West Indies' Brian Lara hits out during the second day of the second cricket Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham, central England yesterday. - REUTERS
Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
BIRMINGHAM:
FOR THOSE who love to hear the sweet sound of bat hitting ball or to see the red sphere racing away to the boundary or glistening in the sunshine as it leaves the willow like a rocket before landing beyond the boundary, Edgbaston, Birmingham, was the place to be yesterday morning through to mid-afternoon.
In a magnificent display that had the house full of hometown fans cheering incessantly, England, led by golden boy Andrew Flintoff and to a lesser extent Geraint Jones, hammered the West Indies bowlers mercilessly while dancing to 566 for nine declared in 565 minutes off 134 overs, on the second day of the second Test in the npower series. It was Flintoff's fourth Test century and the second against the West Indies.
At stumps, however, the West Indies, after losing two quick wickets and looking set to surrender on a pitch that many believe will deteriorate as the match progresses, and one on which a few deliveries have already kept low, were 184 for two off 40 overs.
LARA'S GROUND
Captain Brian Lara preened himself on the ground where he scored the world first-class record 501 not out in 1994, on 74 after batting for 153 minutes, facing 103 deliveries, stroking 11 fours and striking one six; and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was on 87 after batting for 164 minutes, facing 127 deliveries and stroking 16 fours.
Starting the day on 313 for five off 85.2 overs with Flintoff on 42 and Jones on 27, and the count of boundaries reading one six and 49 fours, England gave the West Indies bowlers a caning they will hardly ever forget while blasting seven sixes and 29 fours and storming to 253 runs off 49.4 overs in 205 minutes before captain Michael Vaughan declared the innings closed with 40 of the day's allotted 90 overs still be bowled.
Had it not been for Corey Collymore and his fast-medium deliveries, medium-pacer Dwayne Bravo, and part-time right-arm leg spinner Sarwan, it could have been worse.
With Jermaine Lawson picked off for 64 runs in two spells of five and one after conceding only 47 off 17 on the first day, with left-arm pacer Pedro Collins giving up 15 off the 1.4 overs he bowled, and with Flintoff slamming three sixes in one over off offspinner Omari Banks, Collymore, who bowled from the start to a few minutes before lunch, conceded only 41 runs off 12 consecutive overs, although he ended going at five per over off his eight.
The partnership between Flintoff and Jones yielded 170 off 190 deliveries.
TOP CLASS
In a top-class performance, the England all-rounder, joining the action at 210 for four when Marcus Trescothick was dismissed after scoring a century and leaving it at 522 for eight when he played across a good length delivery from Bravo and was leg before, paraded his strokeplay with 17 fours to every part of the ground and his power with seven sixes as he raced to and past the 150 mark.
Going to bat with victory apparently out of their reach and a fight on their hands to save the game, the West Indies lost Devon Smith in the first over and Chris Gayle in the third as Hoggard struck two early blows for England before Sarwan and Lara stepped in, played some glorious strokes, and reminded the fans that regardless of the strokes that led to the fall of their two colleagues, West Indians can bat, and brilliantly at that.
