New Zealand v England: Eoin Morgan remains a doubt for tourists

England captain Eoin Morgan is a doubt for Tuesday’s Twenty20 tri-series match against New Zealand in Wellington because of a groin injury.

It kept him out of Saturday’s defeat by Australia, and with the series now switching to New Zealand, Morgan did not bat in the nets before the game.

Jos Buttler is again set to stand in as skipper, with batsman James Vince keeping his place in the XI.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has a back injury and could also be absent.

The Kiwis could field two debutants after wicketkeeper Tim Seifert and ex-Hong Kong batsman Mark Chapman were added to the squad in place of Tom Blundell, Tom Bruce and Seth Rance.

With three games left in the tri-series, co-hosts Australia are already into the final having beaten England twice and New Zealand once.

England have made 155 and 137 in their first two matches, and opener Jason Roy knows the side need to do better.

"We’ve under-performed as a team and because of that we’ve got a bee in our bonnet," said the Surrey right-hander.

"We want to make sure the next game is a strong performance.

"It’s not just about being aggressive and hitting the ball out of the park, it’s recognising we have got the firepower and being smarter with it.

"Playing aggressive cricket, an aggressive brand and all that, that’s not just what we’re about. In the past we’ve played a lot smarter cricket.

"It’s been hugely frustrating because of the line-up we’ve got."

source: www.bbc.co.uk

Steve Smith to become Australia Test captain at end of Ashes

Steve Smith will become Australia’s Test captain after the Ashes following Michael Clarke’s decision to retire at the end of the series. Smith, 26, already leads the one-day side and will also captain the Twenty20 team in the absence of the injured Aaron Finch. Fellow batsman David Warner, 28, has been named as Smith’s vice-captain. “At 26, Steve is a fine young man with extraordinary talent,” said national selector Rod Marsh.

“He is highly regarded by the selectors and we congratulate him on being appointed to the role on an ongoing basis. He should be incredibly proud.” Clarke, 34, confirmed his decision to retire after his side surrendered the Ashes with a heavy defeat by England at Trent Bridge, which gave the hosts a 3-1 lead. Smith had already captained the side in three Tests against India last summer, when Clarke was recovering from hamstring surgery and back issues.

The New South Welshman has played in 32 Tests for his country, scoring 2,952 runs at an average of 54.66. “When Michael made his decision to retire last week it was a very straightforward decision for us to nominate Steve as his successor,” added Marsh. “He has big shoes to fill but everything about him suggests he is the right man for the job.” Warner has earned the vice-captain’s role despite a history ofdisciplinary problems, and Marsh said of the opener: “David has matured and developed into an important senior figure in the Australian team. He has come a long way.

“We believe that he will respond well to the added responsibility of leadership.”

Smith and Warner will lead Australia in the limited-overs matches that follow the final Ashes Test at the Oval, which starts on 20 August.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cricket World Cup 2015: England ‘need foreign ODI coach’

England’s dreadful World Cup exit is another low moment in what has been an extremely turbulent 18 months, but what makes this harder to take is that it was entirely predictable.

Before the tournament began, I wrote that England would make us sweat in their bid to reach the quarter-finals. In the end, it was much worse.

We knew that defeats by Australia and New Zealand could throw England into a downward spiral that would be hard to reverse. What we could not predict is just how far Eoin Morgan’s men would sink.

Chasing a target of 276 against Bangladesh on a good pitch with small boundaries in Adelaide should have been well within their capabilities.

They fell 15 runs short because this team is entirely devoid of confidence and aggression. They simply do not have the ability to impose themselves on the opposition, whoever it may be.

Win rates against full members in ICC Cricket World Cups since 1996

Australia

79%

Sri Lanka

61%

India

59%

New Zealand

53%

South Africa

53%

Pakistan

50%

West Indies

41%

Bangladesh

29%

Ireland

29%

England

26%

Zimbabwe

9%

Let me make it clear that I am not rubbishing the players. England have some very good cricketers that either have proven records or have shown potential since arriving in international cricket.

But they are not in the right frame of mind to dominate a one-day international. One or two have the character to do that, but not enough.

This is not a new problem. England have struggled in World Cups for the best part of 25 years, since reaching the final here in Australia and New Zealand in 1992.

Since then, they have not won a knockout match and this latest failure is the third time they have been eliminated in the first round.

I have a theory as to why this might be.

