http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 vs West Indies – 2nd Test – Day 1 Recap
It took http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Marlon-Nathaniel-Samuels-c74804. Both disturbed England’s routine flow and made full use of the clear sky to add an unbeaten 168-run stand, ensuring that their side finished the day’s play on top – posting 304 for 6.
Samuels marked his first century since 2008 and along with the skipper helped his side to a dramatic recovery from dire straits, which had seen the hosts claiming 6 wickets in the first two sessions, including the prized one of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/S-Chanderpaul-c2390.
The match began with Trent Bridge finally welcoming summer in its true sense – clear skies and bright sun light. While it was inevitable that any side winning the toss would have batted first, which Sammy did, Nottingham has always been a happy hunting ground for English seamers, especially http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705.
With swing in the air, the English player of the Year began with a usual tone, drifting the ball out at decent pace. The Windies’ top-order frailties had been the subject of scrutiny and demonstrated yet again that they remained easy pickings for the Poms.
Fresh from his Lord’s special, it took http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-Barath-c886 had consumed 12 deliveries without opening his account and his next one was to be his last. Having been frustrated, he probed at a wid-ish ball, which went quickly to Anderson at third-slip, who showed great agility to grab it one-handedly, to his left.
Anderson cleaned up http://www.senore.com/Cricket/GP-Swann-c1501 at second slip.
Chanderpaul came and steadied the ship with another orthodox display. After http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kieran-Omar-Akeem-Powell-c71441 had fallen to Broad for 33, the Windies seemed in serious difficulty at 63 for 4. The veteran, along Samuels blocked and left everything, scoring 13 in 13 overs before breaking the shackles to an extent.
The Post-lunch interval saw the two adding another valuable stand in excess of 50. The tourists thought that they had found their way until Swann intervened. The spinner claimed his first scalp in English colours on his home ground after catching Chanderpaul in front. Umpire http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Asad-Rauf-c46204 had given the player not-out but Swann was convinced and after reviewing, England were ecstatic to see the back of the left-hander, who departed for 46.
The situation became worse when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Bresnan-c2711 – leaving the batting side at 138 for 6. With his side looking down the barrel, Sammy (88) came in to join Samuels and started the recovery in his usual way.
He was aggressive, yet a little more refined in his approach. He duly completed his fifty in the final session, just before the new ball, and was thereafter intent on taking the game to his opponents, especially Anderson - whose splendid early morning turned into a wearisome evening.
In comparison, Samuels was a lot more compact but was not afraid to hit the ball on the up. He completed his century just before the close of play, and was disciplined enough to carry his side till the end.
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