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Despite some aggressive batting, West Indies A could not grasp the initiative in their tour match with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. After initially rattling along at six runs per over against an inexperienced Nottinghamshire attack, the West Indians lost wickets in search of quick runs before skipper Daren Ganga declared 65 runs behind. The home side then set about the tourists’ bowling, hitting 38 in as many minutes to lead by 102 going into the final day. The captains are clearly pushing for a result, which should mean some entertaining cricket tomorrow.Ryan Hinds was the West Indies’ star with the bat, crashing 73 from 75 balls. The 21-year-old Bajan struck nine fours and two explosive sixes before fallingto Gareth Clough. Tom Savill earned an lbw decision to trap Donovan Pagon (1) early, as the West Indians replied to Nottinghamshire’s first innings 287. Thoughts of another collapse were dispelled by Devon Smith, who hit seven boundaries in a 21-ball knock which bought 31 powerful runs. Smith has had a wretched tour, and such positive batting may prove a turning point.Smith threw his wicket away though, and Ganga continued a poor run, edging Savill to keeper Wayne Noon for just 10. Hinds joined Runako Morton, whose blistering 33 came at better than a run a ball. Though he claimed two early wickets, Savill was the most expensive of the bowlers, thrashed for eight runs an over. Nadeem Malik’s line also strayed, as West Indies took advantage.Malik, Savill, Clough and Paul McMahon each claimed a brace of wickets. Though they were often wayward, it is encouraging to see Nottinghamshire’s future stars given a chance so early. No less than six of the side are still in their teens.Earlier, Vikram Atri fell agonisingly short of a debut century. The 19-year-old student batted more fluently this morning, hitting 16 boundaries in a 175-ball innings which was terminated on 98 by the spin of Hinds.Jermaine Lawson (4-91) was the pick of the bowlers, well supported by Hinds(3-54) and Tino Best (2-69) who removed Samit Patel, who made a pleasant 35 on debut. The third debutant in the side, Will Smith, also looked good. He remained unbeaten on 38 as the home side lost wickets in a hurry before declaring after Savill and McMahon had both been dismissed first ball.

Nasser Hussain will represent the England team at the memorial servicefor Ben Hollioake in Perth, after the team decided to minimise the disruption to the squad before the final Test against New Zealand.As a result of lengthy meetings following the news of Hollioake’s death in a car accident, England have decided that Hussain should be their representative. He will fly out of Auckland tomorrow morning to attend the memorial service in Perth, and return on Thursday evening, giving him 24 hours to recover ahead of England’s final Test of the winter at Eden Park.”A few of the guys wanted to go, but logistically this was not possible. As captain, Nasser is the appropriate person to go,” said the England coach, Duncan Fletcher.”I think it’s appropriate that as the captain of the squad, that he represents the side and he’ll be going and coming back before the Test starts.”The rest of the England team will hold a private ceremony in Auckland to coincide with the cremation in Perth on Thursday. They will wear their England blazers and ties while Mark Butcher, a Surrey team-mate of Hollioake’s, has been asked by Fletcher to sing a song with his guitar.”We’ve asked Butch to sing a song of his choice because I think that will godown quite well,” added Fletcher.”We had a meeting about this when we arrived in Auckland today because wehaven’t really had time to discuss it properly.”Hussain will join the majority of Surrey’s first-team squad at the service, with Alec Stewart, Ian Ward, Ian Salisbury, Alex Tudor, Nadeem Shahid, MartinBicknell, Matt Church, Ally Brown, Ed Giddins and coach Keith Medlycott alsoconfirming their attendance.The club’s president, former prime minister John Major, will also be present. The chairman of selectors, David Graveney, will represent the England and Wales Cricket Board.Hussain will give Hollioake’s England blazer to the family, after it had been left in New Zealand with a member of the backroom staff to take home while he went on a short holiday after the one-day series.

Round 3 Draw (to be played on Sunday May 26)Bramshaw v Sparsholt
Flamingo v Hursley Park
Leckford v Rowlands Castle
Tichborne Park v Appleshaw.

