Captain in waiting

Day 4 at Riverside

Preview

There is a lot of talk about England using two spinners in the Ashes so it might be a day when Graeme Swann bowls many overs. At the moment, whoever bowls there is just one result in prospect to this wet match.

To lunch

This is the Age of Sarwan and this morning he showed why. He has not scored enough centuries - I remember Richie Richardson rueing the same fact late in his career - but they are flowing. Shivnarine Chanderpaul plays the Brian Lara role now and on his English home ground he could be expected to dig in but Stuart Broad got them both. Once again Broad looks as if he can achieve anything he wants to.

To tea

If Chris Gayle gives up the captaincy - and there is a twist to a Jamaican sense of humour that defies the intelligence of all other mortals - his successor may well be Dinesh Ramdin. That will explain why Ramdin, suffering from a painful hand injury, put in so much effort as he attempted to get West Indies past the follow-on total. The new ball will play a big part in the final session, with James Anderson looking for at least one more wicket and trying to settle a petty row with Fidel Edwards.

To close

Stuff you wish you had never said: Matt Prior to a BBC interviewer before the start - "I don't like talking about my wicket-keeping because it seems to mean I have a bad day behind the stumps afterwards." Four hours later Prior was off to hospital for an X-ray on his right hand. His absence is not likely to make any difference to the final day as West Indies, following on, have only seven wickets left. The uncertain weather might save their embarrassment but nothing will stop the judgement that they have had a poor series.