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England feel Gayle's force
West Indies take a giant step towards historic series win
By Joe Drabble Last updated: 8th March 2009
Fifth Test Match
Trinidad
England 546-6 dec (P D Collingwood 161, A J Strauss 142, M J Prior 131 no) v West Indies 349-4 (C H Gayle 100, B P Nash 70 no, S Chanderpaul 52 no)
An unbeaten century from Chris Gayle and an unbroken 146 partnership between Brendan Nash and Shivnarine Chanderpaul helped West Indies reach 349-4 at stumps on day three in Trinidad.
On a day which began so promisingly for England with the quick wickets of nightwatchman Daren Powell and the prolific Ramnaresh Sarwan, the home side rallied to move a step closer to their first Test series win since 2004.
Captain Gayle led from the front before becoming the second player in the match to retire hurt after tearing his hamstring stretching to complete the quick single that brought up his 10th Test match century.
Lendl Simmons was trapped lbw for 27 soon after, however that only brought resilient left-handers Nash and Chanderpaul together and the pair frustrated the England bowlers with an invaluable partnership.
Gayle will find out the extent of his injury on Monday after the results of an MRI scan, however early reports suggest he is a huge doubt to compete in the Twenty20 international between the two sides on March 15.
Prize scalp
The day started so well for England when Stuart Broad picked up the wicket of Powell in the fourth over of the day.
A vicious short ball was too much for the nightwatchman to deal with and he could only lob his attempted defensive prod into the hands of Kevin Pietersen at gully for a duck.
That brought in-form Sarwan to the middle and he immediately got off the mark with a cut for three off off-spinner Graeme Swann, which took him beyond 600 runs for the series.
However, looking settled on 14 in the middle with captain Gayle, debutant Amjad Khan was introduced into the attack and the move immediately paid off when he claimed the prize scalp of Sarwan.
A quick, full delivery did the damage as Sarwan, whose referral was in vein, was hit in front of middle and leg sparking wild scenes of celebration.
The wicket came as a huge relief to Paul Collingwood who had dropped Sarwan at slip off the bowling of Panesar the previous over.
Trinidadian debutant Simmons and Gayle rallied with a relatively untroubled 77 partnership for the fourth wicket before the West Indies skipper was forced to leave the field after an unfortunate injury.
Poised on 99, Gayle set off for a quick single following a mis-field from Owais Shah, however as he slid his bat in to bring up the landmark, he could barely celebrate before hobbling to the ground.
The physio immediately entered the field and escorted Gayle off to a standing ovation.
Just 26 balls later and the momentum shifted England's way again - Panesar rewarded for his variation when he struck Simmons in front of middle stump to leave the hosts precariously poised on 203-4 and without their captain.
Unwanted record
However, a partnership of real skill and expertise between Chanderpaul (52 not out) and Nash (70no) saw West Indies regain the initiative as the England bowlers toiled in the Trinidad heat.
It could have been an altogether different story had Strauss clung on to a sharp chance at silly mid-off when Nash pushed out at Panesar when on 19.
Umpire Russell Tiffin then turned down what appeared a plumb leg before shout when the same batsman had added just five more.
To add to the frustration, England took their tally of extras to 61 for the innings, a statistic which impaired their chances of developing a healthy first-innings lead.
Just as in Antigua and Barbados, Strauss' team lacked penetration on an unforgiving surface and Nash reached his half-century in the third over with the new ball via an upper-cut over the slips off Khan, his ninth boundary.
At the other end, Chanderpaul once again highlighted the virtue of patience by reaching his painstaking fifty off 142 deliveries.
The hosts were given a helping hand past their follow-on target when wicketkeeper Matt Prior allowed another set of four byes through in the penultimate over of the day, thus equalling the England record of 30 in an innings.
West Indies take a giant step towards historic series win
By Joe Drabble Last updated: 8th March 2009
Fifth Test Match
Trinidad
England 546-6 dec (P D Collingwood 161, A J Strauss 142, M J Prior 131 no) v West Indies 349-4 (C H Gayle 100, B P Nash 70 no, S Chanderpaul 52 no)
An unbeaten century from Chris Gayle and an unbroken 146 partnership between Brendan Nash and Shivnarine Chanderpaul helped West Indies reach 349-4 at stumps on day three in Trinidad.
On a day which began so promisingly for England with the quick wickets of nightwatchman Daren Powell and the prolific Ramnaresh Sarwan, the home side rallied to move a step closer to their first Test series win since 2004.
Captain Gayle led from the front before becoming the second player in the match to retire hurt after tearing his hamstring stretching to complete the quick single that brought up his 10th Test match century.
Lendl Simmons was trapped lbw for 27 soon after, however that only brought resilient left-handers Nash and Chanderpaul together and the pair frustrated the England bowlers with an invaluable partnership.
Gayle will find out the extent of his injury on Monday after the results of an MRI scan, however early reports suggest he is a huge doubt to compete in the Twenty20 international between the two sides on March 15.
Prize scalp
The day started so well for England when Stuart Broad picked up the wicket of Powell in the fourth over of the day.
A vicious short ball was too much for the nightwatchman to deal with and he could only lob his attempted defensive prod into the hands of Kevin Pietersen at gully for a duck.
That brought in-form Sarwan to the middle and he immediately got off the mark with a cut for three off off-spinner Graeme Swann, which took him beyond 600 runs for the series.
However, looking settled on 14 in the middle with captain Gayle, debutant Amjad Khan was introduced into the attack and the move immediately paid off when he claimed the prize scalp of Sarwan.
A quick, full delivery did the damage as Sarwan, whose referral was in vein, was hit in front of middle and leg sparking wild scenes of celebration.
The wicket came as a huge relief to Paul Collingwood who had dropped Sarwan at slip off the bowling of Panesar the previous over.
Trinidadian debutant Simmons and Gayle rallied with a relatively untroubled 77 partnership for the fourth wicket before the West Indies skipper was forced to leave the field after an unfortunate injury.
Poised on 99, Gayle set off for a quick single following a mis-field from Owais Shah, however as he slid his bat in to bring up the landmark, he could barely celebrate before hobbling to the ground.
The physio immediately entered the field and escorted Gayle off to a standing ovation.
Just 26 balls later and the momentum shifted England's way again - Panesar rewarded for his variation when he struck Simmons in front of middle stump to leave the hosts precariously poised on 203-4 and without their captain.
Unwanted record
However, a partnership of real skill and expertise between Chanderpaul (52 not out) and Nash (70no) saw West Indies regain the initiative as the England bowlers toiled in the Trinidad heat.
It could have been an altogether different story had Strauss clung on to a sharp chance at silly mid-off when Nash pushed out at Panesar when on 19.
Umpire Russell Tiffin then turned down what appeared a plumb leg before shout when the same batsman had added just five more.
To add to the frustration, England took their tally of extras to 61 for the innings, a statistic which impaired their chances of developing a healthy first-innings lead.
Just as in Antigua and Barbados, Strauss' team lacked penetration on an unforgiving surface and Nash reached his half-century in the third over with the new ball via an upper-cut over the slips off Khan, his ninth boundary.
At the other end, Chanderpaul once again highlighted the virtue of patience by reaching his painstaking fifty off 142 deliveries.
The hosts were given a helping hand past their follow-on target when wicketkeeper Matt Prior allowed another set of four byes through in the penultimate over of the day, thus equalling the England record of 30 in an innings.