Alastair Cook and Ian Bell help England overcome West Indies – Cricket News Update
England drew first blood against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, winning the first Test match on Monday, May 21, played at the Lord’s cricket stadium, London.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026 and Ian Bell shared a 132-run stand for the fifth wicket, which helped the hosts chase down a tricky target of 191 for the loss of five wickets.
Cook was the last man to fall for the Poms with just two runs needed for victory. The left-hander belted 79 runs before West Indian skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJG-Sammy-c1382, showed him the door. Bell, however, carried his bat and had 63 runs to his
name.
England skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AJ-Strauss-c964, acknowledged the efforts of the two batters at the post-match presentation, saying, “We felt that the wicket was pretty flat and we had a good chance of getting the target but you never know and
we put ourselves in a tricky position last night. It looked a bit dicey at 40 odd for four but Alastair Cook and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597 set about it in a very civilised manner and saw us home.”
Bell has not been amongst the runs for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. However, he came good against the Windies.
Bell’s return to form was welcomed by his captain, who never lost his faith in the batter.
“Ian Bell has been playing brilliantly for a long time and it was just a case of him reconnecting with his method and he showed how good he is,” said Strauss.
The Lord’s Test also saw the English captain end his 18-month century drought. Strauss powered England to 398 in the first innings, by hammering 122 himself.
The left-hander, speaking about him breaking the jinx, said, “It was nice to get that hundred and when you do it in a winning cause it makes it more special.”
England now lead the three match Test series, 1-0. The second Test match is scheduled to start from Friday, May 25, and will be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
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