England invented one-day cricket, but then the rest of the world adapted their own game as the creators stood still.

If you showed me a silhouette of a batsman, with no distinguishing features other than the way he plays, I think I could work out where he is from in about an over.

There is the wristy style of the Asian nations, the powerful back-foot strokes of the Australians, or the flourishing flamboyance of the West Indies. The archetype is that, as people, the English are quite conservative. It certainly seems that way in our one-day cricket.

It is for that reason that I feel the players on whom the one-day side will now be built need liberating.

The likes of Jos Buttler, Joe Root, James Taylor and Alex Hales could form the nucleus of a team over the next four years in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup in England.

However, I feel the change in attitude that is required can only be provided by a coach from overseas.

This is not me calling for Peter Moores to be removed. Moores, along with Alastair Cook, played his part in improving the fortunes of the Test side last summer, earning that 3-1 win over India.

But England need to keep their Test cricket and limited-overs cricket separate and a return to split coaches would help them attract the very best man for the job.

The reality is that the likes of New Zealander Stephen Fleming and South African Gary Kirsten do not want to hack around the world with England for 12 months of the year, especially when they can earn very good money in T20.

Still, that does not mean they cannot be England’s limited-overs coach, because that does not have to be a full-time role.

To get their young talent to be the best limited-overs players they can be, England need a white-ball coach that is experienced in playing one-day internationals, who understands how the game has changed and who has coached successfully in another part of the world.

The end of a World Cup campaign is the time to start again with a blank sheet of paper.

Do we have the right man to lead us for the next four years? Which players won’t be in the side by the time the next tournament arrives?

These are the questions that England need to answer.

Will Morgan still be in charge in 2019? If not, put Taylor or Root at the helm. Are James Anderson and Stuart Broad at the end of their one-day careers? Can we identify their replacements?

More widely than that, do we have the domestic structure correct? Are our limited-overs leagues providing the competition that will produce players of international quality? Should we be exposing more of our players to T20 leagues around the world?

In horrible circumstances on a glorious evening in South Australia, the opportunity to rebuild England’s approach to one-day cricket has arisen.

It is an opportunity that has come round each time there has been a World Cup failure. Now, it must be taken.

Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport’s Stephan Shemilt.

source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cricket World Cup 2015: Ireland dealt qualification blow by India

Ireland’s hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals suffered a blow as India sealed top spot in Pool B with a fifth straight win in the tournament.

Ireland came into the match knowing that a point would see them qualify.

Despite an opening stand of 89 between William Porterfield and Paul Stirling and 75 from Niall O’Brien, their 259 total was never likely to be enough.

So it proved as Shikhar Dhawan (100) and Rohit Sharma (64) helped India to a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

The margin of defeat is a reality check for Ireland, who have performed well above expectation in this tournament, claiming three wins (two against Test-playing nations) to give them six points and genuine hope of reaching the last eight.

They can still do so, but they will need to beat Pakistan in their final pool game or gain a point should the fixture be rained off.

Much like their game with South Africa, in which they conceded 411 runs before being bowled out for 210, the gulf in class between the sides in Hamilton was vast.

They started well, with Porterfield (67) and Stirling (42) using the pace of the opening bowlers well to amass an encouraging opening stand and suggest a competitive total over 300 was a possibility.

But India’s switch to spin bowling halted their progress as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravinda Jadeja and Suresh Raina frustrated the top order and claimed the important wickets of Ed Joyce (bowled by Raina) and Andy Balbirnie (caught by Mohammed Shami off Ashwin).

Niall O’Brien offered resistance and hit well but when he and brother Kevin both fell to Shami, Ireland’s hopes of a decent score disappeared, with the returning Indian pace bowlers cleaning up the tail.

It was the fourth time India had bowled out a team in this high-scoring World Cup but Ireland’s consolation is that they made the highest total against MS Dhoni’s side.

Ireland had two opportunities to gain a foothold early in the India innings as Dhawan twice presented difficult catching chances off the bowling of John Mooney but the bowler was unable to hold on to the first and the second eluded the grasp of Porterfield at square leg.

After that, India were ruthless as Dhawan and Sharma amassed 174 before the latter chopped on to his own stumps from World Cup debutant Stuart Thompson.

Thompson, whose first over went for 18 before he was hastily withdrawn, also claimed the wicket of Dhawan, who miscued one to Porterfield at deep cover, but these were the only high points of the innings for Ireland as Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (33) saw the reigning champions home with 79 balls to spare.

