Morning world! Some early team news, and it's the tale of a chin and a shin.
First, Ian Bell is going to play despite sustaining "a possible non-displaced fracture of the mandibular condyle" in a nets session yesterday. A condyle, for the poorly-educated oiks who don't know (I looked it up) is the rounded projection on the articulating end of a bone, such as the ball portion of a ball-and-socket joint. The mandibular condyle, specifically, is the condyle of the ramus of the mandible that articulates with the skull. Bell, in layman's terms, has had a serious knock to the temporomandibular joint.
Right, now we've got that sorted out, let's get on with the other big news:
Chris Gayle isn't playing! He's only got an injured shin!
Weather update: rain is forecast for this afternoon, but it's only a single drop of rain with a sun poking out from behind the cloud, so we might get away with it. You can check on the latest weather in the Southampton area at any time by logging on to the Marwell Wildlife pygmy hippo cam. As I write it's grey and windy, and – most disappointingly of all – there are no pygmy hippos to be seen.
The toss has taken place. West Indies won it and will bowl, hoping to make use of the cloud cover (though that isn't likely to go anywhere). Gayle has a stress fraction to the tibia bone in his left leg. Alastair Cook admits he also would have opted to bowl had he won the toss.
England team: Cook, Bell, Trott, Bopara, Morgan, Kieswetter, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Finn, Anderson.
West Indies team: Smith, Simmons, DM Bravo, Samuels, Pollard, DJ Bravo, Ramdin, Russell, Sammy, Rampaul, Narine.
Flags are flapping and snapping in the wind as the players take to the field. Ian Bell is coming out to show us his Kevin Pietersen impression.
WICKET! England 0-1 (Cook c Ramdin b Rampaul 0) The captain lasts three balls! He left the first two alone as they whistled past the bat. But Cook found the third a little too tempting and got no more than a thin edge to it as it flew to the keeper.
West Indies are reviewing an lbw call against Trott!
Trott survives! The ball would have clipped leg stump, but only just – the original not out decision stands and West Indies' one review for the innings has gone.
1st over: England 1-1 (Bell 0, Trott 0) Ravi Rampaul's first over is excellent, with one wide the only blemish.
2nd over: England 7-1 (Bell 3, Trott 1) Andre Russell bowls the second over, and unlike Rampaul his aim is not immediately true – two of his first three deliveries are called wide. Bell scores England's first runs off the bat with a three through extra cover.
3rd over: England 9-1 (Bell 3, Trott 2) The ball clips something on its way through, and West Indies appeal heartily. The umpire shakes his head, and their one appeal is already gone – but the decision is sound: it was just the pad.
4th over: England 13-1 (Bell 3, Trott 6) Russell's second over ends with Trott pushing the ball away through midwicket for the game's first four. The other cricketing news from West Indies this morning is that Wes Hall has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's birthday honours list. For those who never saw him play (such as myself), Sir Wesley, as he will henceforth be known, was a demon pace bowler in the 1960s, the first West Indian to take a Test hat-trick, and later went into politics in his native Barbados. He's now 74. Watch this for a 90-second career summary, if you like.
5th over: England 16-1 (Bell 4, Trott 8) A few minutes ago I saw the hippo. It's gone now. "Morning Simon," writes Simon McMahon. "What with all this football lark going on, it's nice to get back to some proper OBOing with all the subtleties, random mutterings and ebb and flow that only the king of sports can provide. Football is a quick fumble behind the bike sheds compared to the lifelong love affair that is cricket." Delighted to be here for you, Simon
6th over: England 34-1 (Bell 22, Trott 8) England double their score in a single over! It starts with the first six of the day, smashed down the ground by Bell. "What a shot by the Bellmeister!" enthuses Shane Warne. Russell's very next ball is speared over point for a four, and then after a single-delivery breather he hooks the next past square leg for four, and delivery number five disappears through the covers for another. Four super shots there from the, er, Bellmeister.
7th over: England 38-1 (Bell 22, Trott 12) Trott is finding Rampaul considerably harder to hit than Bell and Russell. He does scamper a couple of twos. Meanwhile, John Starbuck is reminiscing about Sir Wesley Hall: "One of the real innovations (which may have led to the later pace quartet set-up) of Windies Test cricket was Hall and Griffiths bowling the entire day unchanged," he writes. "It worked."
