England Lions on course for victory

Matt Coles
13 May 2012

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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