England v West Indies, 2nd Test, Headingley, 2nd day

Depleted West Indies don't stand a chance

Andrew Miller at Headingley

May 26, 2007

Ryan Sidebottom was the star of England's bowling performance, but there was no-one left to resist him © Getty Images

For a side that fought so valiantly at Lord's, it is wretched misfortune to be deprived of the two batsmen who were set to be the cornerstones of the post-Brian Lara era. Chanderpaul missed that 2000 contest through injury, but a teenaged Sarwan was most certainly there: he remained unbeaten on 59 in the first innings as his senior colleagues crumbled around him. It has been a wearyingly familiar story ever since. Effective though Chris Gayle's thwacking can be, a bit of grit is what was lacking from West Indies' batting today. And in truth, even that might not have been enough to rescue their situation.

Not after Kevin Pietersen's latest assault on the record books, at any rate. His maiden Test double-century carried his runs tally to 2448 from 25 matches, which puts him second only to the inimitable Don Bradman, who had racked up 3194 after the same number of games. Admittedly Pietersen's feat was achieved against some of the most toothless bowling imaginable, but whenever he and his bombastic attitude take the field, the detractors are never too far behind. "I've been criticised in the past for not getting big scores," he said afterwards, "because that's something people think I should do regularly. But it was there for me today and yesterday to build an innings, and that's what I wanted to do."

Pietersen himself admitted he was "very" surprised not to be greeted by the new ball this morning, although in mitigation, West Indies stand-in captain, Daren Ganga, probably had several other issues competing on his mind. The prognosis for Sarwan is not good. After damaging the acromioclavicular joint in his right shoulder, he will take no further part in this match (except in the unlikely event that a draw is there to be salvaged) and he may yet be ruled out for the rest of the series. According to the team's media manager, a decision will be made at the end of the match after further assessment from the medical staff, although Pietersen - who has good relations with the West Indian dressing-room - hinted that the end of Sarwan's tour was already a fait accompli.

Kevin Pietersen: a crushing performance © Getty Images

"It's obviously an uphill battle, but we are all going to be staying positive about it," said West Indies' coach, David Moore, who added that he wasn't about to start praying for bad weather just yet. "Other people can say that the rain needs to save us, but we'll be battling hard. With Shivvy out and Ronnie out, it makes a very big hole in our batting, but I've got faith in a few of our guys."

Pietersen had some kind words for the beleaguered West Indians too, but then it's easy to be magnanimous when you've just batted for longer than your opponents' entire first innings (262 balls to 222). "In the first innings at Lord's they were all over the place, but they've shown a lot of discipline here," he said. "They've bowled a foot outside off stump to the right-handers, and asked us to come to them. They're still enjoying themselves, we're enjoying ourselves, and after our horrible winter without much, it's nice to be playing cricket again where there are smiles on everyone's faces."

If the West Indians haven't wiped those smiles off their faces by tomorrow morning, however, the denouement of this game could be swift. "You can blame some things on your luck, but we have to take responsibility," said Moore, who was still ruing the reprieve that was offered to Pietersen on 20, when Chris Gayle overstepped to rule out a clear stumping. "There were also four very poor shots this afternoon, and four bad shots isn't bad luck. I can't make any excuses for them."

No-one, however, will be smiling quite as broadly as the former Yorkshire seamer, Ryan Sidebottom, who was the star of England's bowling performance. Six years on from what looked set to be his one and only Test, against Pakistan at Lord's in 2001, Sidebottom finally took his first international wicket when Gayle missed a straight one to be trapped lbw for 11, and by the close he had added five more, including two in the second innings as Michael Vaughan enforced the follow-on.

"I'm just delighted really," said Sidebottom, who is no longer bracketed alongside his father, Arnie, as England's only father-and-son one-Test wonders. "It has been a long time [since 2001], but I've gone away and worked hard, and Nottinghamshire have given me the opportunity. The guys here have made me feel really welcome, and I've felt at home back at Headingley."

"Sidebottom was very disciplined and bowled with good control," added Moore, no doubt wishing that his own men could have been so tight with their lines and lengths. "He was always pretty near to where he wanted to be, which is a good lesson to all bowlers. He was very impressive, particularly for a man who has been away from this level for so long. The selectors have shown faith in him, and he has repaid them pretty well."

It was a triumphant day for England, but it would be wrong to get carried away with the various threads of the narrative that were drawn together in such a pretty bow. Vaughan's and Sidebottom's homecoming, Pietersen's enduring class, even the improved performances from Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett. None of them quite made up for the desperate ignominy of West Indies' situation. To lose Lara before the tour could have been a blessing in disguise, but only if it meant Sarwan and Chanderpaul had the freedom to mould an inexperienced squad in their own gritty styles. Without them to show the way, the team is sunk. And sadly they know it too.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

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