England edge in front

England moved into a commanding position, once again, on the fourth day of the shortened Fourth Test against West Indies, with Paul Collingwood the star of the show. After racking-up a score which would have seemed extremely unlikely at the start of the day and almost unthinkable at lunch, they snatched three early wickets to leave their opponents still in deficit with 98 scheduled overs remaining.

As virtually throughout the match, leaden skies greeted players and what few spectators there were. England, resuming on 121 for 4, were tested by Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore, the former causing particular problems to Andrew Strauss, who would have had hopes of a century at the start of play. Sadly for him, it was not to be, as after adding 5 to his overnight 72, he finally got a nick on one of numerous deliveries which he had been prodding uncertainly at. Nonetheless, the score should put some of Strauss’ problems to bed, especially if he can use any second-innings he might get productively.

Ian Bell, demoted to seven due to the use of the nightwatchman, started with a fabulous cover-drive off Edwards but was mostly circumspect early on. Collingwood, who had joined Strauss at the start after Kevin Pietersen fell to the last ball yesterday, played more strokes, despite never looking totally at home. Just as the partnership was developing, however, Bell drove at Powell and edged a straightforward catch to Runako Morton at gully. Edwards was immediately recalled to the attack and, despite an abundance of no-balls, troubled the new batsman Matthew Prior and especially Collingwood with a mostly short-pitched attack. Prior countered by playing several strokes in the air behind the wicket. England lunched at 202 for 6 with honours, once again, about even.

After lunch, however, it might have been suspected that a different side had emerged. Virtually from the first ball of the session, the bowling was little short of shambolic. Both sides of the wicket, over-pitched, under-pitched, and Daren Ganga, hamstrung in any case by the absence of Dwayne Bravo who was off the field injured, could neither set fields nor bring on bowlers who offered any semblance of control: even the more-often-than-not pinpoint Collymore was wayward, and had salt rubbed in his wounds as both batsmen treated him like a spinner, repeatedly skipping down the wicket and several times lofting the ball over the infield. Denesh Ramdin appeared incapable of emulating Prior, who had stood up to the stumps to both Matthew Hoggard and Ryan Sidebottom during West Indies’ innings. The part-time fingerspin of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels was treated with utter disdain.

Despite the poor quality of the bowling, Collingwood barely played a false stroke in the session, and brought-up his half-century with a dab to third-man. Prior followed-suit soon after, as the new-ball, taken at the first available opportunity, made things worse rather than better. Finally, however, Prior pulled Edwards straight to deep-square-leg. Despite the excessive no-balling, Edwards had never failed to stop running in purposefully for his side, and deserved his fifth wicket. For the first time at Chester-le-Street, two Durham men occupied the crease in a Test match as Stephen Harmison took to the stage. It said much for the quality of the bowling that even he looked utterly untroubled, keeping his county team-mate – who had brought-up his second century of the series (much superior to his chancy effort at Lord’s) and his first really convincing Test score since his Adelaide double-century – company after the wicket of Prior. England’s run-rate in the afternoon session, in generally seam-friendly conditions, fell just short of 5-an-over.

Finally, in the post-tea session, Collingwood played onto his off-stump from the bowling of Collymore, having made 128. The bowler, however, barely celebrated, which said much about the disappointment in his team over letting a position of strength slip to one where victory had become almost out of the question. Off the next ball, in the next over from Powell, Harmison skied a catch to Ganga at extra-cover. However, the bowlers could not provide the quick kill that the opening batsmen would have been so desperately hoping for, and Sidebottom slashed and slapped his way to a Test-best 26*. Monty Panesar made 4 and took the score to a round 400 before falling to another drag-on, Powell again the bowler. As in the First and Second Tests, however, the hosts’ lower-order recovery from a slightly precarious position had clearly completely deflated the tourists, and as in the Third, their profligacy with extras strained belief: 51 was the total this time, more than one eighth of the innings.

They elected to spring a surprise at the start of their second-innings, sending Devon Smith in to open with Gayle. The move to his favoured position, however, failed to help Smith, who was trapped lbw in Hoggard’s first over, attempting to drive one that came back into him. Umpire Brent Bowden had no hesitation in raising the finger. The captain Ganga, on a king-pair after falling to the opening ball of the match, avoided that and then got off the mark with a crisp straight drive off Sidebottom. However, he made just 2 more before chasing a fairly wide ball from Hoggard, and Prior pouched the straightforward offering. Panesar was brought on in the 9th over and Morton immediately fell, bottom-edging an attempt at a force through the off into the stumps. At 38 for 3 West Indies were sinking fast. Gayle and the inevitable Shivnarine Chanderpaul stopped the rot for the remainder of the session, Gayle cracking a brisk half-century which, as ever, interspersed emphatic strokes with uncertain ones. West Indies closed at 83 for 3, with much to do on the final day to avoid going down to a 3-0 defeat.

West Indies 287
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 136*, Dwayne Bravo 44
Ryan Sidebottom 5-88, Matthew Hoggard 2-58, Steve Harmison 2-78

England 400
Paul Collingwood 128, Andrew Strauss 77, Matthew Prior 62
Fidel Edwards 5-112, Daren Powell 3-89, Corey Collymore 2-116

West Indies 83 for 3
Chris Gayle 52*, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 16*
Matthew Hoggard 2-18, Monty Panesar 1-16

West Indies trail by 30 runs with 7 wickets remaining