LONDON (Reuters) – Alastair Cook and Ian Bell made composed fifties to guide England to a comfortable five-wicket win over West Indies in the first test at Lord’s on Monday.

The hosts had crumbled to 57 for four chasing 191 for victory on a chilly morning but Cook and Bell steadied the ship with a fifth-wicket partnership of 132.

Cook was out for 79 just before the end but Bell steered England home, clipping Marlon Samuels for four through mid-wicket to seal victory and finish on 63 not out.

“There’s always a bit of pressure when you’re chasing a score but we always had faith the wicket was going to stay very flat,” England captain Andrew Strauss told a news conference.

“It was an outstanding performance from Cook and Bell, they played in a very professional way and showed their class.

“We had to work very hard for this victory and it certainly wasn’t a formality to wrap it up today.”

After resuming on 10 for two, Jonathan Trott became Kemar Roach’s third victim of the innings when he nicked a rapid seaming delivery to Darren Sammy at slip before Kevin Pietersen edged a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin trying to pull a short ball from Shannon Gabriel.

LONDON (Reuters) – England batsman Ian Bell had nothing to prove after a poor run of form in recent test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, captain Andrew Strauss said on Monday.

Bell scored a composed unbeaten 63 to guide England to a five-wicket victory over West Indies in the first test at Lord’s following on from his knock of 61 in the first innings.

“Ian Bell didn’t have anything to prove really because he has shown what a good player he is over a long period of time,” Strauss told a news conference.

“It was great to see Bell show what a good player he is and I thought he played a very classy innings.”

Strauss also ended a poor run at Lord’s, making 122 in the first innings to end an 18-month wait for a test century and lay the platform for his team’s victory.

“You don’t want to have to justify your place in the side,” Strauss said. “Getting a hundred does get the monkey off my back to a certain extent and hopefully it will be a breakthrough for me mentally.”

Strauss also praised opener Alastair Cook, who made 79 and shared a partnership of 132 with Bell which took England to the brink of victory.

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) – England batsman Ian Bell had nothing to prove after a poor run of form in recent test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, captain Andrew Strauss said on Monday.

Bell scored a composed unbeaten 63 to guide England to a five-wicket victory over West Indies in the first test at Lord’s following on from his knock of 61 in the first innings.

“Ian Bell didn’t have anything to prove really because he has shown what a good player he is over a long period of time,” Strauss told a news conference.

“It was great to see Bell show what a good player he is and I thought he played a very classy innings.”

Strauss also ended a poor run at Lord’s, making 122 in the first innings to end an 18-month wait for a test century and lay the platform for his team’s victory.

“You don’t want to have to justify your place in the side,” Strauss said. “Getting a hundred does get the monkey off my back to a certain extent and hopefully it will be a breakthrough for me mentally.”

Strauss also praised opener Alastair Cook, who made 79 and shared a partnership of 132 with Bell which took England to the brink of victory.

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) – Alastair Cook and Ian Bell made composed fifties to guide England to a comfortable five-wicket win over West Indies in the first test at Lord’s on Monday.

The hosts had crumbled to 57 for four chasing 191 for victory on a chilly morning but Cook and Bell steadied the ship with a fifth-wicket partnership of 132.

Cook was out for 79 just before the end but Bell steered England home, clipping Marlon Samuels for four through mid-wicket to seal victory and finish on 63 not out.

“There’s always a bit of pressure when you’re chasing a score but we always had faith the wicket was going to stay very flat,” England captain Andrew Strauss told a news conference.

“It was an outstanding performance from Cook and Bell, they played in a very professional way and showed their class.

“We had to work very hard for this victory and it certainly wasn’t a formality to wrap it up today.”

After resuming on 10 for two, Jonathan Trott became Kemar Roach’s third victim of the innings when he nicked a rapid seaming delivery to Darren Sammy at slip before Kevin Pietersen edged a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin trying to pull a short ball from Shannon Gabriel.

LONDON (Reuters) – West Indies took inspiration from another defiant innings by Shivnarine Chanderpaul to set up the chance of an unlikely victory in the first test against England at Lord’s on Sunday.

The talismanic left-hander made 91 and Marlon Samuels hit 86 to lift the touring side to a second-innings total of 345 and England, needing 191 to win, lost captain Andrew Strauss as they stumbled to 10 for two in the evening gloom on the fourth day.

Chanderpaul was lbw to off-spinner Graeme Swann shortly before tea, ending a knock lasting 383 minutes in which the limpet-like left-hander was at his tenacious best.

“He is unique in the way he plays and he’s number one in the world so it’s always nice to get him out,” Swann told a news conference. “He batted superbly but we stuck to our guns.

“It was unfortunate to lose the skipper but it was always going to be a tricky 15 minutes to bat in the gloom. We are still very confident, the wicket is a very good one for batting.”

West Indies coach Ottis Gibson was pleased with the application shown by his batsmen.

“The batting gave us a lot of heart,” he said. “It was good to see the experienced guys taking responsibility. Two wickets tonight has given us hope for tomorrow and we will be coming back to make them fight very hard for a win.”

LONDON (Reuters) – England finally bowled out a determined West Indies for 345 and limped to 10 for two in the evening gloom chasing 191 for victory after an absorbing fourth day of the first test at Lord’s on Sunday.

