Prolific Ward leads England A into winning position

Kate Laven

February 5, 2001

Swann: Precipitated mid-innings collapse Photo © CricInfo Ltd.

England A set their sights on an outright win against Jamaica and by the close of play on the third day at Sabina Park, the plan was close to completion.

The tourists dominated the first two days of this fifth round match and today was no different after starting with two quick wickets to shatter the Jamaican confidence and finishing with a potentially winning stand between Ian Ward and John Crawley.

By stumps, the partnership finally had been broken but not before they had added 96 runs for the second wicket to steer England through to 133 for two at the close, needing another 50 runs for victory with eight wickets still in tact.

For Ward, the quicker Sabina Park pitch allowed him more variety with his shot selection than in any of the previous eight innings, playing strongly on both sides of the wicket. He was dropped in the slips off Ryan Cunningham while on 11 but that chance apart, his innings was another demonstration of intense concentration and stubborn determination.

His half-century came up in 91 balls and included six boundaries. After reaching the milestone, he produced a few more stylish drives, one of which had Orlando Baker careering into a boundary fence and virtually straight onto the physio's bench with bruised ribs.

But just five overs from the finish, he was surprised by a ball of yorker length from occasional spinner Chris Gayle and was bowled through the gate, to his utter dismay having made another 62 runs to add to his burgeoning Busta Cup tally.

He still leads the tournament batting with 643 runs though a big score from Carl Hooper today in Guyana's match against Trinidad and Tobago will see the gap narrow, at least until Ward's next innings against Windward Island starting next Friday.

Earlier Ryan Sidebottom had continued his fine form, contributing a further three wickets to his haul of 5-31 from the first innings. He induced an edge from danger-man, Chris Gayle, in the first over of the day, before having Cunningham well taken in the slips by Solanki.

Jamaica found strength in a 72 run stand between Samuels and Cuff, however, with both batsmen counter-attacking aggressively.

But when Swann, playing his first game since being called out of the English winter, dismissed Cuff, for 46, the wicket precipitated a mid-innings collapse as four wickets fell for the addition of just 11 runs.

A win for England A, which will earn them the maximum 12 points, will leave them requiring another six points to make certain of qualifying for the semi-finals but with a victory against the strongest side in the Caribbean under their belts, they will now be looking confidently to take win points from the remaining two round matches to ensure a home tie in Grenada.

Crawley meanwhile finished unbeaten on 37 and his partner Vikram Solanki was untroubled on six, both of them determined to stay at the crease to complete the job early tomorrow morning, to give their side the luxury of a free afternoon by the team hotel swimming pool.

The visitors effort was assisted by an injury to Courtney Walsh, who hobbled off the field after bowling 9.2 overs with an ankle problem. He never returned and the batsmen were left to face the slightly easier option of a four pronged spin attack.

"They have come in with just the two seamers and Walsh bowled magnificently with the new ball. Fortunately I was at the non-strikers end for a good proportion of the deliveries but he is a world-class performer and to see him hobble off was unfortunate for him but will be happy if he's not there in the morning," Ward said after the game.

Despite his weight of runs in the tournament, the Surrey opener admits his rhythm is still not 100%.

"In terms of run-getting I am in the best form of my life. I am scoring more heavily than I ever have but in terms of being at the crease, the rhythm is still not quite there, things still are not quite right but I'll take it at the moment. I'm on a roll at the moment and I will keep working hard to make sure I stay on it as long as I can."

© Cricinfo

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