Ian Ward batted throughout the first day of England A's third round Busta Cup match against Guyana today steering his side into a strong position with a gritty 87.

There is good reason why Ward is the most tanned member of the England A squad. He spent four full days in the sun at Trinidad, making a century and keeping watch in the covers and today in Grenada, he took guard first thing after the toss was won and was still there at stumps by which time, England A were 237 for three after 101 overs.

Aftab Habib Photo John Dawson

In contrast to his steady and cautious way of accumulating runs, Aftab Habib appeared more urgent and his unbeaten 40 featured a series of perfectly timed drives through the covers, the ball hurtling to the boundary across a lightning fast outfield.

Had Habib not sparked some life into the order in the final 20 overs, the day would been another slow one for England A, but with sights firmly set on a 400-odd total, the contributions of both were invaluable.

The batting line up had a different look to it to the previous two matches after skipper Mark Alleyne dropped himself to make way for three England A debutants plus leg-spinner Chris Schofield who had yet to make an appearance on this tour.

Alleyne has not enjoyed the best of form since arriving in the Caribbean, with either the bat or ball so his decision to surrender the captaincy to John Crawley to allow him time to work on his game, was a pragmatic one.

And when Warwickshire skipper Michael Powell collected 75 runs on debut, batting with Ward to give the opening partnership a combative feel to it, the decision appeared even more sound. The pair added 93 runs in the morning session, which started with two consecutive but unsuccessful appeals for lbw and continued with two dropped catches.

Ward was missed at short leg by Ramnaresh Sarwan while on 17 and Powell edged a ball between second and third slip on 41 but both players made the mistakes pay. Powell's half century came in under two hours during which time, he struck eight boundaries most of them hit straight and all of them cleanly.

Not until the 48th over did the Carl Hooper's side make the breakthrough when another chance in the slips was seized on by Azeemul Haniff as Powell drove at Hooper. The left and right handed combination had worked well in giving England A a robust start and when the stand was broken they had 134 runs on the board.

Crawley and Vikram Solanki did not prove such long-standing partners, both departing cheaply to lbw decisions but the arrival of Habib shortly after tea provided much needed impetus and by the close, they had put on 58 runs.

All day, the teams had to contend with strong winds that swept across the square and out to sea posing more problems for the bowlers who were already struggling with another slow flat pitch.

But Hooper, who was in demand by the media after the rumours over his imminent appointment as West Indies captain had started to circulate, kept his focus well sending down 26 overs for just 44 runs and capturing the first wicket into the bargain.

He is keen to make an impression in his first season back in West Indies domestic cricket following a two year absence and claims his international ambitions are not distracting him.

"Getting back into Test team is not something I am losing sleep over," said the former Kent overseas player who retired in 1999 midway through the one-day international series against Australia.

He has spent his two years playing club cricket for Carlton in Australia, where he is now based, and would have come back sooner had he been able.

"What I want to do is play some cricket for Guyana. Since I retired I have never been back to play any regional cricket and I still feel I have a few years left in me yet, if not at Test level then at first class level and I want to give something back to Guyana."

Commenting on the rumours that he will replace Jimmy Adams for the series against South Africa, he said: "That is just what they are, rumours. We have chopped and changed captains so often. Last year Adams won series here against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. He did not do well in England and in Australia we were up against a very hard side."

And as to why he chose to retire in the first place he added: "It is hard enough when you lose but even harder when you sense that not everyone is pulling in the same direction."

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd