KINGSTON (Jamaica), Feb 6: West Indies scored 224 for loss of three wickets when they went for lunch on the third day of the first Test against England at the Sabina Park on Friday.
Ramnaresh Sarwan scored 103 while Shivnarine Chanderpaul was batting on nought.
Chris Gayle was prominent wicket of the day that fell off Stuart Broad after scoring 104.
Opener Smith became a cheap victim of Flintoff as he could score only 6.
On Thursday, the West Indies’ second wicket pair of Gayle and Sarwan batted England into the ground with a hundred-run partnership.
England’s bowlers lacked penetration, as Sarwan, undefeated on 74, and Gayle, 71 not out, carried West Indies to 160 for one, replying to England’s first innings total of 318, when stumps were drawn on the second day.
The closest England came to separating the two batsmen came when they asked for an lbw decision be referred to the video umpire with Sarwan on two from the bowling of Andrew Flintoff, and then umpire Tony Hill’s lbw verdict from the bowling of Steve Harmison was overruled by video umpire Daryl Harper when the same batsman was five.
After this, England could not find a way through either batsmen, as they both stroked the ball with crisp assurance.
Monty Panesar, whose left-arm spin was expected to trouble the West Indies batsmen, failed to make an impact.
Steve Harmison, who has fond memories of the ground, following his best bowling in Tests of seven wickets for 12 runs, also looked way below his best, and Sarwan nursed him behind square for two to reach his 50 from 111 balls.
The first of the two confirmed that Sarwan was clearly not-out, when Flintoff appealed for an lbw verdict for a delivery that was clearly heading down the leg-side.
The second saved Sarwan from being dismissed, when he was struck playing back to an off-cutter from Harmison, and Hill adjudged him lbw.
England’s bowlers were not as consistent as they would have liked, and the two West Indies batsmen reeled off an array of exciting strokes.
Scoreboard
ENGLAND (1st Innings)
A. Strauss c Ramdin b Taylor 7
A. Cook c Sarwan b Powell 4
I. Bell c D.S. Smith b Gayle 28
K. Pietersen c Ramdin b Benn 97
P. Collingwood lbw b Benn 16
A. Flintoff c Nash b Powell 43
M. Prior c and b Benn 64
S. Broad c Benn b Taylor 4
R. Sidebottom not out 26
S. Harmison lbw b Taylor 7
M. Panesar lbw b Benn 0
EXTRAS (B-7, LB-8, NB-7) 22
TOTAL (all out, 122.2 overs) 318
FALL OF WKTS: 1-8 (Strauss), 2-31 (Cook), 3-71 (Bell), 4-96 (Collingwood), 5-180 (Pietersen), 6-240 (Flintoff), 7-256 (Broad), 8-288 (Prior), 9-313 (Harmison).
BOWLING: Taylor 20-4-74-3 (nb3); Edwards 14-1-58-0 (nb3); Powell 20-5-54-2 (nb1); Benn 44.2-14-77-4; *Gayle 24-9-40-1.
WEST INDIES (1st Innings, overnight 160 for one)
C. Gayle b Broad 104
D. Smith lbw b Flintoff 6
R. Sarwan not out 103
X. Marshall lbw b Broad 0
S. Chanderpaul not out 0
EXTRAS (B-5, LB-5, W-1) 11
TOTAL (for three wkts, 79 overs) 224
TO BAT: B. Nash, D. Ramdin, J. Taylor, S. Benn, D. Powell, F. Edwards
FALL OF WKTS: 1-18 (Smith), 2-220 (Gayle), 3-220 (Marshall).
BOWLING: Sidebottom 14-4-19-0; Flintoff 18-7-36-1; Harmison 11-1-35-0 (w1); Broad 13-4-39-2; Panesar 19-4-70-0; Pietersen 4-1-15-0.
UMPIRES: R. Koertzen (South Africa), T. Hill (New Zealand).
TV UMPIRE: D. Harper.
MATCH REFEREE: A. Hurst.—Agencies
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