Live Test Match Blogging / Ed Hawkins / 06 May 2009 / Leave a comment

It's a new-look England team with Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions making their debuts; Harmison, Flintoff, Panesar and Shah all miss out. Chris Gayle has won the toss and put England in. Ed Hawkins talks us through it all...

18.26 Eng 289-7 CLOSE
Betting can be irritating sometimes. Well, often a lot of the time. Today was a good example. After tea we knew Fidel Edwards was going to come out with all pistols pumping. We knew that made West Indies decent value at the most inflated of three outcomes. But you can never legislate for butter fingers. Six chances went down. Had they taken three of them they would have been match favourites. But they didn't. So we go in to day two with England trading at [2.22] favourite status - thanks largely to Ravi Bopara's second consecutive Test ton - the draw at [2.66] and West Indies [5.00]. In truth it has probably been their day and with the new ball still available tomorrow they could get off to a flyer. But will they take the chances if they come? Join me tomorrow to find out.

WICKET 18.02 Eng 276-7
Tim Bresnan leg before to Big Benn. Bong! Probably a bit harsh that on the dubtant Bresnan.Shame. He only scored 9 and I was just trying to work out a convincing looky-likey.West Indies are still as big as [5.00] on the match market. That remains too big. Their aim would have been to bowl England out for less than 300 having won the toss and they could still do it. If they do, I take it back what I said about Chris Gayle's leadership. They still have the new ball, too.

17.58 Eng 274-6
My Lord's chum has been on again. "I'm also the youngest person in the Grandstand. And you can't use your mobile phone. How are you meant to bet?" Well, I do believe there is a Betfair facility on the ground.

17.47 Eng 262-6
Finally, West Indies take a catch. Broad got a thick edge off Benn to gully for 38. I'm sure West Indies will take the new ball. Their price has come in from [7.60] to [5.80]. Despite their profligacy, they still have the potential tun run through England cheaply. Tim Bresnan is the new man at the crease. he's got three first-class tons don't you know?

17.38 Eng 260-5
I've just had a call from a friend inside HQ. "It's sickening here, absolutely sickening. This Lord's lot seem to think they're 'it'. You can't go back to your seat in the middle of an over. You get attitude from the stewards. Who do they think they are? Getting into the ground is harder than getting on a plane at Heathrow. Your bags get searched, then you're, oh what's the word, patted down ... no 'frisked', that's it." Safe to say you're not enjoying yourself then? Meanwhile,it's all happening. The new ball is available but Gayle has a habit of delaying and West Indies have dropped their sixth. Benn missing Broad off his own bowling

17.30 Eng 253-5
Since I last posted there have been two more dropped catches. Broad was put down by keeper Ramdin off Benn and Bop-ra has just been spilled by Smith at slip off Baker. Remember when I was banging on about this being a tough seeing ground? Well, England dropped nine catches against Sri Lanka in 2006. West Indies have missed five so far. David Lloyd reckons it is all down to poor concentration from the Windies. This was what England fielding coach Trevor Penney said of the Sri Lanka debacle at the time. "People make excuses and say that Lord's is a bad seeing ground, but I don't think that was the case here. This was more of a concentration thing." Mind you,Penney is no longer the fielding coach. You could say the Penney dropped. HaHaHaHa!

17.19 Eng 241-5
Yep. David Lloyd has just handily saved me scurrying through the past scoreboards to check my 'first England No 3 to score a ton for a year stat'. It was Michael Vaughan against New Zealand in the first Test of last summer.

17.15 Eng 238-5
A century for Bop-ra. That pretty much confirms his place for the first two Ashes Tests at least I would have though. Two centuries in his last two Tests. And the first England No 3 to score a big one for about a year if memory serves.

17.05 Eng 230-5
We are waiting for Bop-ra's ton. He needs just four. But it's drinks now. Some interesting views coming in regarding our IPL debate, which has taken a back seat because the action has been rather good. Tom has no problem with England's players playing in the IPL "so long as they tear up their England central contracts. The whole point of such contracts is the ECB can control when they play. In return they are handsomely rewarded. You can't have it both ways." Digger reckons "Flintoff will probably not bother playing again. He's earned a few bob from it and that'll do him."

16.42 Eng 211-5
West Indies are throwing away their victory chance as Chris Gayle shells Stuart Broad off that poor chap Edwards. Had they taken their chances, West Indies would be favourites. It would appear the catching curse at Lord's has struck again. That's three dropped today.

16.24 Eng 206-5
West Indies skipper Chris Gayle appears to have got away with one here thanks to some poor England batting. Really, England should have made hay after being put in. Gayle is in the process of making another mistake, though. He has insisted on bowling Lendl Simmons from one end while Edwards blazes away at the other. Simmons, a part-timer, allowed Broad to get some sighters and get accustomed to the pitch. What Edwards needs is a bowler from the other end who will give away nothing. 'Tie an end up' the phrase is. It just shows how when having a wager, you can't always guarantee the common sense of the protagonists you rely on. Nor the safe hands. Broad has just flashed to gully off Edwards and the chance has gone down.