The battle was hot and the victory was sweet. The Kingston grand finale was a shot of redemption that West Indian cricket needed more than ever.It was appropriate, too, that it coincided with the last Test appearance of the great Courtney Walsh.The symbolism represented the end of an era and the beginning of another which one hopes will bloom into fruit, the likes of which we tasted before the famine set in in the mid-90s.The shower of blessing that was the triumph at Sabina should have served to refresh stale taste buds and rekindle the will to win. After all, success in the fifth Test was the teams’ first in 13 Tests.That in itself would have been instructive of what it will take in the future to remain successful.No one can argue that the key to the humbling of the South Africans was not based on discipline, the one area in which the series winners held the upperhand consistently.There was no talent divide. The teams were equal in this department but the South Africans were simply able to execute their game plan better, playing within their limitations and allowing the West Indies to make mistakes.You could say that the West Indies finally gave the visitors a lethal dose of their own medicine.I fail to believe that we can’t play like that more often. Nobody holds a monopoly on discipline or the desire to play with pride and professionalism.But lest the current players forget, these are some of the core qualities that made us a dominant force for 15 consecutive years.Even more significant than that, Walsh was virtually the last torchbearer remaining from the halcyon days, and he was there to pass on the torch to a newer generation whose social upbringing would have been much different from that which affected and impacted on the lives of loyal soldiers like Walsh.Yes, money was important and still is, because the world system demands that finance is required to secure goods and services, a comfortable lifestyle and the rest of it.But those from Walsh’s time felt aggrieved when their professional standards fell below the level they had established,And so they were driven by something more fundamental than material gain to keep on top of their game.I wish I could be wrong, but I sense that this generation is not tied to this principle with any great allegiance and this may be the reason for much of the inconsistency we continue to see in West Indies cricket.But they must realise no matter what time you’re living in more than likely you’re going to get back what you put in, especially in a situation where you have some responsibility to decide your own destiny.Cricketers, batsmen in particular, often have the luxury of doing just that.Therefore, if the present team have any aptitude at all to pay any attention and due respect to their history and the heroes that have paved the way for them, Walsh’s legacy should be more than enough to inspire them to be as outstanding and resourceful as their abilities, and more importantly their industry and dedication would allow.Their future is in their own hands. The Sabina triumph was a great way to start and a timely reminder that they have what it takes to make the grade.

Hampshire threw away the chance of a second successive Rose Bowlchampionship victory against Gloucestershire.Needing 56 off the last ten overs of the match they had dominated, blindpanic saw them finish on 55 for six.At the start of the day it seemed they might finish off Gloucestershire intime to take in the final action at the Dell for the visitors were 181behind with only eight second innings wickets standing.And, when shortly before lunch three more prime batsmen had been sentpacking by Alex Morris and Alan Mullally, they were still 102 adrift.There seemed no escape but Dominic Hewson and Jeremy Snape turned thingsaround and finally showed the bottle to make a fight of it.Hewson, whose career-best 87 had come against Hampshire on his debut fivesummers ago, and Snape added 119 in 31 overs before Snape was leg before toMascarenhas.Hewson’s maiden century beckoned until on 89, after five hours at thecrease, he was bowled by Mascarenhas.The last three wickets squeezed the total to 272 and Hampshire’s target was56 but where a cool head was required they went for the big yahoo and whenthe last over came they still needed eight runs to win.That was reduced to four from the last two balls but they managed only threeand Gloucestershire escaped with a draw.

