Anderson left to wait for record
THE stage was set for the coronation of King Jimmy here yesterday but West Indies stubbornly refused to hurry him to his throne.
Anderson was in the thick of the action at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium but taking the four wickets he needed to become the most prolific Test bowler i n England’s history proved mightily difficult.
He would not have expected to play a more significant role with bat than ball for the bulk of the second day of this first Test, as West Indies did much to make up for their profligacy in the last two sessions of the first day.
When Anderson, watched by his wife, two daughters and his parents, strode out to bat, England had lost five wickets for 20 runs and were in danger of wasting the initiative handed to them l argely by Ian Bell’s century on day one.
But ‘ the Burnley Lara’, of course, is a more than useful No11 these days and came within 19 runs of a Test century at Trent Bridge last year, so it should not have been a surprise to see him sticking around with Chris Jordan.
When the pair were separated after a last-wicket stand of 38, England had moved to within a run of the score of 400 that should have been their minimum target having been well placed on 341 for four. Anderson was clearly disgusted with himself for offering a soft catch to Jason Holder but he had succeeded where much of England’s top and l ower- middle order had failed in a curiously lopsided innings.
Then i t was a question of whether t hi s unassuming Lancastrian could move from 380 wickets to 384 and overtake Sir Ian Botham.
Each wicket had to be earned as West I ndies, so badly weakened by the Indian Premier League, batted with a discipline often lacking in their cricket.
Anderson had surprisingly chosen to bowl from the Curtly Ambrose End where the strong crosswind would in theory assist inswing more than his more dangerous outswinger. But the 32-year- old found the outside edge of the left-handed Devon Smith’s bat with a beauty.
Jordan had looked good with the bat in making an unbeaten 21 and now he was to again prove himself an all-round cricketer of rich but raw promise in his first Test in his native Caribbean.
The Barbadian-born Jordan, who threw in his l ot with England after being offered a scholarship by Dulwich College eight years ago, was bowling at an old Bridgetown school-friend in the shape of Krai g g Brathwaite. But it was Darren Bravo who succumbed to Jordan as he offered the thinnest of edges to give Jos Buttler his second simple catch.
Brathwaite blocked his way to 39 off 102 balls before he fell to an outstanding slip catch from Jordan.
James Tredwell got one to take Brathwaite’s edge before Jordan dived to his right to just about claim the ball before it touched the ground. That left England back on top with Stuart Broad, who has not been at his best since returning from injury at the World Cup, also taking the wicket of Marlon Samuels.
Ben Stokes thought he had the fi f th wicket when Jermaine Blackwood edged to Cook at slip, only for the replay to show umpire Billy Bowden had missed a no-ball and the hosts finished the day on 155 for four.
ENGLAND 399 (I R Bell 143, J E Root 83, B A Stokes 79, KA J Roach 4-94) v WEST INDIES 155-4