Hick hits first Lord's ton

Hick on his way to his first century at Lord's

Lunch-time score: 269-4

Graeme Hick hit his first century at Lord's as England looked for quick runs on the third day of the rain-affected First Test against Zimbabwe.

But he had no time to celebrate as he was out the very next ball, caught lbw from some superb bowling from Heath Streak.

Streak's monopoly of the wickets thus continued, and his outstanding figures of four for 49 from 27 overs reflected a tremendous job for his country.

England added 94 runs in the first session before lunch on day three as they knocked up 269-4.

It seemed Hick was relieved to hit his first ton at Lord's and it looked as though his concentration faltered for a moment as Streak struck.

Heath Streak is bowling superbly

While Hick was sweating on a nervous 99, Alec Stewart nipped in to record his ninth half-century at Lord's.

And it meant the England score kept ticking over as they looked for quick runs to build up a healthy lead.

Hick scored his 100 in 271 minutes off 196 balls, hitting 13 fours.

Glorious shots

England resumed on 175-3, in reply to Zimbabwe's poor first innings total of just 83.

Their fourth wicket fell on 262 runs - a lead of 179.

Hick and Stewart had played some glorious shots in great batting conditions but both had struggled as they neared their milestones.

It took Hick 14 balls to score the one run he needed for his century.

Hick struggled on 99 not out

His previous best at headquarters was 67 against West Indies in 1995.

His partnership with Stewart reached three figures in 188 balls and 129 minutes when Hick made the most of a loose over from leg-spinner Brian Murphy, who was given the early task of trying to unlock the stand before it became too big.

Stewart, though, had a close call on 24, pulling at a ball from Neil Johnson, who had no luck in a lively spell from the pavilion end.

Andy Flower claimed the low catch behind - but umpire Peter Willey was not sure if the ball had carried off Stewart's gloves and had a long consultation with his square-leg colleague David Orchard.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe celebrated what they thought was the dismissal of Stewart, but third umpire John Holder pressed the button for the green light and the Surrey man stayed in.

Nick Knight joined Stewart at the crease just before lunch as England extended their lead and Zimbabwe began to start facing a hopeless cause.

England First Innings: Lunch
M A Atherton lbw b Streak 55
M R Ramprakash lbw b Streak 15
N Hussain c Murphy b Streak 10
G A Hick lbw b Streak 101
A J Stewart not out 59
N V Knight not out 0
Extras b5 lb20 w1 nb3 29
Total 4 wkts (89 overs) 269