Match facts

September 25, 2012
Start time 1930 local (1400 GMT/1500 BST)Mushfiqur Rahim’s side has a shot at qualification, but it’s a difficult one•ICC

Big Picture

Pakistan began their World Twenty20 campaign with success, after being made to wait for five days, beating New Zealand by 13 runs. But they looked a better side than the margin suggested; it was narrowed thanks to a late, and failed, onslaught by Ross Taylor.Their opponents, Bangladesh, who were beaten convincingly by New Zealand in their first game, can only hope to qualify for the Super Eights if they beat Pakistan by a sizeable margin. Bangladesh need to win by more than 36 runs to finish with a higher net run-rate than Pakistan. In the event that they win by exactly 36 runs, thus finishing with the same net run-rate as Pakistan’s, they will still go through by the virtue of having won the head-to-head contest. Should Bangladesh be chasing, their net run-rate requirement will depend on the target set. For instance, if they’re chasing 150, they’ll have to score those runs in 15.4 overs or quicker. On current form, it seems like a struggle for Bangladesh.Pakistan have the best bowling line-up and their fielding is in good shape with Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal patrolling the hitting zones. Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are a threat to Bangladesh’s left-handers at the top of the order. Both Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan are good players and will be expected to bounce back strongly. The middle order is a capable one, comprising Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain.Bangladesh’s bowling remains a worry, with Shakib and Tamim having said after the game against New Zealand that spinners would require some help from the conditions. Mushfiqur’s captaincy will also be tested in a game in which his team is the underdog, but is expected to produce a much-improved performance.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)Bangladesh LLWLW
Pakistan WLWWW

Watch out for

Nasir Jamshed has already made a mark, but he also knows the Bangladesh team well, having played in the Dhaka Premier League for three seasons, including the most recent one. He played in the Bangladesh Premier League for Chittagong Kings, and his performance for them contributed to his selection in the Pakistan side. The shot that stood out during his half-century against New Zealand was the lofted drive over extra cover. He did it twice against Nathan McCullum, and it’s something Bangladesh’s spinners will watch out for.Shakib Al Hasan will be one of them. His four overs will again be crucial for Bangladesh, as will his role with the bat at No 3. New Zealand was a bad outing for Shakib, who has the ability to fight back in the only way he knows: runs and wickets.

Team news

Pakistan left out Mohammad Sami and Abdul Razzaq for the opening game. It’ll be interesting to see if one of them gets a go, with qualification not yet secured.Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Nazir, 3 Nasir Jamshed, 4 Kamran Akmal (wk), 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Yasir Arafat, 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Saeed Ajmal.Mashrafe Mortaza injured his shin during practice, but is confident of recovering for the game. Having been clobbered for 117 runs in 12 overs, the Bangladesh spinners would, presumably, not be very high on confidence. Mushfiqur and coach Richard Pybus have a decision to make about who, if at all, to leave out. Mushfiqur said at the pre-match conference that Bangladesh could consider going in with an extra seamer.There is a possibility that Abul Hasan could replace left-arm spinner Elias Sunny or fellow seamer Shafiul Islam, depending on what the team management believes is the right bowling combination. However, any tweaks in the batting line-up are unlikely.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Mohammad Ashraful, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudullah, 6 Nasir Hossain, 7 Ziaur Rahman, 8 Mashrafe Mortaza, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Elias Sunny/Abul Hasan, 11 Shafiul Islam.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is again likely to favour batting but the seamers can expect some movement after sunset. Group D has been unaffected by rain so far. On Tuesday, the forecast is for clear skies.

Stats and trivia

• Sohail Tanvir still hasn’t been dismissed for a duck in his T20 international career, having played 10 innings in 24 games so far.
• Nasir Hossain, Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful are the only batsmen in the Bangladesh team to have scored two half-centuries in T20 internationals.

Quotes

“Pakistan are world class in all sectors and they have a Twenty20 pedigree in abundance. However, no team is unbeatable in this format. We have to be at our best and hope that best is good enough on the day.”
“We are not thinking as if we have already qualified [for the Super Eights]. We have to play well against Bangladesh. On certain days in T20, anybody can win. We are not going to take any one easy.”

