Andrew Flintoff captured his first five-wicket haul in Tests to bowl England into a superior position on the opening day of the third Test against the West Indies on Thursday.
Ramnaresh Sarwan hit the top score of 63 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 50, but Flintoff took five wickets for 58 runs from 16.2 overs, as West Indies were dismissed for 224 in their first innings.
England reached 20 for one when stumps were drawn with Marcus Trescothick again failing with bat, being bowled for two off the inside edge for the third time in the series.
Victory here will give England their first series triumph in the Caribbean for 36 years.
Sarwan and Chanderpaul added 79 for the fourth wicket either side of tea to steady the innings, but West Indies lost their last seven wickets for 57 runs in a little under 18 overs.
Flintoff, bowling aggressively on a hard, true, bouncy Kensington Oval pitch, had the big wicket of West Indies captain Brian Lara just after the lunch interval and came back after the tea break to blow away the home team's lower order.
"It's been a long wait for my first five-wicket haul because we probably needed it after a bit of a partnership between Lara and Sarwan," Flintoff said.
"It was a very important milestone for me. Five wickets in any cricket match, let alone a Test match in Barbados with so many English people watching, it was a great feeling.
"I always try very hard when I bowl, although I have not always gotten the wickets. People have been telling me that it's been 30-odd Tests and I do not have a five-wicket haul. It's not for a lack of trying or practice."
Steve Harmison, England main wrecking ball in this series, supported Flintoff with three for 42 from 18 overs.
"After reaching tea with only three wickets down, our aim was not to lose more than four wickets in the day," said Lara.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break