16.14 Eng 194-5
No drop this time. Lendl Simmons holds onto a slapshot from Matt Prior off Fidel Edwards who will not be denied. Simmons held on with aplomb. A gift of a dismissal from Prior. Very poor shot. West Indies have the breakthrough they craved. But at [5.30] they have not dipped as much as they should have done. Stuart Broad is the new man. He's not a bad batter but he is most definitely a bowling all-rounder.

16.08 Eng 191-4
Well, we said this would be a key spell in the match. Edwards had induced an error from Bop-ra, who squirted a catch to Brendan Nash at square leg but he spilled it. Ooooh, it was an easy one. It was straight into his belly but he juggled with it and it went down. Lord's has a reputation for being a difficult sighting ground. Traditionally,England drop a shedload of chances, most memorably against Australia in the 2005 Ashes Test. It is a trend which has since continued and has been partly to blame for so many draws.

16.00 Eng 182-4
West Indies have a huddle before the final session of the day. It is a key one. I'm sure Fidel Edwards will run in with vigour to get through to what is a very long-looking ENgland tail. But Bop-ra, who needs 28 for his second Test century, and Prior, eight for 50, have batted with aplomb. Good word that, aplomb. Gonna use it more often. England are [2.24], West Indies [5.40] and the draw is [2.26]. The WI price might be worth a tickle because if Edwards prises one out here, then England could be run through quite quickly.

15.43 Eng 182-4 TEA
That's tea.You have to say it was West Indies' session even if Ravi Bop-ra and Matt Prior have staged a recovery towards the end. We were discussing earlier in the day how many England would score, suggesting 425 or more might be a bit of value. But you can get [3.40] for small change at the moment from the earlier [2.70]. The key to whether they get close to those numbers is Fidel Edwards. After his three-wicket spell when he removed Cook and KP in successive balls and then Collingwood later, he took a breather. When he blazes in after the break, we could have a potential match-deciding moment.

15.32 Eng 171-4
West Indies are trying to get a wicket through frustration.Chris Gayle has packed the offside and instructed Lendl Simmons to bowl wide outside off. Someone like Prior normally likes to carve through that region but he is being restrained at the moment, refusing to play Gayle's game.

15.20 Eng 159-4
Bop-ra and Prior are looking very comfortable indeed. Of course Prior at No 6 is a promotion because of the loss of Andrew Flintoff to another injury. Given Flintoff's form with the bat - or perhaps that should be ability - England may feel more cosy if Prior makes this position his own. This partnership is worth 50 and as a result West Indies have drifted to [5.20].

15.00 Eng 142-4
Let's have our heated debate. I posed a question earlier whether you thought it was right that players were allowed to prepare for a Test series by playing in the IPL. In the case of Chris Gayle, instead of properly preparing himself and his team, he turned up only two days before the start of this Test. That cannot be right. JTB has emailed to say: "I'm fully expecting Gayle to fail. He has not acclimatised to this country or to the format." Keep those emails coming to hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

14.46 Eng 124-4
50 for Bop-ra. Pleasing for him. There is an interesting sub plot here. If Bop-ra accumulates another 50 here, not only will he cement his place at No 3 for the first Ashes Test in Cardiff in July, but he will also, most probably, end the career of 16-Test ton Michael Vaughan. Rather sad that because Vaughan has been the most pleasing-on-the-eye batsman I've seen in the 2000s. He had a lovely cover drive. But things change. And Bop-ra has hit a few sumptuous cover drives of his own.

WICKET 14.31 Eng 110-4
Fidel Edwards is bowling terrifically. Collingwood has fallen to his pace. It was an edge into the hands of Devon Smith at slip. Edwards has claimed three wickets in this spell and has been the catalyst for WI's price dropping from the mid-teens at lunch to [3.75]. The worry for England is their long tail. After Matt Prior, who debuted with a ton against WI on this ground, come Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann and then bowlers.

14.20 Eng 105-3
England's progress was pretty serene until Cook and KP fell in the space of two balls. So how many are they going to score in this first innings? Well, we can get a pretty good idea by looking at the records of first innings at Lord's since 2000. When England bat first in that time frame they average a whopping 436 runs. At a healthy rate of 3.6 runs per over, to boot. Before the collapse they were [1.40] for 425 runs or more and [1.60] for 450 runs or more. At that time the value look like being the [2.01] for 475 runs or more. Well, they remain that price for that total. But. And it's a big but, they are now [2.71] for 425 runs or more.

14.07 Eng 96-3
Our innings runs discussion has been delayed. I'm having to redo all my sums. No matter. It is quite exciting. Who needs the IPL when you've got action like this? Not Paul Collingwood, the new batsman, that's for sure. Collingwood didn't play a single match in his stint with the Delhi Daredevils. A rather damning indictment on England's chances in the World Twenty20 later this summer when the skipper can't get a game. We will watch Colly closely because we know how to spot if he is in form or not. Is that bat of his coming down straight?

14.03 WICKET Eng 92-3
Can't keep up. KP gone first ball to a corker from Fidel Edwards. Two in two balls. Plenty of movement on the market as a result. West Indies' price has collapsed to [6.60] and the draw is out to [2.40]. But have a look at England's price. It has dropped from the lunch break to [2.10]. Clearly punters have decided they are finally seeing a Lord's wicket which will produce 20 wickets.