The best way to save a game is to win it.Canterbury’s position at the bottom of the table meant they had not much to lose by remaining positive. But blameless young batsman Marcel McKenzie completed 40 balls for four runs at a crucial time, after being scoreless for 45 before being given out in the first innings.This first innings go-slow, along with the second innings crawl did not save Canterbury from defeat, and probably stopped them having a chance of winning.The away team, Otago, said they were going to “bowl our guts out,” in their quest to go top of the Trophy table. Match-winner Craig Pryor, who removed the last four Canterbury batsmen to force the win, told CricInfo, “It would be great to stay there. It’s a very even competition and it will be interesting cricket over the next 16 days.”They were always dictating the tone of the match, right from day one. The Southerners certainly fought hard to win. Canterbury also battled, but it was never sure if they had enough confidence in their ability to go for victory.A third consecutive draw on the good batting surface at QEII looked likely, until Otago’s Pryor ended Aaron Redmond and Carl Anderson’s unlikely sprint for victory. He broke their 72 run, 117 ball stand, then had Stephen Cunis lbw first ball.Otago entered the final hour needing two wickets in 15 overs.Pryor bowled Carl Anderson for 52 and had Wade Cornelius lbw next ball, to give him 5-70. There were just 22 balls left.He was delighted with his career best performance, but was more pleased “from a team perspective really. To get 20 wickets on a deck like that was a pretty good team effort.”He told CricInfo, “it was a little bit touch and go, but if you believe enough you never know what might happen. It was a great day for it and great to be a part of.”Otago coach Denis Aberhart laughingly said, “We were always confident.” Pryor and co also never seriously never doubted their ability to force the win.With regard to his own performance, Pryor belives he “has a little bit more belief” in his bowling these days, having played for Auckland between 1997 and 1999. His move to Otago has been a successful one, with 19 wickets in this, his first season. He did not play provincial cricket last summer. All his first-class wickets have come to the 27 year old this year.”I’ve been sorting a few things out technically,” he said. “I don’t think I’m quite there yet, there’s a long way to go. One performance doesn’t make a summer, but I was happy just to be on the field.””I was elevated to the third seamer’s role, so I had a job to do. The expectations are quite high within this team. To have those expectations put on your shoulders always lifts you a little bit.”Wickets in consecutive balls on two occasions gave Canterbury four ducks to add to the three in the first innings. Both Cunis and Cornelius bagged pairs.Warren McSkimming, whose first innings 6-39 was the third best domestic bowling figures this season, after Daryl Tuffey’s 7-12, which won Northern Districts their sixth round game against Wellington, and Warren Wisneski’s 7-151. Tuffey is a new selection in the ODI team for Tuesday, predictably taking hapless Andrew Penn’s place.He had dismissed five of the six Canterbury batsmen out yesterday without scoring in the day. McKenzie failed to add to his overnight 39, and five men made ducks.The earlier record 178-run third wicket stand for Canterbury against Otago between Robbie Frew (111) and Michael Papps (68) revitalised the home side, after a poor third day. But it was not enough.Of the 20 centuries in first-class cricket in New Zealand this season, seven have been at the Village Green.Andrew Hore’s 100 and his 77 in the second innings, along with McSkimming’s bowling, ultimately almost gave Otago just enough time to force a hard won victory against an improving set of Canterbury youngsters.But it was Pryor who was the match-winner in the end.

Scorecard Dinesh Chandimal’s 54-ball 90 helped take Uthura Yellows to 158 for 5•AFP

