The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
West Indies had commanded respect and, for a fleeting moment, they even invited hope among their long-suffering supporters but at the end of the Lord's Test it was a familiar tale of defeat. Two early wickets briefly raised West Indies' expectations that a startling victory might be in their grasp but they were summarily dashed as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell swept England to a comfortable five-wicket victory.
more at ESPNcricinfo
The search for the next Ian Botham was one of those mythical quests like finding the Holy Grail but Stuart Broad came closer than most yesterday after becoming the first England player to take ten wickets at Lord’s since Botham managed the feat against New Zealand 34 years ago.
Of the England players playing here against the West Indies, only Andrew Strauss the captain was born when Botham took 11-140 against Mark Burgess’s side at Lord’s in 1978. Broad, who took 4-93 on Sunday, ended with 11-165 from 58.5 overs, his feat tempered slightly by the loss of two late wickets by England.
more at The Telegraph
It is perhaps no surprise that Shivnarine Chanderpaul inhabits his own little world. It must be much safer there. When he made his Test debut 18 years ago, West Indies were No. 1 in the world. Now Test match victories are a rarity and the sound of Caribbean cricket is a prolonged lamentation for what has gone before.
West Indies, trailing by 155 runs on first innings, and already widely dismissed as no-hopers after the first two days of a three-match series, lost three top-order wickets for no runs in nine balls on the verge of tea and until Chanderpaul put up unyielding resistance with an unbeaten 34 in two-and-a-half hours (that he made so many was due to a late flurry) there was a possibility that they could lose in three days. Instead, they trail by 35 runs with six wickets remaining and have the right to a measure of respect.
more at ESPNcricinfo
LONDON, England – West Indies snatched two wickets in the final session to stymie England’s momentum, but were still facing a tall order after Andrew Strauss’ 20th Test hundred put the hosts in control of the first Test on Friday here.
The Windies failed to gain the same help from the conditions that their opponents did the previous day and the England captain stroked an undefeated 121 to lead his side to 259 for three, replying to the visitors’ first innings total of 243, when bad light ended the second day at Lord’s two deliveries into the second new ball.
more at Windiescricket
One innings into England's Test summer, Andrew Strauss' authority has been emphatically re-established. That it should take place at Lord's was entirely appropriate because there is something about Lord's that encourages the best in him. He is attuned to its trim and orderly air and after an unrewarding winter that brought his right to the England captaincy into focus he has never valued it more.
more at ESPNcricinfo