8th over: England 40-1 (Bell 23, Trott 12) A change of bowling, unsurprisingly given what Bell did to Russell in his last over. Sunil Narine's spin represents a considerable change for Bell to deal with, and he copes pretty well (one inside edge that bounced across his wicket and away to safety apart).
9th over: England 45-1 (Bell 28, Trott 12) Rampaul's first ball tempts Bell into playing and apparently missing. West Indies celebrate en masse; Bell doesn't move; the umpire shakes his head. No appeal, and anyway no edge. And Bell punishes Rampaul a few deliveries later when, without so much as moving his feet, he thrashes the ball through cover for four.
10th over: England 49-1 (Bell 31, Trott 13) England asked for the boundary rope to be pushed to the very edge of the stands, which has left them with a lot of running to do. A nicely-run two off Narine's first ball shows how important that's likely to be today.
11th over: England 53-1 (Bell 32, Trott 16) Darren Sammy gives himself the ball. Four runs off the over.
12th over: England 56-1 (Bell 34, Trott 17) Dwayne Bravo replaces Narine at the other end. Trott, who after a promising start has pretty much stopped scoring, fails to make the most of a couple of loose-ish deliveries.
13th over: England 59-1 (Bell 35, Trott 19) Happily the BBC's Southampton weather forecast, a little worrying an hour ago, has been revised to show the possibility of rain only after 5pm. I was a bit distracted during that over as The Guardian's own Tom Bryant revealed that he has a hairdressing business on the side. Quite a smart central London barber shop, I'm told.
14th over: England 66-1 (Bell 41, Trott 20) Some comedy fielding hands England a bonus run – an overthrow, some fairly cowardly, ball-avoiding backing-up, all followed by what very nearly became another horrible overthrow.
15th over: England 76-1 (Bell 47, Trott 24) The over contains four singles, a two and a lovely four from Bell off the last ball. Having disposed of England's captain for no runs in the first over, they would want to be somewhere better than this at this stage.
16th over: England 81-1 (Bell 47, Trott 29) West Indies call a powerplay, but there's no bowling change. Bravo continues, the highlight being Trott's flick through square leg for four. And there'll be a drinks break.
17th over: England 91-1 (Bell 52, Trott 34) Bell completes his 50 with a shot that zips through extra cover before slowing and eventually trickling onto the boundary rope. "His range of shots has been glorious to watch," enthuses David Gower, and he has indeed been quite the stand-in following Kevin wotsisface's departure from the one-day game. Trott also gets in the boundary habit, with a delicate reverse sleep.
18th over: England 95-1 (Bell 54, Trott 35) Bell isn't getting everything right – he completely mistimes a hook shot off Bravo's first ball, barely gets his bat to it and propels the ball perhaps three yards along the ground. Four singles off the over.
19th over: England 101-1 (Bell 56, Trott 39) Simultaneous applause for a tremendous effort from Bravo to deny Trott a four (he banks three instead) and for England – and this partnership – reaching triple figures. "The revelation that Tom Bryant has a hairdressing business on the side leads me to wonder what the rest of you do when 'moonlighting'," writes Phil Withall. "Mainly what it is that Smyth gets up to in search of an extra pound, actually probably best not..." As Donald Rumsfeld said, there are known knowns – things we know that we know; there are known unknowns – things we know we don't know; there are unknown unknowns – things we don't know we don't know; and there are stay the feck unknowns – things we could find out but think it's better for our sanity that we don't.
20th over: England 107-1 (Bell 59, Trott 42) Some more dismal fielding from West Indies. There was some poor luck in it as well, the ball taking an awkward bounce to leave the fielder leaden-footed, but that looked pretty ugly. That's the most spin we've seen.
WICKET! England 108-2 (Trott c Ramdin b Narine 42) Very little movement, but Trott, looking to chop the ball away on the off side, gets a thick edge which nestles in the wicket-keeper's gloves.
21st over: England 109-2 (Bell 60, Bopara 1) West Indies needed that – England were looking much too comfortable there. And the game needed a bit of tension and uncertainty.