WICKET 13.57 Eng 92-2
Cook gone.Hurrah! Awful shot, too. A half-hearted, tentaive step forward and a prod with his bat as if he was poking a dead badger with a stick, fully expecting to run away squealing like a girl. Well, he's on his way back to the pav now. KP is in.

13.43 Eng 88-1
Brendan Nash is bowling after lunch. Fill your boots time. It is an indiation of what a lifeless pitch this is. Gosh, I really hope we are not on our way to a seventh-straight stalemate at Lord's. Innings runs chat coming up...

13.02 Eng 88-1 LUNCH
True to form, England are scoring runs in the first-innings at Lord's. When we come back we'll have a good look at the innings runs market. The market has reacted to form as well. The draw price has gone well odds into [1.92]. England are [2.42] and West Indies are [14.50].

12.43 Eng 76-1
Watching Alastair Cook eek out runs against West Indies with only the two shots he has in his armoury is a bit like being told by the doctor that a nasty fungal infection has returned. It is very uncomfotable to put up with and you just wish it would go away for good. Ravi Bop-ra (apologies for not using this far more entertaining pronunciation earlier) is something of an antodote, however. His wristy strokeplay is a joy to behold. Bop-ra has 23, Cook has 34.

12.31 Eng 68-1
A "Citi moment of distress". That's better.

12.17 Eng 61-1
"Citi moment of success". I can't leave it alone. I don't wish to be crude but in my household we change the first word slighlty to describe when one has successfully completed a bathroom activity. Problem is, we're out of loo roll here at the moment and, obviosuly, I can't go down to the shops to restock. I am in danger of having a "Citi moment of disaster".

12.07 Eng 52-1
It is great to be back in front of the box blogging on Test match cricket. I have been feasting on a diet of IPL for the last few weeks and I am not embarrassed to say that, despite the cricket being hugely entertaining, I did rather tire of the hype. The dancing girls (eventually) get on your nerves while the commentating is atrocious. "That's gone for six ... no straight up in the air ... should be out ... there's man under it ... well, it's landed safely in no man's land". Why don't they just wait a few seconds to see what happens instead of trying to predict the exact flight path of each shot? What grates most is their insistence on torturing to death the English language. A six is not a six. It is a "DLF maximum". As the tournament has progressed, the commentators have decided that DLF should morphe into verb form. "He's DLF'ed it!". And don't get me started on "Citi moment of success".

11.41 Eng 34-1
Ravi Bopara is the new man at the crease. Good to see him back in the England side after he was dropped the very next Test after his first century. He has a real opportunity to make the No 3 slot his own here. Of course, he has spent time in the IPL, too. That will be our hot topic for our debate today. What do you think about the players who have spent their time warming up for this series with a thrash and bash in South Africa? Email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

WICKET 11.33 Eng 28-1
Typical. There's me singing the praises of Strauss and he edges one behind to the keeper. One shot too many. Still, England's price has drifted as a result. Out to [2.24] and I'm sure that is a decent price to trade.The wicket looks flat and slow, rather like those run-laden tracks in the Caribbean.

11.22 Eng 20-0
Consecutive fours for Andrew Strauss. Nothing particularly groudbreaking there you may think. Ordinarily no. However, it was the manner with which he propelled the ball to the boundary. Staright bat, down the ground for four. And then again. That is the shot of a man in form. In our preview we highlighted that Strauss is the man to follow for first-innings top-bat honours and those two strokes have only served to convince me more. He is [2.72].

11.12 Eng 10-0
We're off to a comedy start at Lord's. David Lloyd has just asked Nick Knight what it was like to be inserted on this ground. Keep it to yourself, please chaps. Not entirley sure what Knight is doing there actually. We wait to see who has been bumped off to make room for the left-hander. Perhaps the Sky team reckon that with Strauss and Cook both southpaws they needed a former cackhanded opener to bring some expertise. The problem is that Knight is so obsessed with self-deprecation that it is rare that he even admits to being able to hold a piece of willow.

11.09 Eng 7-0
And these are the prices: England [2.18], West Indies [8.20] and the draw [2.28]. Traditionally at Lord's runs flow on the first day so we should expect West Indies' price to drift gloriously off into the sunset while everything else will shorten - the draw most dramatically, though.

11.05 Eng 3-0
These are the teams then for this first Test of two.
England: A Strauss, A Cook, RS Bopara, KP Pietersen, PD Collingwood, MJ Prior, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, JM Anderson, GP Swann, G Onions
West Indies: C Gayle, DS Smith, RR Sarwan, LMP Simmons, S Chanderpaul, BP Nash, D Ramdin, JE Taylor, SJ Benn, FH Edwards, LS Baker

11.00 Eng 0-0
Anyone wondering what affect Chris Gayle's late arrival from the IPL to join this West Indies side has had on his decision making have an answer. He has decided to bowl first after winning the toss. On the last seven ocassions when the hosts have batted first at HQ, they have scored 500 or more five times.