Live Test Match Blogging / Ed Hawkins / 08 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

Durham bowler Graham showed he knows his Onions as he took five wickets on debut as the West Indies collpased and England enforced the follow-on. The tourists are now very much on the ropes but with typical English May weather around you can't take anything for granted writes Ed Hawkins.

England win by 10 wickets
Easy for England. Misery for West Indies. It could get worse for them up in Durham next week, too. They have struggled with the swinging ball and the cold. It'll be twice as tough on both counts oop north. Still, it should be a terrific trading Test. Join us for all the market moves, stats and laughs next time.

18.00 Eng 15-0
Jeeeez Cook looks in awful touch. Put that in the notebook and save it for next week. He is feeling for the ball. His hands are doing all the work and his feet are going nowhere. Irritatingly, England are making heavy weather of this. Pathetic stuff really.

17.45 Eng 7-0
I suppose while we are on the subject of discussing England bowlers who have flattered to deice on friendly surfaces, we should include Ryan Sidebottom. Was super in England, and in New Zealand (which has the exact same pitches as here), before being poor in West Indies. He did do well in Sri Lanka, though as memory serves.

17.32 Eng 0-0
Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook are ready to go. Come on Cook, don't mess around here. Get on with it.

17.22 WI 256
That's that then. England need 32 to win. Brendan Nash was the man to fall. He made 81 and very well too did he bat. We suspected he had it in him to score runs in these conditions so that give us a bit of a lift for the next Test. Knowing there is another WI batter other than Chanderpaul who can cope gives us punting scope. We could add Ramdin, too to form a little trio.

17.20 WI 256-9
Alas, I fear my new healthy-living lifestyle has gone awry. Although buying biscuits with only 1.3g fat per biscuit sounds a good idea, it all falls down when you eat 17 of them. I couldn't help it. I just kept shovelling them in, almost in some sort of trance-like state. Oh well, at least I gave it a good go.

17.06 WI 250-9
Back to the 'Know Your Onions' chat. Phil Newport and Neil Mallender were both successful on their England Test debuts but barely played again. Newport, you may recall, played for Worcestershire. He took seven wickets on debut on a seamer against an inexperienced Sri Lanka tea. He played only twice more. Mallender, now an umpire, took 8 v Pakistan at Headingley in 1992. He played one more Test.

17.00 WI 249-9
The end is nigh. Fidel Edwards has fended one to the gully off Stuart Broad. He scored two and a falling Tim Bresnan took the catch. I tell you what, when he hit the ground a small child in Wales probably fell of their bike. He is the definition of the term 'big unit'. So much so that he could probably sue Ikea for image rights.

16.42 WICKET 246-8
Big Sulieman Benn goes. Shoddy effort from him. That man Swann again. Meanwhile, Portuguese Pirate says: "I remember Richard Johnson taking a load of wickets against Zimbabwe (I think) about 6 years ago and then having little or no success after that." Indeed, Johnson was the third man in our list of very English-type seamers who flattered to deceive. He did impress against Zimbabwe, taking 6-33 in 2003. However, he played only three more Tests. I'll fill you all in about Phil Newport and Neil Mallender a bit later, too. I'm sure there are many, many more. Email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

16.43 WI 243-7
The Test Match End market continues to bop. 'Come on, Eileen!'. Into [1.08] from [2.40] as Graeme Swann dismisses Jerome Taylor from his presence with a very shouty leg before appeal.

16.35 WI 230-6
There are 41 overs left tonight folks. That gives England ample time to take the four wickets required. There has been some interesting market movement as a result of that Nash-Ramdin partnership. The Test Match End has been jiggling around like your mum on the dance floor at a cousin's wedding. It's out to [2.10] to end today having been dead skinny earlier - about [1.40]. Day 4 morning is [3.40].

16.11 WI 225-6 TEA
Scores level. The session belongs to West Indies. However,Jerome Taylor looked very shaky indeed. England should still be confident of winning tonight with the longest session to come.