Thilina Kandamby’s 54-ball 90 brought Kandurata Maroons to within touching distance of Uthura Yellows’ total, but a nerveless final over from Shaminda Eranga saw Kandurata fall short by six runs. Earlier, Dinesh Chandimal scored an unbeaten 93 from 57 to help Uthura post 158 for 5.The loss, however, did not have an effect on Kandurata’s standings in the table and their second-place finish has given them a place in the final against Basnahira Greens on August 17.Kandurata’s innings was shaped by Kandamby, who had some support from Pabasara Waduge in the early overs. However, none of the other batsmen could manage more than eight runs.Playing his first match of the tournament, Ramith Rambukwella snared Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne in the middle overs to hamper the chase, and finished with figures of 2 for 14 from his four overs.Chandimal had hit the competition’s only fifty in his previous match and, having had a lean few months in limited-overs cricket, his run in this tournament may signal a return to form. The busy cuts and dabs had returned to his game, as had strokes over the infield that he has struggled to play of late, and though he had two fortuitous top edges that fell into space, he drove the innings along smartly, rarely allowing bowlers to settle against him.He attacked the pacers to begin with, hitting consecutive fours off Dhammika Prasad in the fifth over, but became more assured against spin as the innings wore on. Ajantha Mendis was struck for successive boundaries, in the 16th over, just after Chandimal had launched legspinner Kaushal Lokuarachchi over long-on for six. Another six off Mendis finished off Uthura’s innings, and those runs would eventually prove crucial in the final tally.With two left-handers opening the batting for Kandurata, Chandimal opened the bowling with Rambukwella, and had two cheap overs out of the offspinner before Kandamby began his charge. Kandamby struck six fours off ten Chathura Peiris deliveries inside the Powerplay, but regular wickets at the other end prevented him from maintaining that frenetic pace.Sangakkara and Thirimanne had been Kandurata’s best batsmen so far in the tournament, and although Rambukwella made short work of both – taking a return catch off Sangakkara’s leading edge, and sliding a quick one underneath Thirimanne’s bat – Kandamby continued to progress smoothly.Kandurata needed only 30 from the last three overs, and though Kandamby made the equation easier with two fours in the 18th over, he was bowled in the next. With 12 runs needed from the final over, it ultimately proved too much for the Kandurata tail, as Eranga delivered six yorkers to seal the victory.

Match facts

Friday, July 5
Start time 0930 (1330 GMT)A different ball game: The Indian team has found the going tough on the slower pitches in the Caribbean•AFP

Big Picture

India arrived in the West Indies with their confidence rocketing sky-high but in just over a week, the engines have come off. The two losses in Kingston mean they now find themselves in a position where even two wins won’t be enough to guarantee their progression. Both Sri Lanka and West Indies have the cushion of a bonus point and India will need to find at least one to improve their position. A loss won’t totally obliterate India’s chances either but will leave them hoping for the remaining results to work in their favour. West Indies, on the other hand, are sitting comfortably with nine points from two games and a win will confirm them as one of the finalists.India were rightly being showered with a lot of praise after their success in the Champions Trophy which was built on the energy the young shoulders brought. Since then, the players, as well as the captain, have proudly talked about them being the No. 1 side in the ODIs in a manner reminiscent of India’s Test team a couple of years back. But there are lessons to be learnt from the nosedive India took in Tests after that.Top sides are not dependent on a couple of players to pull them through every tricky situation. Top sides have attacks that are not neutralised by conditions. Top sides do not let everything through in the field all day after proclaiming themselves as the best fielding unit. Till India can bring the consistency to deliver in a variety of conditions, their hold on that No. 1 ODI ranking will remain slippery. One thing in their favour, however, is that they have a young team which has shown the right facets to be successful in the longer term.India’s free-flowing batsmen found the going tough on the slowish pitches at Sabina Park and with the conditions not likely to be too different in Port-of-Spain, the lesson for them is that once you are in, make it count. Chris Gayle did that in the first match, then Johnson Charles followed that route in the second and in the third, Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga proved how effective it can be. Rohit Sharma did the tough part in the first match before taking a wrong turn when the freeway beckoned.

Virat Kohli fined for slow-over rate

India captain Virat Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against Sri Lanka. The rest of the India players have been fined 10% of their fees after the side was found to be one over short.

India’s bowling remains a bigger worry and it remains to be seen how they regroup after the battering they received in the previous match. Shami Ahmed lacked rhythm and at times, his run-up reminded of Munaf Patel’s slow amble to the crease. Despite him being as guilty of leaking runs as anyone else, he could be the first head to roll, and the onus could be back on Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bring the bowling unit’s confidence back.West Indies’ bowling has thrived in home conditions. Their fast bowlers were the only ones who managed to make use of the moisture in the Sabina Park pitch and their medium-pacers and spinners have been tough to score off. With their long batting order in good nick, they are finally showing signs of extending their Twenty20 form to ODIs.

