CRICKET: England wore a new strip yesterday but it could do little to camouflage the lack of progress they have made in one-day cricket since they dominated the NatWest series a year ago.
Indeed, they rounded off a grim few days for England national teams by suffering a seven-wicket rout, with more than 17 overs to spare, at the hands of an inexperienced West Indies side.
It was abysmal batting which let them down as, put in to bat by Brian Lara, they lost their two best players, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan, in the first three overs and were bowled out inside 39 overs for 147, their fourth lowest total ever at home. They were sent packing, not least, by an inspired spell of medium-fast bowling from Dwayne Bravo.
The young Trinidadian took three for 26 from his 10 overs, all his wickets coming in his last five overs at a cost of only five runs, despite the fact that he was bowling towards the end with seven men on the off side. Bravo indeed.
Only a third-wicket stand of 82 in 14 overs between Andrew Strauss (43) and Geraint Jones (35) lent any impetus to the innings and only one boundary came in the last 14 overs as West Indies maintained almost total control.
In reply, West Indies were made to struggle at first against Darren Gough and Steve Harmison, armed with the new white ball on a pitch with considerable bounce and movement.
But two catches were missed close to the wicket off Gough in the first 15 overs, one of which, offered to Trescothick at second slip by the tall opener Chris Gayle when he had nine, proved significant.
The left-hander, after battling his way through an indifferent hour or so of mistimings, half-hits and generally scratchy batting, suddenly located the middle of his bat and finished the match blazing away and unbeaten with 60 from 90 balls, the bedrock of the chase, hitting nine fours in the process.
At the other end, Lara had pulverised his first ball from Jimmy Anderson, off the back foot to the midwicket boundary, and went on to make 32 not out from 29 balls, completing the victory with his sixth boundary.
The unbroken fourth-wicket partnership had produced 55 runs from 45 balls, denting potentially admirable figures from Gough and putting Anderson firmly in his place after he had taken a couple of wickets to give his side a slender chance.
Guardian Service
ENGLAND
M.Trescothick c Lara b Bradshaw 0
M.Vaughan c Sarwan b Bradshaw 1
G.Jones b Rampaul 35
A.Strauss c Jacobs b Bravo 43
P.Collingwood c Jacobs b Rampaul 5
A.McGrath c Gayle b Bravo 9
I.Blackwell c Chanderpaul b Bravo 4
R.Clarke lbw b Dwayne Smith 11
D.Gough b Lawson 13
S.Harmison b Lawson 2
J.Anderson not out 2
Extras (b-4 lb-5 nb-5 w-8) 22
Total (all out, 38.2 overs) 147
Fall of wickets: 1-0 2-2 3-84 4-102 5-104 6-115 7-118 8-139 9-145
Bowling: Bradshaw 10-3-32-2 (w-3), Lawson 9-1-36-2 (nb-3), Bravo 10-2-26-3 (w-2), Rampaul 6-0-34-2 (nb-2, w-3), Smith 3.2-1-10-1.
WEST INDIES
C.Gayle not out 60
S.Chanderpaul b McGrath 20
Dwayne Smith c Trescothick b Anderson 6
R.Sarwan c Trescothick b Anderson 13
B.Lara not out 32
Extras (b-1 lb-3 w-13) 17
Total (for three wickets, 32.2 overs) 148
Fall of wickets: 1-62 2-71 3-93
Did not bat: D.Bravo, R.Powell, R.Jacobs, I.Bradshaw, R.Rampaul, J.Lawson.
Bowling: Gough 9-0-33-0 (w-3), Harmison 10-2-29-0 (w-3), Anderson 7.2-0-39-2 (w-6), Clarke 4-0-30-0, McGrath 2-0-13-1 (w-1) Result:
West Indies win by seven wickets.
Next match: June 29th - England v New Zealand (day/night), Durham.