16.00 WICKET WI 224-6
Within three runs of England, West Indies have lost their sixth wicket. It was Ramdin who went. Bowled by Stuart Broad. England needed it because, true to form, when the ball stops swinging they look pretty toothless. Jerome Taylor is the new batsman. England briefly hit [1.04].

15.46 WI 201-5
Bit confused. They should be at tea. Perhaps my watch is fast. A flurry of boundaries for WI. Remember, this Lord's wicket historically gets better to bat on. That is what we're seeing here.

15.40 WI 189-5
50 for Ramdin. He is a good player this chap. We spoke about it first time round. Good to see WI showing some backbone here. They only trail by 36 runs, you know. England have to work harder.They will be pleased to go in at the tea break now to regroup.

15.30 WI 183-5
Our Graham Onions debate continues as he gets whacked for consecutive fours to bring up the 100 partnership between Nash and Ramdin. And you can back England again. At [1.01]. So, is Onions - who as I type has dropped a caught and bowled chance - just another in a long line of county seamers who impress in bowler-friendly conditions? A horses for courses selection. To get the debate going here are three names for you: Phil Newport, Neil Mallender and Richard Johnson.

15.15 WI 159-5
Made myself a salmon sandwich. It is, if I say so myself, bloody tasty. It's part of the new lifestyle. I'm trying to cut down on the biscuits and cakes. I have some McVitie's Rich Tea beside me. A biscuit staple. Nothing flashy but they get the job done. If Brendan Nash was a biscuit he would be a Rich Tea. There is only 1.3g fat in each biscuit. Unfortunately I let myself down yesterday by eating the Ravi Bopara of confectiuonary - two choc eclairs. It's going to be a slow process, folks. Give me time.

14.58 WI 132-5
Drinks. Ravi Bopara has come on for a bowl to see if his wobbly-dobblers can prise out Ramdin or Nash. Probably a good move by Andrew Strauss to get a part-timer on from the Nursery End. There is a very strong wind blowing down the ground so Onions or Broad would have been really battling against the elements. You still can't back England by the way. West Indies trail by 93. There can be no harm in having a little lay of England at [1.01] because sooner or later some money will turn up to back the hosts, particularly if these two continue to look comfy.

14.41 WI 122-5
This is a damning indictment on West Indies: despite a 42-run partnership by Ramdin and Nash, so unconvinced by their spirit, technique and ability are punters that you cannot back England to win this Test. England are [1.01] to lay.

14.37 WI 121-5
CSB has come up with an example of an English bowler who was taking Test cricket by storm and then disappearing. "Martin Bicknell played his fourth and final Test against South Africa in 2003. He took six wickets so would count as someone who had 'arrived' before being asked to leave." I think the problem was that he was 34 at the time.

14.19 WI 112-5
Of course to compare Onions with McGrath is quite ridiculous. If Botham is putting him side by side with McGrath, he must be talking about the Australian in the twilight of his career. This is to damn with faint praise. McGrath would stick it on off stump time at no more than 85mph at the end. Effective but not devastating. To compare a bowler with McGrath at the beginning of his career (or indeed for the majority) is something different altogether. McGrath was deadly accurate, fast, got seam movement and extraordinary bounce. He was brilliant. One of the best there's ever been. Not like Onions, then.

14.02 WI 96-5
Sirloin of Beef and Mike Atherton are arguing about how good Graham Onions is going to be. Beef reckons that Onions is the next Glenn McGrath. Atherton is urging caution and that he does not expect the Durham man, who has seven wickets so far, to be a "supertstar". Unsurprisngly, I'm siding with Atherton. In swinging conditions against batsmen who find conditions alien, there are a plethora of English bowlers who would have picked up wickets. Maybe not as many as Onions but enough to convince people like Botham that England have unearthed something special. They almost certainly haven't. Onions can be a steady, stock bowler for England but he is unlikely to thrive on flat surfaces against better batsmen. Email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk if you can think of any bowlers of similar ilk who have burst ointo the scene only to disappear.

13.42 WI 80-5
England will look to wrap up the Test in this next session. Five wickets will do it for them. With the West Indies having been so spineless, it would be no surprise if they folded. The statistics suggest they will not keep Andrew Strauss and co waiting for long. In the last 10 Tests when they have been five wickets down for 80 runs or less, they average 163. Their average sixth-wicket partnership under the same criteria (but last 5 Tests) is just 25.

