Harmison burst gives England edge

Fast bowler Steve Harmison took three wickets in eight balls to give England the advantage as West Indies slipped to 110 for three at lunch ...

Fast bowler Steve Harmison took three wickets in eight balls to give England the advantage as West Indies slipped to 110 for three at lunch on day one of the second Test on Friday.

Chris Gayle and Devon Smith added 100 for the first wicket before Harmison, who completed figures of seven for 12 to help England win the first Test by 10 wickets, struck.

He removed Gayle for 62 and Smith for 35 before grabbing the prize wicket of West Indies captain Brian Lara for a duck to put the visitors on top. Ramnaresh Sarwan was unbeaten on nine during the break as rain prevented any further play even an hour after lunch.

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Gayle was comfortably caught by wicketkeeper Chris Read and in Harmison’s next over Smith was trapped lbw. Lara came out to a standing ovation from his home crowd but he lasted just four balls as a lifter from Harmison caught the shoulder of his bat and Giles took the catch diving forward at gully.

Following his team’s crushing defeat in Jamaica, Lara had demanded a response from his players and his request was met with superb batting from Gayle and Smith. (Reuters)