail wagged. Then Croft became Courtney Walsh's 5th wicket, a genuine edge from a leg cutter ending up in Ridley Jacobs' gloves. Croft made a very valuable 18.

Gough and Caddick, as batsmen, put on 39 even more valuable runs for the 9th wicket, the biggest partnership of the innings, before Gough was just run out from a direct hit by Ridley Jacobs to the non-striker's end. Gough had made 23; England 173-9.

The innings was soon over as Giddings, on 00, skied Reon King for Jacobs to take a nice running catch; England all out for 179. Andy Caddick was left not out on 21, the 3rd highest score of the innings after Nick Knight's 26 and Darren Gough's 23.

Courtney Walsh, in his 118th Test, finished with 5-36, which included his 450th wicket in Test cricket. This was also his best bowling figures against England in Tests; the 101st time that he had taken five or more wickets in a first class game; and the 20th time that he had done the feat in Test cricket.

What a tremendous fast bowler he still is!! On this first day, he showed all his experience and know-how in using whatever help he could get, slowing his pace considerably to achieve maximum movement from the ball, to again be the West Indies best bowler.

Even at this early stage, this 1st Test, and perhaps this series, is nicely poised, as both teams will be looking desperately on the 2nd day for an advantage. At the end of Day 1, the West Indies are just balanced on 50-2 in reply to England's 179 all out.