22nd over: England 113-2 (Bell 64, Bopara 1) West Indies started this match as bookies' favourites, but less than half-way through England's innings, having won the toss, Nasser Hussain is criticising their attack for being "a little bit one-paced". The batsmen have been only very occasionally discomforted by anything other than the raging wind.
23rd over: England 116-2 (Bell 66, Bopara 2) Three singles off Narine's over, all of them run at slow jogging pace.
24th over: England 120-2 (Bell 68, Bopara 4) The diet of singles continued, four of them this time. Since Trott's dismissal 12 runs have been scored, and England have needed 11 shots to score them.
25th over: England 126-2 (Bell 73, Bopara 5) Marlon Samuels bowls for the first time, and Bell produces a reverse flick to give England a boundary.
26th over: England 134-2 (Bell 80, Bopara 6) Bell hooks a slow and weak delivery from Sammy for an emphatic four, and a couple of balls later hooks an even slower and weaker one, though this one doesn't make it to the boundary.
WICKET! England 136-3 (Bopara c Ramdin b Samuels 8) Bopara misjudges a slightly quicker ball, which again flies off the edge straight into Ramdin's gloves.
27th over: England 136-3 (Bell 80, Morgan 1) In comes Morgan, who in four ODIs at this ground has scored two centuries and been out once, for an average of 254 runs.
28th over: England 149-3 (Bell 87, Morgan 6) Rampaul, whose previous spell started with three wicked deliveries and the wicket of Alastair Cook, comes back into the attack. This time (from the other end, so into the wind) Morgan dismisses his first delivery for four, and gets a single off the second, allowing Bell to score a pair and a four – Samuels' desperate dive only just failing to save it. That first over of the match went for one run; this one went for 12.
29th over: England 160-3 (Bell 93, Morgan 11) Morgan's fine (fine as in the angle, not in the quality, although it was fine in that way too) sweep trundles away for four, and forces Sammy to move a fielder to stop such easy run-accumulation. Bell steers another boundary past square leg.
30th over: England 163-3 (Bell 94, Morgan 12) Andre Russell, who has been in hiding since Bell gave his third over a, er, hiding, makes his long-awaited (by the England batsmen at least) comeback. This time there's no heavy treatment, and just three singles. "Is there really room for five dibbly dobblers in an ODI side? Surely Fidel in for Russell next game," posits Eamonn Maloney. No, there isn't really room for five dibbly dobblers, though if West Indies knock off all the runs England will accumulate as a result they might just stick with it.
31st over: England 166-3 (Bell 97, Morgan 13) Another three singles, and Bell moves within three runs of an excellent century.
32nd over: England 167-3 (Bell 99, Morgan 13) In 108 previous ODIs Bell has scored a single century – against India at this very ground in August 2007. After a quick drinks break, a second century awaits.
33rd over: England 174-3 (Bell 104, Morgan 14) And Bell does indeed complete his century, which is something of a relief for me in the circumstances, by pushing the ball through mid off for a couple. "Your picture of Bell celebrating doesn't look very celebratory," writes Robin Hazlehurst (picture reprinted left just in case I change it later). "That's quite the scowl he's got while pointing at someone who has annoyed him. It looks like he should be saying 'Oi, you touch my pint?', though being Bell it seems more like he's saying 'Er, scuse me, did you touch my glass of lemonade?'"
34th over: England 183-3 (Bell 107, Morgan 19) Russell gets his run-up wrong, leading to a no-ball and a free hit, which Bell thumps straight to the man at extra cover. Then the wind, which continues to rage, blows the hat off the head of one of the umpires, Kumar Dharmasena.
WICKET! England 187-4 (Morgan b Samuels 21) Morgan misjudges a slightly quicker ball and chops it onto his stumps.
35th over: England 187-4 (Bell 109, Kieswetter 0) Everything seemed to be going swimmingly after four singles off the first four balls, but then came a dot ball and a wicket and England go into the batting power play with a new man at the crease.
36th over: England 191-4 (Bell 111, Kieswetter 0) Losing a batsman who had seemed set fair for a bit of a runfest off the last ball before the powerplay was far from ideal. His replacement fails to score from his first two deliveries, but by then Bell had bagged a few.
