Windies bowlers hold England by tail

London, Sept 1: West Indies advanced into the England tail on the second morning of the fifth and final Test against England here at The Oval on Friday, the home side reaching 255 for eight at lunch. Craig White was one not out and Andy Caddick nought not out. For the third time in the innings West Indies took two England wickets on the same score. First Graeme Hick, two not out overnight, was lbw to Curtly Ambrose for 17, the Worcestershire captain playing outside the line of the ball after 116 minutes and 73 balls of uncomfortable resistance.

Then with the score still on 254, England lost their seventh wicket when Graham Thorpe on 40 was plumb lbw, once again deceived by Courtney Walsh’s slower ball. So convincing was the dismissal that the crowd saw the Surrey Left-hander walk off his home ground before Australian umpire Darryl Harper had given him out, a highly unusual sight in Test cricket where some batsmen stand their ground for obvious catches never mind lbws. Thorpe had been in for 204 minutes, faced 158 balls and struck a solitary boundary, a testament to the accuracy of the tourists’ strike bowlers. His partnership with Hick yielded 40 runs in 162 balls. Cork lasted just six balls, like Hick playing down the wrong line but in the Derbyshire captian’s case he was lbw to first-change quick Nixon McLean for nought.

England were now 255 for eight and a total of 300 plus which had seemed a realistic target when they were 159 for nought was now far away. Earlier after Walsh completed his over delayed because of bad light on Thursday evening, West Indies took the new ball with Ambrose at the Pavilion End. He and Walsh regularly beat the outside edge of both batsmen and with Jimmy Adams setting a defensive field, England could not seize the initiative.

Scoreboard

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ENGLAND: (1st innings, overnight 221/5) M Atherton b McLean 83; Trescothick c Campbell b Nagamootoo 78; N Hussain c Jacobs b Nagamootoo 0;G Thorpe lbw b Walsh 40; A Stewart lbw b McLean 0; M Vaughan lbw b Ambrose 10; G Hick lbw b Ambrose 17; C White not out 1; D Cork lbw b McLean 0; A Caddick not out 0 Extras (b4, lb12, w1, nb9) 26 Total: (For 8 wkts) 255
Fall of wickets: 1-159, 2-159, 3-184, 4-184, 5-214, 6-254, 7-254, 8-255

Bowling: Ambrose 31-9-37-2-(5nb); Walsh 31-15-55-1 (4nb); McLean 25-6-70-3; Nagamootoo 24-7-63-2; Adams 4-0-13-0