by Sofia Westaby at Edgbaston
There were points to prove at Edgbaston today, with two West Indian wickets up for grabs and a reputation to shake off for Tino Best, whose 2004 dismissal at Lord's has been eternalised in cricket pop-culture by Flintoff's famous words, "mind the windows Tino". But in a Test match heavily affected by weather, it was the icing on the cake when the players were twice ordered off the pitch due to poor light.
This added another bizarre twist to an unconventional day of Test cricket. The few spectators got their money's worth with the early wicket of Rampaul proving to be only the support act to Tino Best's return. He kept his cool until, finally, sending a ball sky-high towards third man ending in an easy catch for Strauss, retreating from the slips. Best's 95 off 112 balls showed maturity and control, making him the highest scoring number 11 in history and a global twitter trend.
In response to comments made by the former West Indian captain and all time batting great, Sir Viv Richards, Ramdin celebrated his ton by throwing the bat down and ripping off his gloves to produce a scribbled note, "YEA VIV TALK NAH", a 'verbal' two-fingered salute. Richards criticised Ramdin's form in England, saying it had "deteriorated", the response in turn overshadowing the importance of his runs towards the final total of 426.
England require 56 runs on day 5 to avoid a follow on, having lost wickets quickly. Pietersen made a respectable 78 runs in his first Test as a specialist, but minds still turned to his retirement from the short-form of the game. This could be short lived, "I said I'd play the Twenty20 world cup if they want me to play", but the stubbornness of the ECB towards Pietersen makes this unlikely. If rain holds up for another 24 hours the West Indies might just squeeze a victory out of the game, but with the forecast as it is now the draw is on its way.
There were points to prove at Edgbaston today, with two West Indian wickets up for grabs and a reputation to shake off for Tino Best, whose 2004 dismissal at Lord's has been eternalised in cricket pop-culture by Flintoff's famous words, "mind the windows Tino". But in a Test match heavily affected by weather, it was the icing on the cake when the players were twice ordered off the pitch due to poor light.
This added another bizarre twist to an unconventional day of Test cricket. The few spectators got their money's worth with the early wicket of Rampaul proving to be only the support act to Tino Best's return. He kept his cool until, finally, sending a ball sky-high towards third man ending in an easy catch for Strauss, retreating from the slips. Best's 95 off 112 balls showed maturity and control, making him the highest scoring number 11 in history and a global twitter trend.
In response to comments made by the former West Indian captain and all time batting great, Sir Viv Richards, Ramdin celebrated his ton by throwing the bat down and ripping off his gloves to produce a scribbled note, "YEA VIV TALK NAH", a 'verbal' two-fingered salute. Richards criticised Ramdin's form in England, saying it had "deteriorated", the response in turn overshadowing the importance of his runs towards the final total of 426.
England require 56 runs on day 5 to avoid a follow on, having lost wickets quickly. Pietersen made a respectable 78 runs in his first Test as a specialist, but minds still turned to his retirement from the short-form of the game. This could be short lived, "I said I'd play the Twenty20 world cup if they want me to play", but the stubbornness of the ECB towards Pietersen makes this unlikely. If rain holds up for another 24 hours the West Indies might just squeeze a victory out of the game, but with the forecast as it is now the draw is on its way.
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