Listen to highlights from Test Match Special’s and 5 live Sport’s 2015 World Cup coverage.

Ireland captain William Porterfield: “I don’t think it can [knock Ireland’s confidence]. There are a lot of good things to take. We were disappointed to come off having not capitalised on a good situation. You have to give credit to India and they way they came back.

“It was a very good pitch and there wasn’t a lot of help for the seamers. We just couldn’t kick on like their opening pair did. Ashwin bowled very well. We just lost some wickets in that period. All in all I think we played very well.

“We have put in a lot of yards in the last few weeks. It is all about being fresh for that game [against Pakistan]. It is winner takes all so we need to mentally prepare and be ready. If you can’t get up for these games you won’t be up for any.”

India captain MS Dhoni: “We’ve been here four months, the guys put in a lot of effort in the Test series so I knew we had to step up the intensity from the one-day series, and all the boys have done that.

“We’re a little jet-lagged after coming from Perth, the boys were a little sleep-deprived so that’s another reason this game was important.

“Our bowlers are really doing the job for us, they’ve stepped up – not just the three fast bowlers, the spinners are complimenting them and when we’ve used part-timers they’ve done well.”

source: www.bbc.o.uk

Ashes 2013: England crush Australia at Lord’s to take 2-0 lead

England crushed Australia by 347 runs at Lord’s to take a 2-0 lead in the series and tighten their grip on the Ashes urn.
The hosts bowled Australia out for 235 late on the fourth day, having set them a notional 583 to win after declaring on 349-7 when Joe Root was dismissed for 180.

The tourists’ last-wicket pair frustrated England for an hour and threatened to take the match into a final day.
But with just four balls remaining before a delayed close, Graeme Swann trapped James Pattinson lbw for 35 to send England’s players into delighted celebrations.

The off-spinner finished with 4-78, and nine wickets in the match, while Tim Bresnan, James Anderson and Root took two wickets apiece.
Once again, the day featured controversies over the decision review system – Steve Smith and Ashton Agar fell to marginal calls – but there was no masking the gulf in quality between the sport’s two oldest rivals.

The resounding victory, England’s third biggest in terms of runs, puts Alastair Cook’s team in a commanding position from which to win their third Ashes series in a row.

Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australians are the only team in the 136-year history of Test cricket to have come back from 2-0 down to win a series.
Should Australia fight back to draw 2-2 – something neither team have ever managed – England would still retain the urn, having won the last two series between the sides.

Despite an overnight lead of 466, England chose to continue batting in an effort to get Root to his double-hundred and further wear down the pitch.
But, after Jonny Bairstow had been caught behind cutting at Ryan Harris, Root attempted a ramp shot and scooped to Smith at third man, providing the cue for Cook to declare and set about dismantling the Australia batting order for the fourth time in the series.

Shane Watson’s innings followed a familiar trajectory, a trio of fours followed by an lbw dismissal as Anderson nipped one back. Ex-England batsman & Test Match Special summariser
“When you win in four days and are so much better than the opposition, you can’t criticise England. I think Australia will hope to get better but I’m not sure they can. England will just win again.”

Swann removed left-handers Chris Rogers and Phil Hughes in quick succession on a pitch tailor-made for his spin-bowling artistry.
After two sharply turning balls had fizzed past the outside edge, Rogers played no stroke to a delivery that went on with the arm and knocked over off stump.

A similar delivery accounted for Hughes, who played for spin that was not there and was trapped lbw. For the second time in the match Hughes used up one of Australia’s reviews, which established the ball would have hit leg stump.
On 36-3 at lunch, and with Swann turning the ball considerably, Australia were in danger of crumbling to a lower total than their first-innings 128, but Michael Clarke and Usman Khawaja battled hard in a stand of 98.

Clarke was struck three times by Stuart Broad, with one ball thudding into the badge on his helmet, and showed good footwork to the spinners before he glanced Root to leg slip to depart for 51. The part-time off-spinner, generating some alarming turn from the rough outside the left-hander’s off stump, accounted for Khawaja for 54 in the next over, when a thick edge was caught by Anderson at second slip.

When Bresnan removed Smith and Agar either side of tea – both to thin edges that were given out by the third umpire despite no obvious Hot Spot marks on the bat – the game was as good as up. Swann collected his third wicket when Brad Haddin padded up and was given out lbw. With no Australia reviews remaining, Haddin was powerless to overturn what turned out to be an incorrect call.