37th over: England 199-4 (Bell 112, Kieswetter 7) The umpires are being forced to quite literally hold on to their hats as the wind continues to buffet the south of England, with the bails at one point deciding that they'd had enough of this nonsense and flying off. Kieswetter isn't distracted, and produces a lovely hook for four. Eight from the over.
38th over: England 203-4 (Bell 114, Kieswetter 9) England reach the 200 mark with Kieswetter's prodded single, and there are three further singles before the over's out.
39th over: England 216-4 (Bell 126, Kieswetter 10) An expensive over from Rampaul, featuring two more Bell boundaries and not a single dot ball. "I think I might be wearing a scowl if I had a fractured jaw and twelve stitches in my face!" writes Terry Locke. Indeed, if Bell is finding it too painful to smile it's no laughing matter.
WICKET! England 216-5 (Bell c Ramdin b Bravo 126) Bell misjudges a slower ball and sends it high into the air, giving Ramdin plenty of time to get underneath it. And thus ends an excellent innings that should end miserable talk about Kevin Pietersen for a while at least. Well, until the next match.
40th over: England 220-5 (Kieswetter 10, Bresnan 4) Bresnan slams the final ball for four, stopping Bravo from celebrating what would have been a wicket maiden. Uncannily, not only was Bell's only previous ODI century also scored at this ground, but it was also ended with him on 126 (albeit not out that time).
41st over: England 226-5 (Kieswetter 14, Bresnan 6) "It's almost hurricane force isn't it," says Gower of the wind, as Kieswetter cleverly scoops the ball behind him and scurries a couple of runs. Is it, though? Hurricane force? Really?
42nd over: England 232-5 (Kieswetter 15, Bresnan 10) Another decent over from Bravo, who has enough variety of pace to keep the batsmen on their toes. Six runs off it: three singles, a pair and a wide.
43rd over: England 236-5 (Kieswetter 16, Bresnan 11) Kieswetter smacks the ball deep over midwicket, but the ball drops 10 yards inside the boundary, which is at its longest there, and he only gets two runs – and then he doesn't even get those as it turns out the bales had been blown off again and the umpire had called a dead ball before the shot was played. And Kieswetter's bad luck nearly gets worse on the final ball of the over, which he very nearly hits back into the diving Samuels' hands, but it flicks his fingertips and trundles to safety, and England run a single.
44th over: England 244-5 (Kieswetter 17, Bresnan 20) Bresnan thunders the fifth ball back over the umpire's head and away for four. "Almost hurricane force David?" squeals Tony Whitley. "I'm living in Vanuatu where we call them cyclones and if one was 'nearly' there the umps wouldnt just be holding on to their hats, there would be no umps nor anyone else out there to be wearing hats. Does that sound a bit pompous? Not meant to but come, come David."
WICKET! Bresnan run out (Smith) 20 A lovely, swift, sharp throw from Dwayne Smith at square leg as England attempt an optimistic second is too good for a lumbering, stretching and rather surprised Bresnan.
45th over: England 246-6 (Kieswetter 17, Broad 1) Just two runs off Samuels' over, and England after a good start risk running out of batsmen.
46th over: England 251-6 (Kieswetter 19, Broad 4) England bring up 250, but they're feeding off crumbs at the moment, scoring in ones and twos. There were five ones in that over, and there has been one boundary in the last six.
47th over: England 255-6 (Kieswetter 21, Broad 6) Four runs scored, all singles. England find themselves in a potentially decisive rut at the minute and badly need to hit themselves out of it.
48th over: England 270-6 (Kieswetter 30, Broad 12) Kieswetter presents Rampaul with a caught-and-bowled chance, although it's more of a caught-and-decapitated chance, given the speed at which it flew at his hands. He doesn't catch it, but was never likely to. It's a better over for England, and a couple of balls later they have a boundary, thrashed straight down the ground by Kieswetter, and it gets better still as Broad bludgeons the last ball over Dwayne Smith's head for six.
