One innings into England's Test summer, Andrew Strauss' authority has been emphatically re-established. That it should take place at Lord's was entirely appropriate because there is something about Lord's that encourages the best in him. He is attuned to its trim and orderly air and after an unrewarding winter that brought his right to the England captaincy into focus he has never valued it more. more at ESPNcricinfo

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LONDON (Reuters) – Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s limpet-like batting and the express pace of Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards will make West Indies dangerous opponents for strong favourites England in the three-test series starting tomorrow. England top the world rankings, six places above their opponents, and have not lost a home test series since 2008, while West Indies have won only one of their last 18 tests on English soil and just one of their last 10 series. With conditions also likely to favour England’s potent bowling attack, Darren Sammy’s touring side face a daunting task going into the first test at Lord’s. “They’ve got Ottis Gibson as a coach who worked within the England set-up for three years, they’ve got two bowlers who can bowl very quick, they’ve got Chanderpaul who’s a world-class batsman who’s toured England on numerous occasions, so they’re certainly a team we have to be very careful of,” England fast bowler Stuart Broad told Sky Sports. “We have to perform the way we can perform and should perform,” he added. “We won’t look too far ahead in the series. We’ll look to that first hour in the first test match like we always do, try and set the tone and try and hit them hard.” England lost 3-0 to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates this year, a series in which their top-order batsmen struggled badly for runs, and although they fought back to draw 1-1 in Sri Lanka there are still grounds for concern. Captain Andrew Strauss scored the last of his 19 test centuries 18 months ago and the 35-year-old opener will be fully tested by the hostility of Roach and Edwards. Roach suffered a twisted foot and as a precaution did not bowl on the last day of their warm-up match on Sunday but is set to play on Thursday. Kevin Pietersen did return to form with a fine century in the second test win over Sri Lanka and the highly promising Jonny Bairstow is likely to make his test debut batting at number six. If the batsmen can provide a solid platform, England certainly have the bowling attack to expose the inexperienced Windies top order. Broad is likely to open with James Anderson, supported by Steve Finn, Graham Onions or Tim Bresnan, and Graeme Swann will be the lone spinner. “We’d love to make early inroads,” Anderson said. “That’s my job and Stuart’s job. But from watching West Indies against Australia recently, they showed glimpses of a talented side. “We can’t just expect them to roll over. They’re going to put up a fight. It’s going to be a challenge for us.” LIMPET-LIKE Leading the West Indies resistance will be the obdurate Chanderpaul, the world’s top-ranked test batsman who has toured England six times with an average of 64.66. The gritty left-hander has the technique and concentration to bat for long periods but he will need support from his team mates to repel the street-wise England bowlers. West Indies showed signs of improvement in their recent home series loss to Australia, nearly upsetting the touring side in Barbados, and Sammy believes his young team are heading in the right direction after years in the doldrums. “The only thing that has not been happening is the victories,” Sammy said. “We’ve been playing good, competitive cricket against strong sides like India and Australia and all our tests have been going five days and down to the wire. “Not many teams go to India and give India a run for their money, but we did that. “Coming from where we are right now, we are not going to start winning straight away. We are taking baby steps to the ultimate goal. Sammy said the biggest problem was losing key moments in big matches. “One bad session keeps costing us,” he said. “Champion teams seize the moment but we keep having a bad session where we might lose five wickets in an hour. We just need to cut that out. Once we eliminate those bad sessions then we’ll make progress.”