England captain Andrew Strauss, who scored 122 in the first innings, was out for one in the second over, fending a rapid short delivery from Kemar Roach to Kieran Powell at gully.

Nightwatchman James Anderson also perished, nicking a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin down the leg side off the fiery Roach and Jonathan Trott survived a huge appeal for lbw off the first ball he faced.

Alastair Cook and Trott were both unbeaten on nought at the close.

England finally dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 91 after another innings of brave defiance and he shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 157 with Marlon Samuels who made 86.

Chanderpaul was lbw to off-spinner Graeme Swann shortly before tea, ending a knock lasting 383 minutes in which the limpet-like left-hander was at his tenacious best.

England’s bowlers toiled without success under grey skies in the morning, frustrated by the dogged Chanderpaul, the world’s top-ranked batsman, and Samuels who eschewed his normal aggressive style to provide solid support for his more experienced partner.

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) – England finally bowled out a determined West Indies for 345 and limped to 10 for two in the evening gloom chasing 191 for victory after an absorbing fourth day of the first test at Lord’s on Sunday.

England captain Andrew Strauss, who scored 122 in the first innings, was out for one in the second over, fending a rapid short delivery from Kemar Roach to Kieran Powell at gully.

Nightwatchman James Anderson also perished, nicking a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin down the leg side off the fiery Roach and Jonathan Trott survived a huge appeal for lbw off the first ball he faced.

Alastair Cook and Trott were both unbeaten on nought at the close.

England finally dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 91 after another innings of brave defiance and he shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 157 with Marlon Samuels who made 86.

Chanderpaul was lbw to off-spinner Graeme Swann shortly before tea, ending a knock lasting 383 minutes in which the limpet-like left-hander was at his tenacious best.

England’s bowlers toiled without success under grey skies in the morning, frustrated by the dogged Chanderpaul, the world’s top-ranked batsman, and Samuels who eschewed his normal aggressive style to provide solid support for his more experienced partner.

LONDON (Reuters) – The West Indies fightback in the first test against England at Lord’s was cut short when they lost three wickets in nine balls to slip to 36 for three at tea on the third day on Saturday.

After bowling England out for 398 in their first innings, West Indies battled through to 36 for no wicket before the dismissal of opener Adrian Barath in Tim Bresnan’s first over prompted a mini-collapse.

Kieran Powell foolishly pulled a short ball from Stuart Broad straight to Ian Bell at deep square leg and Kirk Edwards was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Jonny Bairstow attempting a non-existent single.

England, who lead by 119 runs, resumed on 259 for three and captain Andrew Strauss added just a single to his overnight 121 before nicking pace bowler Kemar Roach through to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

Bairstow struck three fluent fours on his test debut but his bright innings ended on 16 when Roach jagged a ball sharply back to trap him lbw.

Matt Prior also looked confident in his knock of 19 but he became Shannon Gabriel’s first test victim, playing an airy shot at the young fast bowler to be bowled through the gate.

Bresnan edged Darren Sammy to Ramdin for a duck and England had collapsed to 323 for seven in overcast conditions at the home of cricket.

LONDON (Reuters) – The West Indies fightback in the first test against England at Lord’s was cut short when they lost three wickets in nine balls to slip to 36 for three at tea on the third day on Saturday.

After bowling England out for 398 in their first innings, West Indies battled through to 36 for no wicket before the dismissal of opener Adrian Barath in Tim Bresnan’s first over prompted a mini-collapse.

Kieran Powell foolishly pulled a short ball from Stuart Broad straight to Ian Bell at deep square leg and Kirk Edwards was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Jonny Bairstow attempting a non-existent single.

England, who lead by 119 runs, resumed on 259 for three and captain Andrew Strauss added just a single to his overnight 121 before nicking pace bowler Kemar Roach through to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

Bairstow struck three fluent fours on his test debut but his bright innings ended on 16 when Roach jagged a ball sharply back to trap him lbw.

Matt Prior also looked confident in his knock of 19 but he became Shannon Gabriel’s first test victim, playing an airy shot at the young fast bowler to be bowled through the gate.

Bresnan edged Darren Sammy to Ramdin for a duck and England had collapsed to 323 for seven in overcast conditions at the home of cricket.

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) – The West Indies fightback in the first test against England at Lord’s was cut short when they lost three wickets in nine balls to slip to 36 for three at tea on the third day on Saturday.

After bowling England out for 398 in their first innings, West Indies battled through to 36 for no wicket before the dismissal of opener Adrian Barath in Tim Bresnan’s first over prompted a mini-collapse.

Kieran Powell foolishly pulled a short ball from Stuart Broad straight to Ian Bell at deep square leg and Kirk Edwards was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Jonny Bairstow attempting a non-existent single.

England, who lead by 119 runs, resumed on 259 for three and captain Andrew Strauss added just a single to his overnight 121 before nicking pace bowler Kemar Roach through to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

Bairstow struck three fluent fours on his test debut but his bright innings ended on 16 when Roach jagged a ball sharply back to trap him lbw.

Matt Prior also looked confident in his knock of 19 but he became Shannon Gabriel’s first test victim, playing an airy shot at the young fast bowler to be bowled through the gate.

Bresnan edged Darren Sammy to Ramdin for a duck and England had collapsed to 323 for seven in overcast conditions at the home of cricket.