Test-best Swann stymies West Indies

Graeme Swann's maiden Test fifty frustrated the West Indies on the second morning of their series opener against England at Lord's here on Thursday.

At lunch, England were 377 for eight with number nine Swann unbeaten on 63, after the 30-year-old off-spinner had reached his fifty in style off just 73 balls by hooking Lionel Baker for six.

Ravi Bopara did his best to live up to mentor Graham Gooch's instruction to get a "big" hundred by extending his overnight Test-best score of 118 to 143.

The 24-year-old was out driving Jerome Taylor to Brendan Nash at cover as his first Test innings at No 3 ended after he'd faced 284 balls with 17 fours in a stay of just over seven hours.

Together with Swann, who was only seven not out overnight, he'd put on 93 for the eighth wicket.

It was a rare highlight for the West Indies on an otherwise lacklustre morning for the tourists.

Their understandable decision to take the new ball only seemed to make it easier for Swann, whose previous Test best was the 20 not out he made in Antigua in February, to score quickly.

But there was a worrying moment for England when tailender James Anderson was hit on the head after turning his back on an 89mph Fidel Edwards bouncer.

However, after five minutes of treatment Anderson carried on and he was unbeaten on one at lunch.

England resumed on 289 for seven thanks mainly to Bopara, whose century followed his 104 during his previous Test appearance in Barbados in February.

Dropped on 76 and 100, Bopara had held the innings together in the face of a hostile spell from Edwards, who took four wickets for 53 runs on Wednesday.

But despite the overcast conditions, Edwards was unable to rediscover the line and length that had made him so dangerous.

There was a brief break for bad light but Swann, in his sixth Test and first in England, was not having any trouble seeing the ball.

Three boundaries worthy of injured all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, watching from the Lord's Pavilion, in the first over back from Taylor helped bring up a a fifty partnership off just 66 balls, with Swann's share 35.