Form guide

West Indies WWTLW (most recent first, last five completed matches)
India LLWWW

In the spotlight

His claim to fame maybe T20s, but after six years and 80 matches, you would expect Kieron Pollard to crack the ODI code. But he hasn’t. His average throughout his career has stayed below 30 and his underachievement in the format can be likened to how West Indies themselves have fared in ODIs – replete with talent, but nothing to show for it. Pollard has been generally found out by quality quick bowlers around the world, but in this series, he has two of the slower attacks in cricket, and in India, one of the weakest too. After scoring 0 and 4 in the series, it is high time he takes the advantage.In a line-up full of generous bowlers, R Ashwin boasts of an economy of less than five but for a lead spinner, he doesn’t buy his captain many wickets. After 55 ODIs, his best is 3 for 24. His numbers suffer further when he bowls outside the subcontinent. Two days ago, when Ashwin was introduced to rein in the Sri Lanka openers, he had no answer. India’s weakness in pace is well-known, but it’s the ineffectiveness of their spinners in this series that is worrying.

Team news

West Indies made one change to their squad for the Trinidad matches, bringing in fast bowler Jason Holder in place of the injured Ravi Rampaul, but they are likely to keep their pace combination of Kemar Roach and Tino Best to hustle the India batsmen. Dwayne Bravo, who was rested in the previous match as a precautionary measure following a groin strain, will return to lead the side at his home ground.West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Tino BestIndia felt Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s absence in their previous game as the first wicket that usually comes early took 39 overs to come. He could replace Shami Ahmed in the XI.India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 M Vijay, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav

Stats and trivia

• West Indies’ win-loss record against India at Queen’s Park Oval stands at 7-4
• In this series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the most economical of India’s frontline bowlers. He is No. 15 on the list
• Chris Gayle has four centuries against India, his most against any country

Quotes

“The wicket last time was really slow and I just had a look, it has a bit of grass this time around, but it seems to be the same as the last time. I don’t think there is much of an adjustment needed as far as the conditions are concerned.”
“It’s like a dream come true for me. It’s always good to play in the Oval. But to be the captain of the West Indies team is something special.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNick Compton’s failure was the only obvious downside of an otherwise quite perfect day for England•Getty Images

If not, perhaps, quite a perfect day for England, but a day when several pieces of their pre-Ashes jigsaw fell into place with a satisfying click.Most pertinently, this was a day when England proved their bowling attack had a Plan B. While it is routinely suggested that, when the ball does not swing, the England bowling attack looks toothless and one dimensional, here they showed that they have what it takes to damage opposition sides when there is no such help.With James Anderson and Stuart Broad – the destroyers of New Zealand at Lord’s – struggling to gain the same seam or swing movement, it was left to Graeme Swann and Steven Finn to find another way through the tourists’ batting. With Finn generating impressive pace and maintaining a hostile line and length and Swann demonstrating beguiling drift and sharp turn, England ended the day having inked in their first choice bowling attack for the Ashes.Swann cannot have the fondest memories of this ground. He had never previously taken a Test wicket here and, a year ago, was dropped for the second Test against South Africa. But in a spell of three wickets for one run in seven balls he not only dismantled a disappointingly fragile New Zealand middle-order but proved that he was back to his best after elbow surgery had forced him out of the Tests in New Zealand.As so often before, Swann struck in his first over. Gaining a surprising amount of turn, Swann beat Dean Brownlie’s somewhat loose stroke with one that turned through the gate to hit the top of off stump. Next over, having set-up Martin Guptill with some flat deliveries, Swann tossed one up, drew the batsman forward and again turned one through the gate to hit the top of off stump.Two deliveries later, Kane Williamson was out too. Moving across his stumps to negate Swann much in the way demonstrated by Hashim Amla in 2012, Williamson was beaten by turn and struck on the pad. While Marais Erasmus turned down the appeal, England reviewed and were rewarded.It was the first of two decisions overturned from England reviews in the session. While Tim Southee was originally given not out following a leg before appeal from Broad – the umpire quite reasonably unable to say whether ball had hit bat or pad first – reviews showed it had struck the pad first and was going on to hit leg stump.Moments later Swann had Doug Bracewell taken at silly point, prodding forward to one that turned and took bat and pad, before Broad had Brendon McCullum, clearly struggling with a bad back after being forced back into service as wicketkeeper, caught behind as he poked at one that seamed in a little.