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LONDON (Reuters) - Shivnarine Chanderpaul's limpet-like batting and the express pace of Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards will make West Indies dangerous opponents for strong favourites England in the three-test series starting on Thursday. England top the world rankings, six places above their opponents, and have not lost a home test series since 2008, while West Indies have won only one of their last 18 tests on English soil and just one of their last 10 series. With conditions also likely to favour England's potent bowling attack, Darren Sammy's touring side face a daunting task going into the first test at Lord's. "They've got Ottis Gibson as a coach who worked within the England set-up for three years, they've got two bowlers who can bowl very quick, they've got Chanderpaul who's a world-class batsman who's toured England on numerous occasions, so they're certainly a team we have to be very careful of," England fast bowler Stuart Broad told Sky Sports. "We have to perform the way we can perform and should perform," he added. "We won't look too far ahead in the series. We'll look to that first hour in the first test match like we always do, try and set the tone and try and hit them hard." England lost 3-0 to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates this year, a series in which their top-order batsmen struggled badly for runs, and although they fought back to draw 1-1 in Sri Lanka there are still grounds for concern. Captain Andrew Strauss scored the last of his 19 test centuries 18 months ago and the 35-year-old opener will be fully tested by the hostility of Roach and Edwards. Roach suffered a twisted foot and as a precaution did not bowl on the last day of their warm-up match on Sunday but is set to play on Thursday. Kevin Pietersen did return to form with a fine century in the second test win over Sri Lanka and the highly promising Jonny Bairstow is likely to make his test debut batting at number six. If the batsmen can provide a solid platform, England certainly have the bowling attack to expose the inexperienced Windies top order. Broad is likely to open with James Anderson, supported by Steve Finn, Graham Onions or Tim Bresnan, and Graeme Swann will be the lone spinner. "We'd love to make early inroads," Anderson said. "That's my job and Stuart's job. But from watching West Indies against Australia recently, they showed glimpses of a talented side. "We can't just expect them to roll over. They're going to put up a fight. It's going to be a challenge for us." LIMPET-LIKE Leading the West Indies resistance will be the obdurate Chanderpaul, the world's top-ranked test batsman who has toured England six times with an average of 64.66. The gritty left-hander has the technique and concentration to bat for long periods but he will need support from his team mates to repel the street-wise England bowlers. West Indies showed signs of improvement in their recent home series loss to Australia, nearly upsetting the touring side in Barbados, and Sammy believes his young team are heading in the right direction after years in the doldrums. "The only thing that has not been happening is the victories," Sammy said. "We've been playing good, competitive cricket against strong sides like India and Australia and all our tests have been going five days and down to the wire. "Not many teams go to India and give India a run for their money, but we did that. "Coming from where we are right now, we are not going to start winning straight away. We are taking baby steps to the ultimate goal. Sammy said the biggest problem was losing key moments in big matches. "One bad session keeps costing us," he said. "Champion teams seize the moment but we keep having a bad session where we might lose five wickets in an hour. We just need to cut that out. Once we eliminate those bad sessions then we'll make progress."

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West Indies' fightback faltered on the final morning in Northampton, where England Lions put themselves back on course for an easy victory. The tourists defied expectations on Saturday, when Kieran Powell's century helped them wipe out a mammoth first-innings deficit. But the tail lasted barely half-an-hour on Sunday, and in pursuit of 197 in a minimum 83 overs after bowling their opponents out for 390, the Lions moved with the minimum fuss to a lunchtime 61 for none. By contrast, the West Indies cut hapless figures in the field. Without strike bowler Kemar Roach - who took a blow on his right hand batting against Stuart Meaker, to go with the ankle he twisted two days ago - stand-in captain Kirk Edwards' options were further depleted when seamer Ravi Rampaul left the field after four overs with the new ball. In those frontline absences, Darren Bravo was required to bowl only his second spell in first-class cricket - and Lions openers Joe Root and Michael Carberry appeared untroubled when his scurrying medium-pace was introduced as first change. Matt Coles (four for 76) had struck twice this morning to finish off the West Indies' second-innings resistance for the addition of only 13 runs. It might have been only seven or 11, had either Nick Compton at second slip or Root at short-leg managed to hold routine catches offered respectively by last pair Roach off Meaker and Rampaul off Coles. But at such little cost, none of that appeared likely to prove significant.

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Kieran Powell scored a century as the touring West Indians enjoyed an excellent third day of their game against England Lions in Northampton. Resuming in trouble on 28 for three, they closed the day on 377 for eight, a lead of 183 after Darren Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul also scored half-centuries. Powell stroked 108 in 235 balls and struck up a 108-run partnership with Bravo (57) for the fourth wicket and then he and Chanderpaul (77) added 122 for the fifth wicket. Powell hit 13 fours and a six before he was bowled by Samit Patel but the West Indians extended their lead thanks to 44 from Marlon Samuels, 31 not out from Denesh Ramdin and ten from Shane Shillingford. Jack Brooks closed the day with figures of three for 46 after bowling Bravo while Stuart Meaker (2-68) removed Chanderpaul and Shillingford. Kemar Roach was unbeaten and yet to score at stumps. © Cricket World 2012

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