49th over: England 277-6 (Kieswetter 35, Broad 12) At the end of the 48th over Rampaul trudged straight off the field, perhaps as a result of that caught-and-bowled chance. Kieswetter hits Narine's second ball nicely through midwicket for four. Seven off the over.
50th over: England 288-6 (Kieswetter 38, Broad 18) Bravo bowls the final over. The first ball is a slow one, which Kieswetter totally midjudges and gets nowhere near. The second Kieswetter runs around before flicking the ball to fine leg for two. Then a yorker, from which England scurry a single. This puts broad on strike, and he thumps the fourth ball through point for four, and the last two for pairs. A partnership of 43 from 34 gives England a pretty decent tally in the circumstances, certainly enough for England's bowling line-up to feel reasonably confident of defending. Tom Lutz will be with you shortly to take you through England's reply.
INNINGS BREAK Who needs KP when you've got Ian Bell, eh? England could have struggled to an underwhelming total – a Tino-style Finn century aside – without his contribution. Who would have thought Bell was capable of scoring a century with a rearranged jaw when he was cowering away during the 2005 Ashes?
On another note, if you want to get your hands on a bat signed by Sachin Tendulkar, or a shirt signed by Sir Garry Sobers for that matter, why not enter this charity auction (you can get the Sobers one for only £16). All proceeds go to help orphans in Belize. We're doing the orphans in Costa Rica next week. Oh, and don't outbid me on the Mike Skinner book.
1st over: West Indies 4-0 (Simmons 1, Smith 2), chasing 289 to win
Jimmy Anderson looks very happy indeed to be back from his rest. The pitch is a decent one, so even without Gayle they have a shot at chasing down the England total. Smith is in to replace to Gayle, he averages around 16 in ODIs, not a like-for-like replacement then. He gets a couple down to midwicket to start though. "Dear Tom," thunders Paul Bradley. "Ian Bell's century with a broken jaw may be impressive but my girlfriend once beat me at tennis with a (undiagnosed) broken foot." This is a boast Paul? What he doesn't tell you is that his girlfriend is also 92-years-old. Any other impressive stories of overcoming injury to victorious ends out there?
2nd over: West Indies 6-0 (Simmons 3, Smith 2), chasing 289 to win
Finn comes it at the other end, I'm guessing his excellent ODI form means Broad has to wait before taking the ball. Jimmy still has his mind on that first over – or his week off – and misfields at mid-on giving Simmons a couple. "England will be disappointed not to have made 300 after Bell's innings but should still have too many for the Windies, especially given their bowling line up and Gayle's absence," says Simon McMahon. "So, the Windies by five wickets with 10 balls to spare, right?"
3rd over: West Indies 12-0 (Simmons 4, Smith 7), chasing 289 to win Smith shows why he's in for Gayle – a lovely stroke through the covers for four. Jimmy then shows why he's opening the bowling, beating the outside edge with a lovely, seaming delivery. The Sky team reckon there's not much swing out there.
4th over: West Indies 14-0 (Simmons 5, Smith 8), chasing 289 to win Sharp running by Simmons gets him a single off the first ball of the over. "Surely El Cid overcame injury magnificently," says Nathan Place. "He was dead when he routed the enemy forces back in the Middle Ages." Bernie out of Weekend At Bernie's merits a mention too for inspiring a Hollywood blockbuster while a little lifeless.
WICKET! West Indies 25-1 (Simmons b Anderson 15) Jonathan Trott, the fine leg's fine leg is at slip, so someone else has to stop and stare as Simmons guides one to the boundary. Actually with that, Trott has moved to short extra cover. He'll make his way back to fine leg before long, don't you worry. Another boundary for Simmons. That's as good as it gets though, he tries to play through the offside for the first time in the over, it nips back and he plays on to his stumps.
6th over: West Indies 39-1 (Smith 23, Ramdin 0), chasing 289 to win Finn gets some punishment from Smith going for 10 off the first two balls of the over. First, he's driven down the ground for four and then hoiked over square leg for a huge six. Ooof. There's more to come though: the fourth ball of the over is hit through the offside for four. You can't accuse him of sticking to the same shot.
