ENGLAND TOUR OF WEST INDIES, 2015

Bell shines on Trott's return

Mon, Apr 13 2015 by Tanmoy Mookherjee
Last updated on Monday, 13 April, 2015, 10:55 PM

• England recovered from the depths of despair to close on 341 for 5 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test
• Ian Bell, first in partnership with Joe Root and then with an aggressive Ben Stokes on Test return, revived them after being reduced to 49 for 3

Bell was at the centre of England's revival with his 22nd Test century. © AFP

A resounding opening session for the West Indies gave way to the inconsistency often associated with the team as England recovered from the depths of despair to close on 341 for 5 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test at the Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. There were enough distractions for England leading up to the series, but Ian Bell, first in partnership with Joe Root and then with an aggressive Ben Stokes on Test return, revived them after being reduced to 49 for 3 in the first session of play after being put into bat.
He may have liked to return unbeaten but a Kemar Roach beauty produced the outside edge of Bell's bat as he was finally dismissed for 143 with seven balls remaining in the day. But between having England three down at lunch and close of play, the West Indies bowlers had endured another frustrating day on the field, a performance that was punctuated with England scoring at nearly four runs an over. James Tredwell, back in the Test side after five years, was giving Stokes company on 0* when stumps were drawn.
As satisfying it was for Bell to reach the three-figure mark, Root (83) had to depart when he played Jerome Taylor onto his stumps looking well set for a century. Root's dismissal, however, didn't stem the flow of runs as Stokes accelerated the scoring, hammering 10 fours and a six on his way to 71* that came in just 80 balls. Bell and Stokes had put on 130 in a little over 25 overs, putting away anything loose that was on offer, of which there were many.
Bell was at the centre of England's revival with his 22nd Test century, taking 20 balls to get off the mark and struggled for his first 20 runs during a tough passage of play. He had found himself in the company of Root in as early as the 17th over when Gary Ballance had edged behind off Jason Holder for 10 to begin the repair work. But the shackles put on by the West Indies bowlers early were broken by Bell and Root, and runs came thick and fast for England since then. The duo added 118 runs in the afternoon session, and with the exception of Root receiving some treatment on his back three overs before the interval, the going was easy.
The West Indies pacers, who had established early dominance before lunch, didn't appear to have the same penetration in the bowling. Taylor may have come away with the wickets of Jonathan Trott - who was out for a duck on his return to Test cricket following a stress-related illness - and Root later in the day, but he leaked runs at over five. The rest of the bowlers fared better, but failed to create enough pressure and were let down in the field.
As incisive as the West Indies pace trio was in the morning, they weren't able to apply similar pressure on Bell and Root, who played themselves in with Ramdin preferring to use Benn from one end. The spinner often dragged it short and Bell was able to put them away, while the drives and cuts found the gaps off the seamers.
Bell grew in confidence after a thick edge flew through the vacant third slip on 21, but didn't err after that. Roach and Taylor strayed and were punished, while Benn was pulled as Bell raised his fifty. Root, on the other hand, cut with ferocity and benefited from a thick edge on 28, that went well over first slip's head as a result. Root matched Bell's calm with urgency, dispatching anything loose on offer and even had the rub of the green when he was put down off Marlon Samuels on 61.
While the focus remained on England's early ouster from the World Cup and its aftermath, some of it was also on Trott's return to Test cricket, but it began on a poor note as the batsman, opening the innings for just the second time in his career, was out without scoring in the first over of play. Taylor found swing early and struck with his fifth ball as Trott edged to Darren Bravo at first slip. Ramdin's decision to bowl first surprised many, but in light of their performance in the first session, West Indies appeared to have their noses in front.
Taylor and Kemar Roach continued to test Cook and Ballance, both left-handers repeatedly beaten by the bowlers and England's score had ambled to 22 in eight overs when Roach moved wide of the crease to have Cook play onto his stumps for 11. Roach's angle to the batsman did him in, as the ball shaped back in to take the inside edge.
While Taylor had made the early breakthrough, it was Roach who the England batsmen found more troubling. Ballance and Bell were kept guessing by the swinging ball, with Bell getting off the mark with the 20th ball he faced by driving Jason Holder past point. Roach's early spell - 8-4-8-1 - had, however, created enough pressure for Ballance to look for a release, and Holder's similar line of attack as that of Roach had the England No 3 edging to first slip for 10. Overhead conditions brought some rain after Ballance's wicket but cleared up, and held up until the end of the first session.
A wicketless second session and a frenetic rate of scoring, however, gave England the momentum they need as well as a healthy cushion of runs before turning over to their bowlers, who would be led out by James Anderson, who is playing his 100th Test and is three wickets shy of equaling Sir Ian Botham's record for most Test wickets by an English bowler.