Swann ignoring weather forecast

Graeme Swann defended England’s decision not to enforce the follow-on after demolishing New Zealand for the second time in a week.

New Zealand survived only 43.4 overs at Headingley, to be dismissed for 174, only a few days after collapsing to 68 all out at Lord’s.

“It was a pretty unanimous decision,” Swann said. “There is a lot of cricket left in the game. The best way to win that game, we felt, was to put a fatigued New Zealand side back into the field. The bowlers weren’t too happy to go back out bowling and you can’t blame them. We want to build a formidable lead and let the pitch deteriorate and the footholds develop and give us the best chance of bowling them out in the second innings.

The prospect of rain on the final day did not unsettle Swann. “I always ignore British weather forecasts,” he said. “If you start looking at that you are missing the point. If it rains all of Tuesday, it rains all of Tuesday. I can’t remember ever sitting in a professional dressing room where a two-day forecast has been believed. It was supposed to be nagging it down all last week at Lord’s and we played.”

It left Swann with the best figures – 4 for 42 – by an England spinner in a Test in Leeds since John Emburey took 5 for 82 against Australia in 1985 and had New Zealand pondering over the wisdom of going into the game without a specialist spinner and with two left-arm seamers whose foot marks had provided rough for Swann to exploit.But if Swann takes the plaudits, it was Finn who made the initial breakthrough. After New Zealand’s openers had batted with fluency in reaching 55 without loss, Finn claimed the first three wickets in a sustained spell of hostile fast bowling.After prompting an error from Peter Fulton, caught and bowled off the leading edge as he tried to work a ball that bounced more than he expected into the leg side, Finn persuaded Hamish Rutherford to push at one angled across him which resulted in a sliced edge to gully and then forced Ross Taylor to play-on. It was due reward for a wonderfully sustained spell of bowling where Finn had cramped Taylor for room, struck him twice on the body and finally provoked the false stroke.New Zealand’s last pair of Neil Wagner and Trent Boult thrashed 52 runs in 27 balls – Wagner thrashed four fours in an over off Broad before Boult thumped Swann for a four and two successive sixes in the next over – but when Anderson returned to end the innings, New Zealand had conceded a first innings lead of 180.Perhaps surprisingly given the far from promising weather forecast, England decided not to enforce the follow-on – with day one washed out the follow-on target was 150-behind – and opted instead for another bat.Alastair Cook, cutting and driving with freedom, was at his most fluent against an attack lacking Trent Boult, who was absent with a side strain. The England captain raced to his half-century off 63 balls and dominated an opening stand of 72 in 20 overs.But the only obvious downside in the entire day for England was the failure of Nick Compton. He was clearly mindful of the vultures circling around him and laboured for 45 deliveries for his seven runs before falling to a bat-pad catch at short-leg. It is only three Tests since he registered back-to-back Test centuries, but it seems some have short memories.Jonathan Trott found life little easier. Struggling to deal with the rough outside his off stump and some tight seam bowling, he managed only 11 off 69 deliveries, and, though he had helped Cook stretch the lead to 296 by stumps, England hardly forced home their advantage in the final 90 minutes. Still, it is England’s policy – rightly or wrongly – to not allow the possibility of weather disruption to influence their game plan and, with nearly 200 overs left in the game, they remain in an overwhelmingly dominant position.