7th over: West Indies 41-1 (Smith 24, Ramdin 1), chasing 289 to win Jimmy is getting what looks like a very painful Thai massage – not that kind – before coming on to bowl his over. He's still wincing when Ramdin grabs his first runs of his innings with a quick single. "I fulfilled every schoolboy's dream by playing with a Terry Butcher bandaged header in a school game," says Andy Pantil. "Unfortunately I didn't score the winner with a header, blood spraying everywhere. I did have to have a long lie down afterwrds though."
8th over: West Indies 48-1 (Smith 29, Ramdin 3), chasing 289 to win Smith is rocketing along – he plays Finn off his hips and down to the fine leg boundary. He's looked pretty good in defence too. Who needs Chris Gayle? Apart from every team on the planet.
9th over: West Indies 55-1 (Smith 36, Ramdin 3), chasing 289 to win Run out? Smith trundles towards safety when he should be sprinting. He's only just home and he very nearly brought a premature end to what has been a very promising innings so far. As if to emphasise his worth today he smacks a four the next ball. "Interesting fact about Weekend at Bernie's is that Terry Kiser who played Bernie was a keen student of 'the Method', and stayed in character from arriving on set to leaving at the end of the day," says Tom Newman. "My mate's dad was one of four assistants employed to carry him between scenes." Years of method acting and you get to play a corpse. Albeit a very entertaining corpse.
10th over: West Indies 59-1 (Smith 37, Ramdin 6), chasing 289 to win Bresnan is on for Finn, who has been basked about today – at least it's not by a No11 today though, eh? Ramdin puts one over short extra cover but is safe. England were 49-1 at this stage. "Do you have more details of the Costa Rican orphan organisation that benefits from next week's auction," asks David Godman. "My partner's daughter works in a refuge there for orphans and teenage single mothers. I could contribute a few stories if it would help start a bidding war for a worthy cause." No, it's all about Belize and Sachin's charity bat today. And Weekend at Bernie's. If anyone has any Belize stories they're most welcome.
11th over: West Indies 64-1 (Smith 40, Ramdin 8), chasing 289 to win Broad replaces Anderson. Ramdin's single down to deep cover starts the over. Smith gets an edge a few balls later but it's well wide of the slips and he picks up a run. He saves the best for the final ball of the over, pushing through the covers for two.
12th over: West Indies 69-1 (Smith 44, Ramdin 9), chasing 289 to win Bresnan attempts to hook Bresnan but gets nowhere near the ball, which was probably lucky for him because it didn't look like the most controlled of will-advised, poorly-timed, wild slashes. It'll have to be West Indies who give away their wickets at the moment because England haven't threatened. And there's Smith with another four, this time through mid-off.
13th over: West Indies 80-1 (Smith 51, Ramdin 13), chasing 289 to win West Indies's running has been poor today. Ramdin sets off, has a think, reads a book, goes again, wonders how to solve the whole Greece thing and then scurries back to his crease, nearly leaving Smith stranded. Smith then brings up his 50 with a six hit straight and hard over square leg. A very good half-century indeed with runs dispatched to most areas of the pitch. This is very easy for West Indies at the moment.
14th over: West Indies 86-1 (Smith 52, Ramdin 17), chasing 289 to win Ramdin's been inspired by that half century and scampers for two when other men would have been content with the single. "Not an injury to overcome as such but I did have the flu on my wedding day," says Rob Barnes. "I don't remember any of the speeches or saying yes for that matter. Come to think of it, I should probably check with my wife that we're actually married."
15th over: West Indies 93-1 (Smith 56, Ramdin 20), chasing 289 to win England need to try something a little different – West Indies are 20 runs ahead of where England were – and have turned to Swann. A poor ball to start – he's been learning from the others out there today – and Smith sweeps him down to fine leg. West Indies work it round for the rest of the over – with the base they've built so far they don't need to go windmilling it about.
WICKET! West Indies 95-2 (Smith 56 c Kieswetter b Bresnan) Bresnan sends the ball down leg for a wide. No pressure on the West Indies batsmen, and balls like that don't help. Cook has brought the field in to compensate. And it works ... Smith reckons he can play it over the fielders, goes to hit Bresnan over square leg and nicks it to the keeper.