13.01 WI 80-5 LUNCH
Anyway, back to my stats. I spent ages working out some averages for you all in the hope that we might unearth some value on the West Indies runs market. When they have been bowled out for 200 or fewer in first-innings, in their next dig they average 215. And since 2000, in all away matches they average 226 in the third innings of a Test. Quite close together those aren't they? You could argue that with those numbers in mind, the [2.54] they score 200 runs or more is value. But you'd be bonkers, too. They have only Ramdin to come and then it's the bowlers.

12.57 WICKET WI 79-5
Try to keep up folks. Devon Smith's stumps have rearranged by that man Onions. Gosh, Smith really is hopeless. He gets in, gets out. This time he's made 41.

12.54 WICKET WI 75-4
So much for our hope that Chanderpaul might look comfortable.He'sout. Getting an inside edge onto his pad off Graeme Swann, Ravi Bopara held onto the chance. West Indies are repeating their collapse of the first innings. And for the second time they have reduced the impact of some nice stats work I've done. Will post those in a mo.

12.44 WICKET WI 70-3
Onions has made the breakthrough. Lendl Simmons caught at slip. I suppose England might just have begun to start feeling a little frustrated until that wicket. It brings Shiv Chanderpaul to the crease. Despite his golden duck in the first innings, he remains the most prized of wickets. He will be key to whether we decide to have a bet. If he starts to look comfortable, then we could consider a lay of England in the expectation that their price will drift. And with Brendan Nash in next, someone capable of being almost as obdurate, it provides a cushion. England are [1.04] to lay.

12.32 WI 69-2
Weather's amazing isn't it? Less than three miles up the road in London we have a bit of rain. Here the sun is out, the birds are singing etc. The players are staying on, though. West Indies pair Devon Smith and Lendl Simmons are on 37 and 22 respectively. For small money,you could back Smith at [2.00] for top bat. But my cash will be staying in my pocket. Smith's record of getting a start and then failing to pass 50 is horrible. Only 5 50s in 53 Test innings I believe. And England haven't tried Graeme Swann against him yet. Swann has nailed him four times this year. Shiv Chanderpaul is [3.50] and Any Other Batsman [3.55].

12.14 WI 46-2
Perhaps unsurprisingly it has been a rather quiet start this morning. There has been bits and pieces of swing for the England bowlers. A few umbrellas are going up around the ground but David Lloyd tells us that the clouds are high. As for the prices, they are high, too. The draw is [40.00] and WI are [60.00]. England are low,low, low at [1.04].

12.00 WI 43-2
We are underway. The pitch, which in the last six Tests has got better and better to bat on, will have been juiced up a bit by that shower. That will please England. West Indies, one would think, are just waiting for the knockout blow. They are a whopping 182 runs behind. Still, at least the sun is out and although it sounds rather pathetic, that should bring smiles to their faces. The commentators have put their poor bodly language down to the fact that it has been so chilly. I know, it is ridiculous isn't it? Imagine if I had suggested you should back England in this Test because West Indies don't like the cold. You'd have never come back.

11.37 WI 39-2 RAIN
Blue skies overhead now and sun streaming through the windows here (I'm actually 2.4 miles from Lord's - I looked it upon some fancy map). It's going to be a lovely day. The covers are off as well.

11.13 39-2 RAIN
Inspection at 11.30 with a view to starting at noon

11.11 WI 39-2 RAIN
Still wet at HQ. They are trying to get the water off the covers, though so the process of mopping up to get some play this morning is underway. Graeme Swann is raring to go: "If we bowl like we did yesterday we should win this today."

10.52 WI 39-2 RAIN
Raining at HQ which is odd because it is not raining outside my window, which is about five miles from the famous old ground. I'm trying to work out which way the wind is blowing. There are a few puddles on the covers but Lord's is nothing if not an excellent draining ground so as soon as the rain stops, the delay should not be much more than an hour. The draw remains as big as [38.00] and England are as short as [1.04].

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