KEY POINTS:
English cricket will be told later this week where precisely it is going wrong and what it should do about it.
On the evidence of the opening three days of the summer's First Test, the great and the good who have contributed to the much-vaunted Schofield Report may, after three months of diligent research, write a two-word note saying "not much", and have another glass of red.
This may be pushing it slightly, but the timing of a review promising significant amendments to selection and management will look decidedly odd when the team it is designed to improve have just swept aside the opposition.
England, playing under new coach Peter Moores for the first time, should achieve this against the West Indies some time tomorrow, three days before the review findings are made public.
They did not have it all their own way yesterday, but they had enough of it to suggest that, with two days remaining, there can be only one winner.
West Indies, for several reasons which all return to a ludicrously overcrowded international calendar, have come into this series more ill-prepared than any side can ever have been.
None of their bowlers had delivered a single delivery on tour before Thursday morning.
England, whose own attack had enjoyed the benefits of abundant county cricket, were debilitated by an injury to their opening bowler Matthew Hoggard.
His wife, Sarah, had given birth to their first child, Ernie, earlier in the day; a few hours later dad strained the adductor muscle in his left thigh.
They were debilitated almost as much by the form of their two other seamers.
According to reliable witnesses Stephen Harmison and, to a lesser extent, because he has not played so often, Liam Plunkett, have been in outstanding form for Durham.
They left it all in the North-east, as if buried down some disused mineshaft.
There was no rhythm to their bowling all day.
Both propelled the ball both sides of the wicket, but favoured the leg.
This at least permitted the debutant wicketkeeper (and centurion) Matthew Prior to demonstrate that he has spring heels.
It was limp stuff, not least because it had been confidently predicted that a green pitch would give serious help to seam bowlers.
This, like so many theories connected to pitches, has proved cockamamie so far, since the tourists took only five wickets in 142 overs and the home side were indebted for most of their initial incisions to their left-arm spinner, Monty Panesar.
Some observers assumed that Panesar might have been omitted from the starting XI, because the seamers would do all that was necessary.
This was based on the number of overs that spinners had bowled in the past few years during the early Test at Lords.
Sense and recent memory prevailed: England drew a match at the ground last summer because Panesar was given too few overs.
He was not quite at his best yesterday in 29 unchanged overs from the Nursery End, and given the amount of runs England had at their disposal was too prepared to bowl flat.
But then this is the age-old criticism of spinners, and Panesar, it should not be forgotten, has only just turned 25 and may take another five years to become the bowler that some of his supporters reckon him to be already.
It should be sufficient for now that he is the best English spinner (which is different from being the best spinner in England, since Shane Warne is currently here).
He took four wickets before West Indies had reached 200, but no more as they passed 300.
Three batsmen were leg before to his arm ball. The fourth, Devon Smith, was bowled because he expected more turn.
It was smart bowling, using the Lord's slope to insert uncertainty in batsmen's minds.
There must have plenty there already.
West Indies have been told by pretty well everybody - and this was before their paltry preparation was completely undermined by rain the previous week - that they are hopeless and can expect to lose the series 4-0.
As a prediction this has much more going for it than anything connected with how pitches might play.
It is not that they are an untalented bunch, though they bear no comparison with their predecessors, but discipline once lost takes time to regain.
It will not be done on this tour and it will take rather more than 11.30pm curfews.
Would being confined to his hotel room more have dissuaded Chris Gayle, for instance, from playing all round the early yorker he received yesterday from Liam Plunkett? Maybe, but maybe not.
But West Indies did not crumble as they might have done, not least because some of the leg- before appeals upheld by Asad Rauf at the Nursery End were cause for being miffed.
Six of their top seven batsmen passed 20 but only two went beyond 50.
Gayle began with his usual flourish, Daren Ganga looked as though a flourish was the last thing on his mind.
Devon Smith was diligent awhile, the new captain, Ram-naresh Sarwan, looked as if he meant to get a century but on his terms, Runako Morton played some rasping shots and likewise Dwayne Bravo, who brought up his half-century with a six.
Sometime this summer at least one and maybe more of this lot will play an innings of breathtaking attacking quality.
Saving the follow-on gives them a chance of similarly saving the match, but they did that three years ago and still lost both match and series.
England were left with much to ponder, not least the Harmison problem.
In the absence of Hoggard it was crucial that he delivered yesterday.
He did not when it mattered.
Still in possession of obvious fast bowler's riches, he cannot be allowed to keep doing this.
Not that Harmison will be mentioned in the Schofield Report unless he is seen as the new director of cricket.
That is one of two new roles expected to be recommended by the septet who comprised the committee.
The other is a national selector.
Since both jobs appear currently to be filled by a director of cricket operations (John Carr) and a chairman of selectors (David Graveney) the changes will need spelling out.
It will probably be about the balance of power.
But Schofield and his boys had better come up with something far-reaching and plausible on Thursday.
Their conclusions should be based on having a chairman of selectors or director of cricket (call him what you will) with real authority over the team.
Graveney should be given a stab.
If they seek compromise their findings might as well read: "waste of time".
SCOREBOARD
Day three
England first innings
A.Strauss c Smith b Powell 33
A.Cook c Bravo b Taylor 105
O.Shah c Smith b Powell 6
K.Pietersen c Smith b Collymore 26
P.Collingwood b Bravo 111
I.Bell not out 109
M.Prior not out 126
Extras (b-8 lb-17 w-10 nb-2) 37
Total (for five wickets declared, 142 overs) 553
Fall of wickets: 1-88 2-103 3-162 4-219 5-263
Bowling: Powell 37-9-113-2 (6w), Taylor 24-4-114-1,
Collymore 32-5-110-1 (2nb), Bravo 32-8-106-1 (1w), Gayle
10-0-48-0, Morton 1-0-4-0 (2w), Sarwan 6-0-33-0
West Indies first innings
C.Gayle b Plunkett 30
D.Ganga lbw Panesar 49
D.Smith b Panesar 21
R.Sarwan lbw Panesar 35
S.Chanderpaul not out 63
R.Morton lbw Panesar 14
D.Bravo c Cook b Collingwood 56
D.Ramdin c Collingwood b Plunkett 60
D.Powell not out 0
Extras (lb-16 w-16 nb-3) 35
Total (for seven wickets, 98 overs) 363
Fall of wickets: 1-38 2-83 3-151 4-165 5-187 6-279 7-362
Bowling (to date): Hoggard 10.1-3-29-0, Harmison 22-1-95-0
(4w 2nb), Plunkett 23-5-81-2 (4w), Collingwood 11.5-2-34-1,
Panesar 31-2-108-4.
- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS
