England complete dominant win
New-look bowling attack stars as England complete ten-wicket win
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Graham Onions has enjoyed a remarkable England debut, taking five wickets to help bowl out the West Indies for 152 - a first-innings lead of 225. |  |
Friday, 08, May 2009 10:32
England's bowlers polished off the West Indies before openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook quickly hit the small total required to complete a comfortable ten-wicket victory inside three days for the home side.
A confident England attack bowled out the Caribbean side for 256 in their second innings, with only Brendan Nash (81) and Denesh Ramdin (61) putting up any kind of resistance as Graeme Swann (3-39), Stuart Broad (3-64), James Anderson (2-38) and debutant Graham Onions (2-64) all got amongst the wickets.
The total forced the hosts to bat again, but with only 32 runs needed to seal victory Strauss (14 not out) and Cook (14 not out) raced home with no trouble at all to open the two-Test series with a thumping win.
In the morning, scattered showers meant an hour's delay to play but when things did get going, Onions carried on from where he had left off yesterday.
After a five-wicket haul on his first day as an England international cricketer, he took two more wickets to reduce the tourists to 80-5 at lunch.
The West Indies had looked lethargic and disinterested for large portions of the second day - when they were bowled out for 152 - but Lendl Simmons and Devon Smith looked in more determined mood in the early stages.
However, after adding 31 to the overnight total England finally found their groove, and again it was Onions who got the breakthrough with Alastair Cook taking a good catch to dismiss Simmons for 21.
Chanderpaul (four), who was out for a golden duck in the first innings, avoided a pair but the introduction of spinner Graeme Swann was again his undoing as he bat-padded to Ravi Bopara to pouch a catch at silly point.
And with the West Indies now in disarray approaching lunch on 79-4, Onions bagged his second wicket of the day - and seventh of an amazing debut so far - when he delivered a pearler to clean bowl opener Smith for 41.
After lunch the tourists put up more of a fight as both Nash and Ramdin weathered the storm and frustrated England with some consummate batting.
However, when Ramdin went to a great Broad delivery to reduce the Caribbean side to 222-6 - two runs short of avoiding an innings defeat - another collapse was not far away.
Jerome Taylor made 15 before being trapped lbw by Swann, then Sulieman Benn (duck) and Fidel Edwards (two) fell shortly afterwards before Nash's dismissal completed the job and left England's openers with the easiest batting task of all.