17th over: West Indies 101-2 (Ramdin 22, Samuels 5), chasing 289 to win England needed that wicket because West Indies were finding it all too easy, they got Smith – the most dangerous, and quick-scoring, man in the partnership – too. A Bell-like anchor innings beckoned. Samuels – so brilliant in the Test series – is the man in and he makes himself at home with a few singles.
WICKET! West Indies 102-3 (Ramdin 22 lbw b Bresnan) Bresnan strikes again! The ball nips back and Ramdin is plumb - that would have hit the middle of middle of middle. About halfway up.
19th over: West Indies 117-3 (Samuels 13, DJ Bravo 8), chasing 289 to win Despite losing his partner, Samuels does look like he's settling in and ended the previous over with an imperious four. Bravo takes up the baton of the start of the current over and dismisses a full ball from Broad through midwicket for four. Broad's next ball is much better but Bravo still gets it away through the covers for three. "I don't have any Belize stories, Tom, but I do remember watching Weekend At Bernie's whilst nursing a massive hangover though," says Simon McMahon. "It's hardly El Cid, I know, but does it count as overcoming injury (admittedly self-inflicted) to achieve victory?" Is watching Weekend At Bernie's ever a victory. First man/woman to have overcome death while watching an ODI in Belize and saving orphans wins the Review section of today's Guardian (Quick Crossword half 43% done).
WICKET! West Indies 118-4 (DJ Bravo 8 lbw b Finn) For some reason, Bresnan – a couple of wickets in the last few overs – is out of the attack for Finn. Oh. That's why. Bravo shuffles across the crease and is caught lbw, hitting middle and leg. I would have replaced Bresnan too.
21st over: West Indies 123-4 (Samuels 18, Pollard 1), chasing 289 to win The rain comes down and the umbrellas go up. We're staying on though, the umpires presumably hope that it's a passing shower. Will someone – Brian Cox, I assume – please tell the sun to come back before September? Pollard doesn't look happy either and plays a nothing shot at Broad and just misses edging it to Kieswetter.
22nd over: West Indies 126-4 (Samuels 19, Pollard 3), chasing 289 to win West Indies are still ahead of where England were, but they've lost two more wickets. Some good running from Pollard gets him a couple after he ushers the balls down to backward point. He tries to hit Finn towards Portsmouth for the last ball of the over but misses by a mile.
WICKET! West Indies 127-5 (Pollard 3 c Morgan b Broad) Brilliant catch from Morgan! Pollard only knows how to hit it two ways: hard and very hard. It's the latter this time but Morgan, at point, still manages to dive to his left to take out West Indies' biggest hitter.
24th over: West Indies 127-5 (Samuels 20, Sammy 0), chasing 289 to win The drops are coming down heavily now and we're off for a rain break. Apparently, the radar shows it should blow through fairly quickly so we're not likely to lose overs.
"Why do the TMS commentators always seem surprised when it starts to rain?" asks David Keech. "Then they speculate about what might happen for hours. If they just look at the rain radar over the web they would know. There is something perverse when I seem to know more about the local weather from the USA than the people actually at the ground! That seems to happen to you OBO guys as well and I would expect you to be a lot more tech savvy than the geriatrics at TMS!" Hmmm. Good point. Using David's advice I can now reveal is it raining at the Rose Bowl. But not for long. And if they'd played this match in Norwich, we'd be fine. By the way, if there is no more play for some reason, England will win on Duckworth-Lewis.
Play will start again at 6pm.
24th over: West Indies 132-5 (Samuels 25, Sammy 0), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win We've only lost two overs and because of their lost wickets, West Indies still have a stiff target. 287 from 48 overs. Anderson restarts the game and Samuels gets the first boundary with a four through deep point. Bopara stops another boundary with a brilliant dive and Samuels gets a single instead of four.
25th over: West Indies 137-5 (Samuels 30, Sammy 0), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win West Indies had a tricky period before the rain came down and Cook doesn't want the pressure to drop – he continues with Broad and Anderson. Not that that bothers Samuels too much he wallops Broad for four, another boundary past point.
