Thursday, January 29, 2009

England bowlers toil in St Kitts

Tour match: West Indies A v England
Date: 29-31 January Venue: Warner Park, St Kitts Starts: 1400 GMT each day
Coverage: Regular scorecard updates and daily reports on BBC Sport website

Steve Harmison (left) and Andrew Strauss
Skipper Andrew Strauss (right) tries to coax Steve Harmison into action

England's bowlers were put to the sword on day one of their three-day match against West Indies A in St Kitts, with the hosts 343-2 at close of play.

Eighteen-year-old Adrian Barath (132) and Lendl Simmons (171 not out) put on 262 for the second wicket, with Simmons hitting five sixes and 19 fours.

James Anderson took 1-67 from 20 overs, while Kevin Pietersen took 1-13.

But Ryan Sidebottom, who has not played a first-class game for six months, was the pick of England's seamers.

Sidebottom took 0-40 from 13 overs on a perfect batting track, while Steve Harmison returned figures of 0-60 from 14 overs.

"It was a fantastic feeling just to be out there," Sidebottom said. "I am chuffed from a personal point of view.

"The wicket is one of the flattest I have played on throughout my career and you just have to keep plugging away.

606: DEBATE
duyhoo

"There is always trepidation when you come back. As soon as you get a ball in hand you want to go at it 100% but you have to err on the side of caution."

In what is effectively a bowl-off for first Test places in Jamaica next week, Anderson was the only seamer to have any success, removing Kieran Powell in the seventh over.

Simmons, one of a handful of full West Indies internationals in the home side, took full advantage of the conditions to reach his hundred from the first ball after tea.

Fellow Trinidadian Barath followed his lead in spectacular fashion five overs later by lofting all-rounder Paul Collingwood for six.

However, Simmons, whose uncle Phil Simmons represented the Windies for a decade, was the more expansive of the second-wicket pair and, having launched a straight six off Graeme Swann during the morning session, began to pepper the stands once in three figures.

Off-spinner Swann, who finished with figures of 0-96 from 23 overs, was clouted for two sixes in one over and the same fate befell Collingwood soon afterwards.

Barath perished after surpassing his previous career-best of 131 when he cut lazily to point in Pietersen's first over.

England would have claimed a third wicket with the second new ball but wicket-keeper Matt Prior spurned a low chance off Anderson, with Simmons on 159.

No comments: