Westwood's revival answers Warwickshire's time of need

Warwickshire 315 for 7 (Westwood 127) lead Durham 207 by 108 runs
Scorecard

Ian Westwood had the right to imagine that all eyes at Chester-le-Street were upon him. They weren't but perhaps in a perfect world they would have been. After all, he had answered Warwickshire's call in times of need.

It was Westwood who roused himself from an immensely dispiriting season to summon his first Championship century since April last year. And it was Westwood, an unsung professional since his county debut 15 years ago, who will probably prove to have laid to rest Warwickshire's vague fears of relegation in the process. He deserved his day in the sun.

But enough, for now, of Westwood; you probably want to hear about Ian Bell. England certainly did. Trevor Bayliss, England's coach, had reportedly explored whether theoretically he retained ambitions for a Test recall and, whatever the extent of his interest, the national selector James Whitaker was watching his every move. Like Westwood, he is 34 now, but there is no need for his age to count against him, especially not on a day when a tabloid headline had Cliff Richard proclaiming that he was back to his best.

As Westwood and Bell slowly amassed a position of strength, the bird life at Emirates Riverside seemed to capture their mood. Westwood, dropped for a large chunk of the season, had not made a fifty all season. He was the seagull with the broken wing which now rests permanently by the sightscreen at one end of the ground and which has perked up a little since the groundstaff started feeding it a few weeks ago. One spectator was heard to suggest it should be hit with a spade to put it out of its misery. Nobody has suggested that about Westwood even in his worst times.

As for Bell, the swallows flitting across the ground just as Warwickshire took the lead begged a question. Gliding gracefully as summer entered its final month, it will not be long before they make the trip south. Bell, with India in the offing, might also have a chance to winter in warmer climes.

Bell, like Jonathan Trott before him, fell in the 40s, deflecting Chris Rushworth down the leg side for a soft wicketkeeper's catch. Graham Onions had hounded him before he reached double figures and almost bowled him off an inside edge, but he dug in, that Horrid Henry nose screwed up with concentration as his grace gradually spilled through. It was a respectable reward but it proved nothing in a season of unconvincing batsmanship which must be sending England's selectors dyspeptic.

It was Scott Borthwick's legspin that provided a release. If Borthwick tours India, and it is increasingly unlikely, it must be as a specialist batsman. If England claim him as spin-bowling back-up, it is advisable to regard the claim as fraudulent: in his form this season as yet there is regrettably little to commend him - and this season he has had more opportunity to progress.

The selection quandary must be met by faith. James Vince and Gary Ballance have not pinned down a place. Bell, obsessing over the Warwickshire captaincy, has seen his knowledge grow but his runs shrink. Awaiting a late-season rush of runs from one or the other will prove nothing. Move Jonny Bairstow up the order as a specialist batsman, introduce Sam Billings or Jos Buttler further down to keep wicket and then back your instinct on the rest. The alternatives will lead to madness.

Westwood has never known such discussions. The life of the journeyman pro is rarely forgiving. Deliver a hundred on an away ground and it is often the inadequacies of the home attack that gain attention, especially if your career average is 32 and your county career is presumed to be edging to a close. But do not knock him for surviving so long; knock, if you must, the many who have not been good enough to displace him.

With his career hanging by a thread, his resolute 127 took Warwickshire to 315 for 7 at the close of the second day, prospering with angles square on the off side, game when he timed it and even gamer when he did not. He fell to the second new ball, caught at second slip off Rushworth, and was dropped on 39 by Michael Richardson at third slip. Three new-ball incursions were a fillip for Durham, but they are already 108 runs adrift.

Westwood felt he deserved it, saying: "I've not had much luck this season, so I was probably due the bit I had today. We had a couple of good stands when we had to scrap for every run and I think we did a good job.

"It's never easy when you get left out. You have to keep believing and try your best, which I have always done. This is pleasing for me, but the most important thing is that we are in a strong position."

When the diminutive left-hander (his stock descriptive phrase for the last decade) reached his much-cherished hundred by unfurling a cover drive against Paul Coughlin, he received respectful applause, but nobody purred as they have purred at Bell through good times and bad during the past decade.

Instead, it was left to two Durhamites to offer a salty verdict. "Not the best hundred I've seen this season," said one. "First cover drive he's hit that has gone through the covers," said another.

Such is the lot of a county journeyman.