WICKET! West Indies 137-6 (Samuels 30 c Swann b Anderson) Samuels was playing very well indeed and scampered the last ball of the last over to get strike. I bet he wishes he hadn't know, he doesn't quite get hold of the ball and Swann at midwicket leaps to take a good catch. West Indies in real trouble now.
26th over: West Indies 139-6 (Sammy 1, Russell 1), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win Russell is hurt. He slides as he turns for a second run. It looks like he may have dislocated his shoulder. There'll be a delay as he's treated. He's up again though and seems like he can swing the bat, just about.
27th over: West Indies 140-6 (Sammy 2, Russell 1), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win Shout for lbw off the first ball of the over but Broad, the bowler, doesn't look convinced. And well he might – it was sliding down leg. And was high. Dead on apart from that. Russell is back on strike for the first time since his slip and doesn't look convincing at all. You try playing with half a shoulder though. I guess Bell managed it with half a jaw though.
28th over: West Indies 151-6 (Sammy 8, Russell 6), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win Russell isn't bad even with half a shoulder, it turns out. He slogs Anderson through mid-on for four.
WICKET! West Indies 155-7 (Sammy 11 c Bopara b Swann) Swann's back on. That catch aside, he's been very quiet today. Or as quiet as Swann can be at least. Sammy and Russell get a single here and a couple there but as the run-rate climbs they'll need more than that. And they'll need even more that THAT. Sammy completely misjudges the ball – it bounced a little higher than expected – and plops it up for Bopara to take the easiest of catches. He looked at the pitch but I'm not sure why, it was his error.
WICKET! West Indies 157-8 (Russell 7 c Morgan b Bresnan) Bravo, whose injury means he won't be the fastest of runners, is in. Russell has 1.5 shoulders. This could be messy. And short. Yup, Bresnan bangs in a short ball and Russell lobs it to backward point.
31st over: West Indies 164-8 (DM Bravo 3, Rampaul 6), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win Rampaul will have a swing while he's around. A four over midwicket that nearly carries for six. He then smacks it down to long off and just misses out on six again. This should be entertaining. Speaking of entertainment ... "Ahead of the football on BBC One tonight there is a programme called Pointless Celebrities," says Simon McMahon. "No, it's not a fly on the wall documentary about Chantelle Houghton and Alex Reid, but a game show with, among others, Lionel Blair, Colin & Justin and Steve Pemberton (!) trying to find obscure answers to pop culture questions. Who says the BBC doesn't justify its license fee?" Um, me and my colleague were just discussing how we wished we were at home watching it. This is not a joke, the interplay between Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osmond is breathtaking. I still remember the day I got two Pointless answers to Bill Murray films – TWO!
32nd over: West Indies 170-8 (DM Bravo 8, Rampaul 7), chasing 287 from 48 overs (D/L) to win Bravo can't run, which means he may as well as hit. Like Rampaul in the previous over he goes for the six at long-off and only just misses out. "'Shout for lbw off the first ball of the over but Broad, the bowler, doesn't look convinced,'" says Phil Sawyer. "I did a double take at that sentence. Really? Blimey, bit of a JFK moment, that. 'Do you remember where you were when Broad had an LBW shout that he wasn't convinced by'?." I was thinking about Pointless Celebrities when it happened.
WICKET! West Indies 172-9 (Rampaul 9 c Trott b Swann) Rampaul guides the ball down third man for a couple. Then he goes to slog Swann again and this time findsthe fielder at deep square leg.
WICKET! West Indies 172 (Narine 0 c Kieswetter b Bresnan) ENGLAND WIN BY 114 RUNS, AND LEAD THE SERIES 1-0 "I'm watching Pointless as we speak, and have been to two live filmings," says Eamonn Maloney. "Granted, the studios are around the corner from my house, and I only went to get access to Buzzcocks tickets. But I can tell you that the Armstrong/Osman show is even better than you think - there's a lot of stuff that's too blue for the 5 o'clock slot..." I can't wait until they do Pointless: The Director's Cut. And if West Indies had any sense they'd slog out and be in the pavilion in time for tonight's final. They do too! Narine nicks Bresnan to Kieswetter. Right. Who can think of the most obscure West Indies batsman who has been rubbish today? Over to you Armstrong and Osman.