Review of Day 5: Old Trafford

By English Cricket
August 17 2004

Third Test, Old Trafford: England 330 & 231-3 (Key 93*, Flintoff 57*) beat West Indies 395-9 dec & 165 (Harmison 44-4) by seven wickets

3^rd Test Match Eng v WI: Day 4 Review

 

 

 

England coasted to what had seemed only a day earlier an improbable victory, courtesy of a solid partnership between Robert Key and Andrew Flintoff of 120.

 

However, the margin of victory belittles how close this game was. England after dismissing the Windies for 165 was left chasing a score of 231, far from imposing but tricky all the same. The task was made all the more harder by a polished bowling performance from the opposition.

 

Corey Collymore caused the most problems, as he consistently bowled the ball in the right areas and got the ball to move both ways. The ball with which he dismissed Trescothick was as good as any this season, and it pitched and cut through the hole in his defence. His spell of 6-4-1-4 was without a doubt the best spell bowled by any of the West Indian bowlers this season, and he deserved a lot more than his single wicket.

 

This pressure that he created, kept England’s scoring rate to not more than two runs an over, for the entire first session. The further loss of Strauss, aiming a rather ambitious pull shot really left England in a perilous position going into lunch.

 

However, it is at this point that the tourists began to let the match slip away, and more accurately Brian Lara. Lara, the batsman may be a magician but as a captain he is rank amateur. His field settings for most of the day were pretty hard to understand, as he set defensive fields when England were in trouble, and allowed them to pick up easy singles all through the day. His move to take off Collymore after only 6 overs into his opening spell, allowed the pressure to dissipate in the first place, and then oddly he only used him sparingly through the rest of the day. It was quite agonising to watch the last session, as the match just meandered along to its conclusion. England only had a few runs to get, and yet the fielders were set deep, and there was hardly any sort of intensity to be found.

 

Even given Lara’s best intentions to give the game away, credit needs to be given to the way England batted. It was a thoroughly professional approach, and the first hour and a half aside they did it without any sort of fuss or panic. Robert Key played probably the most important innings of his career thus far, as he demonstrated that he has the temperament to succeed at this level. It is one thing to score a double century on a flat Lord’s pitch in the first innings, but to lead your team to victory in a tricky run chase is about as good as they come. His leg side strokes are great to watch, and though he is still prone to playing the odd careless stroke, his technique is looking a lot tighter than it was when he first started.

 

Finally, where would England be without Freddie Flintoff? His bowling, batting and fielding have all played key roles in this match. Yesterday it was with the bat, as he saw England home with composed innings of 57. He maintained a steady temp throughout, and only waited till the match was all over before he unleashed some of his bigger strokes. It again highlighted why he is now a top-order batsman as opposed to the number 7 or 8 batsman that he had been earlier in his career.

 

Even though, England has now won this series, there is still plenty to play for. There is still a whitewash to be had as well as an unbeaten record this season to preserve. Hopefully, the Oval will throw up a result wicket that will aid the batsmen and the bowlers.

For those looking for a window into England’s future, should keep an eye out for Ian Bell, who could be making his debut in the 4^th Test.