CRICKET/Third Test: Matthew Hoggard upstaged local hero Andrew Flintoff yesterday yesterday and re-established England's superiority over West Indies in the third nPower Test.
While a 17,000 crowd turned up at Old Trafford to salute local hero Flintoff and Lancashire team-mate James Anderson, it was seamer Hoggard who stole the limelight and turned the match in England's direction with three key wickets.
West Indies struggled to 275 for six at the end of a day restricted to only 70.5 overs because of overnight rain and bad light.
Hoggard made the decisive early breakthrough which gave England a flying start after the tourists had decided to bat first, removing dangerous strokemaker Chris Gayle in the 27th delivery of the day when he prodded a simple catch to point.
Following an inevitable golden spell from Flintoff, who removed key pair Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara within a six-ball period, it was Hoggard who produced the key contribution and ensured England finished the first day on top.
At 108 for four, West Indies were by no means certain to bat the day out until Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo teamed up and demonstrated impressive resolve.
Progressing at a steady rate of nearly five an over in the final session, the pair halted England's momentum.
Like many other occasions during the winter, Hoggard was called upon by captain Michael Vaughan and immediately changed the course of the opening day.
Experienced campaigner Chanderpaul guided Bravo to a share of a 157-run partnership and neither batsmen looked likely to lose concentration.
Just as they both eyed centuries, however, they fell to Hoggard in successive overs - a double blow which would have infuriated the tourists as bad light ended play for the day two overs later. Play was abandoned later when a thunderstorm engulfed Old Trafford.
Hoggard's two wickets in four balls, both batsmen edging behind to wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, took his tally for the series to 13 and established himself as England's most successful seamer against West Indies.
No day this summer would be complete, however, without Flintoff taking centre stage for at least some part of it.
His moment came when vice-captain Sarwan, who had threatened to repeat his century at Edgbaston after hitting five boundaries in reaching 40, mistimed a front-foot drive and played onto his stumps.
Five balls later Flintoff claimed the most prized scalp of all with Lara disappearing for a duck when a yorker crashed into his leg stump.
Harmison ended the resolve of debutant opener Sylvester Joseph, who battled for more than two and a half hours to move within five runs of his half-century before chasing a wide delivery and picking out Graham Thorpe at third slip.
Chanderpaul, though, has made a career out of spoiling similar situations throughout the world and was given able support from 20-year-old Bravo.
But Bravo's inexperience finally showed when he chased a wide delivery and found the edge which Jones took low to his right.
Chanderpaul followed him in Hoggard's next over, playing a very similar shot to fall for 76 including one six and six fours.
WEST INDIES FIRST INNINGS
C Gayle c Strauss b Hoggard 5
S Joseph c Thorpe c Harmison 45
R Sarwan b Flintoff 40
B Lara b Flintoff 0
S Chanderpaul c Jones b Hoggard 76
D Bravo c Jones b Hoggard 77
C Baugh not out 9
D Mohammed not out 0
Extras (b-9 lb-10 w-1 nb-3) 23
Total (for six wickets, 70.5 overs) 275
Fall of wickets: 1-10 2-85 3-97 4-108 5-265 6-266
Bowling (to date): Hoggard 16-3-61-3 (nb-2, w-1), Harmison 19.5-5-52-1, Flintoff 12-3-46-2 (nb-1), Anderson 10-1-42-0, Giles 13-0-55-0
