Runs flow at sunny Edgbaston

At the start of the day the West Indians would have had hopes of quickly knocking over the English lower order from the overnight 313/5. However, the only knocking going was England's bats on the leather ball. Geraint Jones and Andrew Flintoff put on 170 runs for the 6th wicket from only 185 balls.

Jones started off executing an array of cut strokes and reached his half-century from 62 balls. Flintoff had reached his milestone from 83 balls. The carnage continued and was only paused briefly as Jones was dismissed by Collymore (2/124) for 74.

The score now set at 432/6, first Test bowling hero, Ashley Giles joined "Freddie" Flintoff. His contribution of 24 came in a partnership of 46 with Flintoff who was absolutely ruthless on the West Indian bowling. Eventually Bravo dealt with Giles with a low full toss, hit to Chanderpaul and well-held. That didn't do anything to ease the motives of Flintoff, however. Indeed it only inspired a shift to yet another gear.

Omari Banks was particularly harshly dealt with as Flintoff swung him over the boundary with regularity and breathtaking ease. It was a spectacle to behold and the Lancashire allrounder reached his century from his 122nd ball faced. He went to lunch at 119 not out and returned primed. It was not long before Flintoff earned the acclaim of the Edgbaston crowd and raised his bat once more - 150 from 184 balls.

It would take a very clever and bold bit of bowling to end the innings. By far the best bowler of the innings, Bravo delivered a slower deliver which Flintoff looked to swing away, but missed and proved LBW for a magnificient 167 - his highest Test and First Class score. The epic knock saw him face 191 balls, hitting 17 fours and 7 sixes.

Anderson's stint at the crease was brief and then he playedd Banks (27-3-108-1) on to his stumps for 2. It would be the only joy for the Antiguan spinner and the last English wicket to fall. Harmison came to the crease and found his rhythm immediately, executing a reverse sweep for four.

As a West Indian supporter one probably thought that surely things couldn't get any worse. Then, with the return of Jermaine Lawson, it most certainly did. Stephen Harmison weighed in the bowling Lawson to add a strategic mental blow to the West Indies team before Michael Vaughan called the innining declared closed at 566/9. Indeed, Harmison launched three blows - two fours and a massive Flintoff-worthy six off successive deliveries from Lawson. Indeed, Hoggard and Harmison had an entertaining time in execution of creative and orthodox shots in adding 41 runs unbroken for the last wicket.

Harmison ended unbeaten on his highest Test score of 31 not out (18 balls) with Hoggard on 15 at the other end.

The West Indian chase started in further depression, with Smith brilliantly caught by Giles in the gully off Hoggard. Smith (4) had just played a beautiful cover drive for a boundary to open his account, then looked to play to the legside and only succeeded in spooning a ball high over gully. Giles amazingly grabbed it one-handed over his head for a fantastic highlight.

Not long after the Caribbean faces drooped further, Gayle bowled legstump by Hoggard for 7 - 12/2. Vice-captain Sarwan met with the incoming captain Lara and the two were clearly intent on counterattacking, especially Sarwan, and the boundaries flowed. James Anderson, in his return Test, was subject to same attack and was cracked by Sarwan for two fours in what proved his final over of his first spell.

Giles entered the attack and started with a ball drifting down the legside and flicked for 2 runs by Sarwan. After a couple of overs Giles moved from over the wicket to around the wicket but didn't trouble Sarwan too much, while bowling quite well. Meanwhile Lara and Harmison were locked in a fierce faceoff, begun by Harmison bowling four consecutive short balls at Lara and hitting him on the helmet with the second of the sequence.

To fight back Lara set his intent on excercising the pull shot. He top-edged one ball from Harmison that skied down to deep square leg, but just cleared the fielder and the ropes for six. An over later he pulled with much more conviction and the ball raced away all along the ground to the midwicket ropes. The next ball was full and on legstump and Lara clipped it away to midwicket for another boundary.

The field setting from Vaughan bemused to the extent of his opposite number the day before, at 7-2 to Lara with no one in front of square on the legside and only one man in front of square on the offside. The ploy failed, however, as Harmison was forced out of the attack in favour of Flintoff an over later. Still the English bowlers seemed intent on bowling on a length or back of a length to the left-hander, not a yorker (a rare weakness in Lara's game) in sight.

So the race was on as to who would reach fifty first. The junior partner ultimately won, cutting Giles for a boundary to move to 51 from 78 balls, laced with 10 fours. Lara was not far behind at all and got his applause with the second ball of the next over - 55 balls, 7 fours, 1 six.

At stumps the West Indies settled at 184/2 from the 40 overs faced. Brian Lara is unbeaten on 74 from 103 balls with 11 fours and 1 six. He's now just 41 runs away from 10,000 Test runs and has already become the first man to score 1,000 runs in 2004. With Lara is Ramnaresh Sarwan with 87 not out from 127 balls (17 fours) and the current partnership has added some 172 runs.

Match Summary:

England 1st innings 566/9 dec. (134 overs)
A Flintoff 167, ME Trescothick 105, GO Jones 74, GP Thorpe 61
DJJ Bravo 4/76, CD Collymore 2/126

West Indies 1st innings 184/2 (40 overs)
RR Sarwan 87 not out, BC Lara 74 not out
MJ Hoggard 2/48

Posted by Liam