Anderson castled Peter Siddle to break a partnership of 30 with Pattinson and move England to within one wicket of glory. The resistance of Pattinson and Harris, however, frustrated England and forced them into taking an extra half-hour. Seven more overs came and went, with plenty of near misses, until Swann got a ball to fizz past Pattinson’s outside edge and clatter into his back leg to deliver the final act of a compelling drama.

Given the vast margin of victory, it is easy to forget that England were reduced to 28-3 on the opening morning of the match after winning the toss under cloudless skies. A classy 109 from Ian Bell helped them recover to 361 before Australia were blown away in an abject, and at times comical, display of batting.

England stuttered again at the start of their second innings, but such was the margin of their lead that it only needed one innings of substance to all but ensure a home win. Root was the man to oblige, with a masterful century that ground Australia into the Lord’s turf and set the stage for England’s bowlers to bring home the match – and quite possibly the series.

Source : www.bbc.co.uk

Kevin Pietersen makes England return in T20 clash with Kiwis

Kevin Pietersen is returning to England duty in good form, according to stand-in skipper Eoin Morgan. Pietersen faces New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international at the Oval on Thursday, with England one down in the two-match series. It is his first England game since a knee injury forced him out of the tour of New Zealand in March. Morgan said: "He takes a lot of pride in when he goes out there and bats. He looks in good form."

Pietersen returned from injury in a County Championship match for Surrey, scoring 177 not out in a drawn game against Yorkshire over the weekend. And Morgan, a stand-in for rested captain Stuart Broad, wants Pietersen to help England come back from Tuesday’s defeat by New Zealand, when they fell five runs short of the Kiwi’s imposing 201 for four. "What he brings to the table, probably very few people in the world can," Morgan told the ECB website. "He can take the game away from you at any stage and we saw during the week the way he performed."

After the Twenty20 game, Pietersen will join up with the England squad for their Ashes warm-up match against Essex, which starts on Sunday. The Test series against Australia starts at Trent Bridge on 10 July.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Kevin Pietersen’s absence may help England, says Tim Bresnan

Tim Bresnan believes England may be a “better side” without Kevin Pietersen.

He was dropped after failing to reveal the contents of text messages allegedly sent to South African players.

Jonny Bairstow replaces batsman Pietersen for the final Test against South Africa, which England must win to retain their number one world ranking.

“It may be an even better side. It’s one of those things where a talented player is being replaced by another talented player,” said Bresnan.

“So why should we miss a certain individual because he’s unavailable for selection?”

Pietersen’s omission from the England squad for the final Test at Lord’s came at the end of a turbulent week in which he first hinted he could retire completely from international cricket, only to back down on Saturday and commit to playing for England in all forms of the game.

However, the England and Wales Cricket Board wanted assurances from the 32-year-old, who has scored more than 7,000 Test runs at an average of almost 50, that he had not sent derogatory texts about captain Andrew Strauss, which Pietersen was unable to provide.

Bairstow, 22, made his Test debut against West Indies at Lord’s in May, but was dropped at the end of the three-match series after scoring just 38 runs at an average of 12.66.

However, he scored a century for England Lions against Australia A at Old Trafford  last week to convince the selectors he has regained his form.

Bairstow joins another new face, James Taylor, in the England batting line-up, and Bresnan believes his Yorkshire county colleague will prove a worthy replacement for Pietersen.

“If he gets stuck in and gets runs this week then I’m sure he will show what he can do on the world stage and how talented he is,” said Bresnan. “A new star could be born.

“Jonny is very talented and has a long way to go but, as time goes by, he will develop into one of the world’s best.”

England are 1-0 down in the three-match series against South Africa but an improved performance in the second Test at Headingley, when Pietersen scored a century, has boosted their confidence.

“We met up yesterday, the mood in the camp was exceptional,” said Bresnan. “It’s just like it always is to be fair, quite relaxed, quite focused, we’ve still got the drive and desire to get that win and that’s the ultimate thing really, that’s what we’re after.”

Bresnan is also backing the England team to rise to the challenge without Pietersen, adding: “We seem to play really well in the face of adversity.

“When we do come across must-win games, like Melbourne  and Colombo,  we seem to pull it out the bag when it’s needed.

“And it’s not just one guy that’s going to be able to it for us, it’s a team effort.”

