Ashley Giles turns from bit-part player to match-winner for England

'This performance is testimony to his hard work'

Whatever the rivalry between England and the West Indies both captains agreed that the key to an absorbing Test match lay in the amount of hard work put in by the players.

Whatever the rivalry between England and the West Indies both captains agreed that the key to an absorbing Test match lay in the amount of hard work put in by the players.

The West Indies captain, Brian Lara, praised Shivnarine Chanderpaul, his side's top scorer in both innings and twice unbeaten. "I thought Chanderpaul was amazing. His performance throughout the Test was excellent. But having seen his preparation for this Test I am not surprised. The whole team was disappointed that he could not get his second hundred because he deserved it with all the hard work he has put in. And I heard that Michael Vaughan also put in a lot of hard work and he also reaped the rewards for that."

Vaughan agreed with the work ethic. He singled out the man of the match, Ashley Giles, who finished with figures of 9 for 210, for special mention. "I am delighted for him, and not just because he is my best mate, but because he puts in a lot of hard work. This performance is testimony to that. I think he is probably our most professional player and it is pleasing to see him do well and to see a smile on his face."

West Indies were given the barest glimpses of Andrew Flintoff in this match, 11.5 overs to be precise. "Flintoff is fit to bowl," Vaughan said. "But I was handling him with care. I have an eye on the future as well." Meaning the immediate future - the two sides face each other again on Thursday in the second Test at Edgbaston.

"It is tiring playing back-to-back Tests. Two days in between is not enough but we will go into the next Test with a lot of confidence," Vaughan said. "We will have a couple of things up our sleeves: firstly the fact that Flintoff has not bowled much this week so he will be fresh; and secondly Steve Harmison has not picked up too many wickets in this match, so I think we will go into the Test at Edgbaston even stronger."

England yesterday announced the same 12 players for Thursday's match that went into this game, as Mark Butcher has not recovered from a thigh injury, so Robert Key, who scored 221 in the first innings, keeps his place.

Lara said that the Barbadian paceman, Corey Collymore, who flew into London yesterday as a replacement for Ravi Rampaul, was almost certain to start the match. "I am not sure who Collymore will replace, but the way we bowled in this match suggests we need more experience and Collymore has that."

ENGLAND (Squad for second Test v West Indies, Edgbaston, Thursday): M P Vaughan (Yorkshire, capt), M E Trescothick (Somerset), A J Strauss (Middlesex), R W T Key (Kent), G P Thorpe (Surrey), A Flintoff (Lancashire), G O Jones (Kent, wkt), S P Jones (Glamorgan), A F Giles (Warwickshire), M J Hoggard (Yorkshire), S P Harmison (Durham), J M Anderton (Lancashire).