Ian Bell tuned up for next week’s Ashes opener with a commanding 192 to steer England to a huge innings lead over Australia A on the penultimate day of the four-day tour match at Bellerive Oval yesterday.
The Warwickshire right-hander, who has struggled in his past three Test series against Australia, set the perfect tone for the coming series with his 275-ball vigil in England’s first innings of 523 off 141 overs.
At tea, Australia A had reduced the deficit to 277 runs at 16 without loss with former Test opener Phillip Hughes on 12 and Ed Cowan not out three.
Bell was finally out in the 134th over when he came down the wicket to leg-spinner Steve Smith and found Cowan who took a sharp catch at cover.
Bell, showing sound footwork and technique, hit 22 fours and a six to suggest that he was ready to banish his Ashes demons against Ricky Ponting’s team in this month-to-January’s five-Test series.
Tailenders Tim Bresnan hit 36 and Chris Tremlett a breezy 16 with Ajmal Shahzad not out 18 at the end of the innings shortly before tea.
Earlier in the day, England lost the wickets of Paul Collingwood (89) and wicketkeeper Matt Prior (27) in the extended morning session to make up for lost overs through rain in Thursday’s play.
Collingwood fell to a catch behind off a bouncer after Clint McKay had peppered him with two previous short-pitched deliveries, one of which clocked him on the helmet.
He shaped to hook the third short-pitched delivery and feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Tim Paine in the 105th over.
Collingwood hit 10 fours and a six in his encouraging 177-ball stay in the run up to the first Test.
Collingwood put on 240 runs with Bell for the sixth wicket to turn around England’s innings after they had stumbled to 137 for five.
Prior was lively during his innings, cracking five boundaries before giving a leading edge to a Smith legbreak and skewing a catch to Hughes at point.
SRI LANKA V WEST INDIES
REUTERS, GALLE, SRI LANKA
Opener Tharanga Paranavitana missed out on a century as the first Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies was drawn yesterday after rain washed out the final session on the fifth day.
Paranavitana fell for 95 as the hosts reached tea on 241 for four, a lead of 39. No resumption of play was possible after the break.
Paranavitana and Mahela Jayawardene dug in with a third wicket stand of 87 on the final day to help secure a draw after Sri Lanka had followed on. West Indies had made 580 for nine declared in their first innings and then dismissed the home side for 378.
Spinner Shane Shillingford spoiled Paranavitana’s hopes of a century, inducing him into edging a simple catch to Darren Sammy at slip.
Jayawardene moved to his -second half-century of the match by straight driving part-time spinner Brendan Nash for six but fell for 58 to the same bowler eight balls later when he drove too early and hit back a low return catch.
Thilan Samaraweera (19) and Angelo Mathews (5) were together when light rain forced the players to take an early tea.
West Indies started brightly and struck two early blows in the morning when Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara were dismissed within two overs of each other.
Dilshan and Paranavitana shared an opening stand of 102 before West Indies broke through, Kemar Roach producing an unplayable yorker to uproot Dilshan’s off stump when he had scored 54.
Sangakkara (4) virtually threw his wicket away soon after when he went for a drive to a ball wide of the stumps from Roach and was caught by Sammy in the gully.
West Indies missed the chance of removing Paranavitana on 53 when Sammy, at slip, failed to hold onto an edge off Shillingford.
See GATTING’S on page 18
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