South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis is backing Pietersen to bounce back from this setback.

“I’m sure they’ll sort it out,” he said. “He’s too good a player to stay out of the international scene.

“I’ve no doubts they’ll come to an agreement and something will be sorted out. These sorts of things are going to happen throughout his career, a few things have happened. I don’t think it’ll affect him, I think he’ll bounce back and I think he’s still got a lot of cricket ahead of him.”

Kallis added: “He’s a world-class player and he’s proven that over many years – putting in big performances for England – so I’m sure he’s going to be missed, but England have got [other] good players as well.

“I think the guys are professional enough to get on with the job.”

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Windies face daunting chase

Australia tightened their stranglehold on the third and final Test as they ended day three on 200-6 – leading West Indies by 310 runs.

Ricky Ponting and Ed Cowan made 57 and 55 respectively with captain Michael Clarke the next highest scorer with 25 and at the close Michael Hussey was 17 not out alongside Ryan Harris (4no).

But the tourists could have been in an even stronger position had they not lost four wickets after tea in Dominica, but they nevertheless will fancy their chances of closing out a 2-0 series win.

Shane Shillingford (2-69) took two more wickets to bring to eight the number of victims he has claimed so far in this Test.

Earlier, Nathan Lyon finished with 4-69 with Australia eventually ending Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s dogged resistance at the crease, with the veteran batsman last out and also the hosts’ top scorer with 68.
Resumption

Resuming on 165-8, Chanderpaul and Ravi Rampaul moved the score on to 186 before the latter was caught by David Warner off the bowling of Lyon.

His 31 also formed part of a vital 66-run stand with Chanderpaul which had steadied matters after the team had been rocking.

Chanderpaul’s 50 came when he lifted Ben Hilfenhaus over extra cover but, after moving on to 68, he was trapped lbw to Mitchell Starc.

Australia started their second innings 110 runs ahead with Warner and Cowan at the crease but having cracked two boundaries, the former was gone before the break, caught at slip by Chanderpaul.

Resuming after lunch on 18-1, Australia had added just seven when they lost the wicket of Watson for five, coming forward but directing the ball straight to Darren Sammy at slip.

Cowan was unbeaten on a brisk 45 off 101 deliveries, including four boundaries, with Ponting a solid presence.

After Cowan was out for 55, skipper Clarke and former captain Ponting set about the home bowling, before the Tasmanian departed in the most unfortunate circumstances.

After easing to a 62nd Test half-century, Ponting, playing what will almost certainly be his last Test innings in the Caribbean, could only look on in disbelief as the ball looped up to slip off the back of his bat when he had attempted to evade a nasty Kemar Roach bouncer.

That left Australia on 168-4, which soon became 171-5 when Clark offered an easy catch to Darren Bravo off Shillingford, while Matthew Wade added just four to the century he scored in the first innings as Australia closed on 200-6.

source: www.skysports.com

England eased after Pietersen news

England have been eased for the Ashes series following the news that Kevin Pietersen will miss the last three Tests – but punters will be relieved to hear Sky Bet are refunding bets on him to be his team’s top run scorer, top overall series runscorer and Man of the Series.

Pietersen has been ruled out of action for six weeks following an operation on his Achilles tendon injury.

After being assessed by a leading specialist on Wednesday it was decided that surgery was the best option.

Pietersen said: “As an England cricketer the Ashes are the pinnacle of the game so I’m absolutely devastated to be missing the rest of this series.”

As a result Sky Bet have eased England’s odds of regaining the Ashes to even money from 4/5 and have trimmed Australia to 5/2 from 3/1. The draw has been cut to 9/4 from 5/2.

England, who are 1-0 up after two Tests, have been eased by most other firms, but not markedly – Ladbrokes go 10/11 from 5/6, Coral are evens from 10/11 and Blue Square are 11/10 from 4/5 and reaction was still a little mixed.

Sky Bet’s cricket compiler Tom Warburton said: “Although Pietersen’s absence will be felt by England, there are no major reasons for Strauss’ camp to hit the panic button just yet.

“England can now be backed at evens from 4/5 for the series, which could be value considering runs are being scored throughout the team.”

Coral’s David Stevens said: “Ironically, Kevin Pietersen may not have contributed many runs to England’s victory at Lord’s but he is undoubtedly a world class batsman, and his absence from the rest of the series leaves a massive hole in England’s top order.”

