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Trescothick shines in England win

Thursday, May 6 2004

A brutal attack staged by Marcus Trescothick quickly shattered any chance of the West Indies gaining an ODI series win at home, which has been so rare in recent years. The game was really a tale of three innings. Two of them came from the English victors, Trescothick with 82 from 57 balls and Andrew Strauss with his second consecutive ODI half-century, 66 from 85 balls.

The innings that set the game up, however, came earlier from West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan. Under pressure after Chanderpaul (3) and Powell (9) were dismissed early in the piece, Sarwan shared in a partnership of 69 with a surprisingly responsible Dwayne Smith and an unbroken stand of 69 with Ridley Jacobs. Being inserted, the West Indies struggled to get going and only Chris Gayle (41) looked to be on top of the bowling initially. Even world-record holder Brian Lara (8) struggled to get the ball away with his feet cemented to the crease.

Eventually it was Clarke who got the big wicket of Lara, excersising his seeming golden arm once more, admittedly to a fine catch from Read. Smith joined Sarwan and both batsmen looked at total ease on a progressively flatter batting surface. A heave over midwicket off Gough seemed effortless from Smith, but the veteran bowler got the last laugh, trapping the young Bajan LBW for 39 off only 36 balls.

Bravo (11) didn't last very long when he dragged on a pitched-up delivery from Flintoff, and Jacobs (32 not out) had to come out to assist Sarwan in taking the innings to the close at 261/6. From his 102nd ball, Sarwan took a quick single to earn the acclaim of the crowd for a fine second ODI hundred, more than a year after his first came against Bangladesh. He ended unbeaten on 104, with 13 fours on the highlight reel.

Taking their cue from the West Indian run chase on Sunday, England shot out of the gates with aggression. Initially it was Vaughan who stole the show, dispatching Rampaul majestically over midwicket for a huge six. Soon after Rampaul got some of his own back though, as Vaughan was shocked in being given out caught behind for 14. Replays showed the decision to be erroneous.

Buoyed by his success, Rampaul charged in, but found no love from Trescothick, who smacked him for three boundaries in an over. There seemed to be no stopping the English opener. The bowlers pitched up and Trescothick crashed them through the covers. The bowlers bowled short and Trescothick rocked back and pulled the ball away. Even the length balls were licked away with disdain.

His fifty came up from a mere 36 balls and he continued to race onward, driving Ricardo Powell for a couple more boundaries. Finally some ease for the West Indies, Gayle having Trescothick stumped off a wide for a devastating 82. From the other end, Strauss staged his own show, clinically rotating the strike and working the bowling.

He lost Clarke (9) and Flintoff (11), but continued onward to a second career ODI fifty. Alas, he would not hit the winning runs, dismissed some 44 runs short of the target for a very well-played 66. From this stage Paul Collingwood (46 not out) and Chris Read (23 not out) held their nerve to complete a 5-wicket victory for England and salvage the series as a 2-2 draw.

Match Summary

West Indies innings 261/6 (50 overs)
(RR Sarwan 104 not out [105], CH Gayle 41 [52], DR Smith 39 [36])
(JM Anderson 1/41 [8], D Gough/A Flintoff 1/45 [10])

England innings
(ME Trescothick 82 [57], AJ Strauss 66 [85], PD Collingwood 46 not out [51])
(IDR Bradshaw 2/47 [10], RR Sarwan 1/39 [9], CH Gayle 1/27 [8])

Result: England won by 5 wickets
Series: Drawn 2-2
Man of the Match: ME Trescothick (Eng)
Man of the Series: ME Trescothick (Eng)

Posted by Liam