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England 398 (Strauss 122) and 193 for 5 (Cook 79, Bell 63*, Roach 3-60) beat West Indies 243 (Chanderpaul 87*, Broad 7-72) and 345 (Chanderpaul 91, Samuels 86, Broad 4-93) by 5 wickets.
FULL SCORE CARD
West Indies had commanded respect and, for a fleeting moment, they even invited hope among their long-suffering supporters but at the end of the Lord's Test it was a familiar tale of defeat. Two early wickets briefly raised West Indies' expectations that a startling victory might be in their grasp but they were summarily dashed as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell swept England to a comfortable five-wicket victory.
From 57 for 4, still 134 short of victory, Cook and Bell should have been under pressure, but they gambolled along at roughly four runs an over in a stand of 132. It ended with England two short of victory when Cook chopped Darren Sammy to gully. Ian Bell, who is already beginning to look like his old self again after a torrid winter, flicked Marlon Samuels through mid-on for the winning boundary in the next over.
The sun that is now finally promised after a raggy-arsed spring will have been a relief for West Indies, but it shone upon on an England victory that has put them 1-0 up in the series with two to play.
West Indies have now won just two of their 31 Tests since they dismissed England for 51 in Jamaica in 2009. They have only a few days to reassess before the second Test begins in Nottingham on Friday. All manner of theories will be bandied around about which absent players might have made them better, but the debate should not be about absent individuals, it should be about the reason most of them are absent - and that debate is about how the financial lure of IPL is threatening Test cricket, and Caribbean cricket in particular. There must be a window, a compromise, a solution. Instead what we have is a short-sighted flexing of muscles.
England 398 (Strauss 122) and 193 for 5 (Cook 79, Bell 63*, Roach 3-60) beat West Indies 243 (Chanderpaul 87*, Broad 7-72) and 345 (Chanderpaul 91, Samuels 86, Broad 4-93) by 5 wickets.
FULL SCORE CARD
West Indies had commanded respect and, for a fleeting moment, they even invited hope among their long-suffering supporters but at the end of the Lord's Test it was a familiar tale of defeat. Two early wickets briefly raised West Indies' expectations that a startling victory might be in their grasp but they were summarily dashed as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell swept England to a comfortable five-wicket victory.
The sun that is now finally promised after a raggy-arsed spring will have been a relief for West Indies, but it shone upon on an England victory that has put them 1-0 up in the series with two to play.
West Indies have now won just two of their 31 Tests since they dismissed England for 51 in Jamaica in 2009. They have only a few days to reassess before the second Test begins in Nottingham on Friday. All manner of theories will be bandied around about which absent players might have made them better, but the debate should not be about absent individuals, it should be about the reason most of them are absent - and that debate is about how the financial lure of IPL is threatening Test cricket, and Caribbean cricket in particular. There must be a window, a compromise, a solution. Instead what we have is a short-sighted flexing of muscles.
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