That was echoed by Ladbrokes’ Nick Weinberg who said: “Despite struggling to recapture the form of 2005 Pietersen will still be a huge loss for England.

“He has the ability to win games on his own and his absence will lessen the chances of Andrew Strauss lifting the famous urn.”

But Blue Square’s Alan Alger pointed out: “Is it that much of a blow? KP has clearly not been right – James Anderson looked like a better batsman during his second innings at Lord’s.

“Add to that the fact Ian Bell is currently averaging nearly 80 in county cricket, and he’ll come in to the side on his home track at Edgbaston.

“Obviously we have to push England out following the news, but we’ll be careful not to over-react.”

Meanwhile Paddy Power have also confirmed they will be refunding all Ashes bets on Pietersen and have eased England’s odds from 10/11 to Evens.

Darren Haines, spokesman for Paddy Power, said: “KP has struggled to get going in this series and, through not fault of his own, has never been able to give punters a real run for their money. This seems the fairest thing to do.”

Pietersen’s absence has also paved the way for Andrew Strauss to be England’s top series runscorer with the captain’s odds revised to 8/11 ahead of Paul Collingwood following at 9/4.

Haines added: “Even a one-legged Kevin Pietersen is a huge loss to the England line-up. He was without doubt the batsman the Aussies feared most and this has got plenty of punters sniffing at the value of a comeback for Ricky Ponting’s boys.”

England v West Indies update

Antigua – Day Two
England 566-9 dec (A J Strauss 169, P D Collingwood 113, O A Shah 57, A N Cook 52, K P Pietersen 51) v West Indies 55-1

Paul Collingwood’s eighth Test century put England in total control against West Indies at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

Collingwood made 113 to allow the tourists to declare their first innings at 566-9 on the second evening of the hastily-scheduled third Test.

Steve Harmison then removed Chris Gayle to leave West Indies at 55-1 in reply and facing a long road to survival over the course of the final three days.
Pitch issues

The hosts’ task is unlikely to be aided by the pitch, which had been prepared in just 24 hours following the abandoned second Test at the nearby Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Friday.

Having held up well as Andrew Strauss plundered 169 and England reached 301-3 after being asked to bat on Sunday, the playing surface began to show signs of uneven bounce as the second day wore on.

Collingwood had arrived at the crease in the second over of day two when nightwatchman James Anderson (four) edged behind off Fidel Edwards (2-75).

The Durham batsman was fortunate to survive his first ball, gloving a short delivery from Edwards over the slips, but thereafter took charge despite the increasingly unreliable bounce of the wicket.

Collingwood dominated a stand of 94 either side of lunch with Kevin Pietersen, who never looked comfortable while crawling to a half-century off 131 balls.

West Indies briefly got themselves back in the contest when Jerome Taylor – battling injuries to his ankle and hip – produced a double wicket maiden in the eighth over of the middle session.

Pietersen was bowled via the inside edge for 51 and, two balls later, Andrew Flintoff had his middle stump uprooted by one that kept low.

But Collingwood marshalled the lower order in expert fashion, adding 62 in the company of both Matt Prior and Stuart Broad.

Prior reached 39 from 61 balls before holing out to mid-off shortly before tea to become left-arm medium pacer Brendan Nash’s maiden Test scalp.

But there was no respite for West Indies in the final session as Collingwood closed on three figures, eventually reaching the landmark – his third hundred in nine Test innings – off 183 balls including 13 fours.

From that point England chased quick runs to set up a declaration. Part-time left-arm spinner Ryan Hinds (2-86) had Broad caught behind attempting to cut for 44.

And when Collingwood holed out in the deep to same bowler to end a 202-ball stay, England captain Strauss declared to give his fast bowlers 15 overs to make inroads.

Gayle blows out

His opposite number Gayle decided to go on the attack against the new ball and had struck five fours and a six to reach 30 from 32 balls before Harmison intervened.

The left-hander top-edged the first ball of the over out of the ground and followed up with a baseball-style pull for four.

But Harmison (1-18) persevered and was rewarded when Gayle got carried away and carved an extravagant back-foot drive straight to Anderson in the covers.

Daren Powell (two not out) was sent out as nightwatchman to join Devon Smith and the pair safely negotiated the final four overs of the day.

West Indies will resume on Tuesday still along way from avoiding the follow-on as they look to preserve their 1-0 lead in the now five-match series.