Swann and Onions Cook up a Storm

Well, it might not be as impressive as the various food based headlines that the red tops were thinking of this time yesterday, but it pretty well sums up the basis on which England won this test, certainly from a statistics point of view.
In truth the architects of the victory were the bureaucrats who scheduled a test match this early. It is hardly shocking that this West Indies side last warm up game and first test match ended in 10 wickets defeat. Imagine coming from the climate and wickets of the Caribbean to a cold and windy London. Even from a financial point of view it didn't make sense, with grandstands half full as fans firmly rejected the opportunity to journey to a very cold home of cricket.
The one thing it did do was give Graeme Onions a dream debut. He had a less than auspicious start, playing a poor shot to be bowled first ball and then seeing his first over eased around the ground. Credit to Andrew Strauss for persevering with his scatter-gun approach until he finally started to come good in his fourth over. He will need to work hard to tighten his lines on flatter decks, and the West Indian batsmen hardly provided a stern test, but although he rightly receives all the plaudits it should not be forgotten that he went at over five an over in the second innings. The biggest positive is not that he got his name on the honours board, but that he has the confidence to really assert himself this summer against sterner opposition.
The other debutant did little wrong, but Tim Bresnan will have to wait till Chester-le-Street to really showcase his talents. He took his catch in the gully beautifully and in his short spells he showed enough control to suggest that he will be a useful 4th seamer, but he will be hoping for a greater chance to impress the selectors in the North-East.

The performance as a whole will do wonders for a team that took a battering over the winter. Although it would flatter Chris Gayle's team to say they were lacklustre a 3 day win is a 3 day win and in international cricket, any 10 wicket victory is one worthy of celebration. The fielding standards showed a marked improvement from both India and the Caribbean, which I would suggest is largely down the fact that Andy Flower prefers cricket drills to the touch rugby favoured as a warm up by his predecessor. England started each day much faster than their opponents and this was key as they finally won the first test match of a series.
Ravi Bopara looked confident at 3. His selection surprised many (including myself) but he held the innings together and with Graeme Swann batted the Windies into submission on the second morning. He showed a mental steeliness which has been missing in his international innings to date and managed to reign in his easy style and play each ball on merit. Like Onions he had something to prove and came out of it with full marks.
In fact the only point of concern would still be Alistair Cook. He seemed to have rediscovered his natural style in a warm up game against the Windies, but once again, in the international arena he looked bereft of confidence in places. His greatest strength is the depth of the crease he uses, which is why he is so potent off the back foot and his hip, but he plays front foot shots from the same depth and looks uncomfortable as a result against the fuller ball. It got him out in the first innings and could have cost him his wicket in the short second innings run chase had Fidel Edwards been a little luckier. If I were Andy Flower I would be working hard with him in the coming weeks or he will be a weak link against the stronger Australian attack.

Either way England will go to Durham full of confidence and almost certainly with an unchanged side. Chris Gayle will need to get his team focused and use Shiv Chanderpaul's experience at Chester-le-Street to get his batsmen and bowlers prepared. If not there is not reason to believe that England won't be able to muster a similar result. It will not be so easy for the English bowlers all through the summer, but with Flintoff to come back into that attack there is a lot more room for hope than there was two months ago.