Sports Commentary - Times Online - WBLG

Full-time: England 2 USA 0

Not a classic, but England dominated a very ordinary USA team. Gerrard was the pick for England with his link up play with Rooney and intelligent running from midfield. Beckham looked lively in the first half and showed that he still has something to offer his country. Once again in an England friendly, too many substitutions have stifled the rhythm of the game. They could have installed a revolving door on the touchline there were so many and Sven isn't even manager anymore.

This Sunday, England visit Trinidad & Tobago for another friendly. Call it a charm offensive towards Jack Warner, the Fifa vice-president. We're looking for his support towards hosting the 2018 World Cup. A shock defeat seems in order.

87 min: England 2 USA 0

Adu intercepts a Hargreaves pass and runs towards the England goal. He cracks a low right-footed shot but James gets down to make a routine save.

Bizarrely, the England band are playing the Indiana Jones theme music. If you've seen the latest instalment, like this match, it only makes you think of what could have been.

85 min: England 2 USA 0

England are content to play on the break. Hargreaves wins possession in the centre circle, swaps passes with Joe Cole and bombs down the right wing before winning a corner. He's got a great engine. The corner kick comes to nothing as Terry commits a foul.

80 min: England 2 USA 0

James makes a very good save after Joe Cole is beaten by the wily Eddie Lewis. The Derby winger skips past his marker and loops a dangerous ball into the six-yard area but James is alert in punching the ball to safety.

79 min: England 2 USA 0

Unsurprisingly, Rooney is replaced by Joe Cole. It's Cole in the hole behind Crouch. Edu comes on for Clark. That's right, the USA will attack with Adu and Edu.

76 min: England 2 USA 0

Rooney is given a yellow card for a foul on Hejduk. He gives the Greek referee his usual hand-waving and cursing package. It's a tiresome routine, especially when he didn't need to commit the offence.

72 min: England 2 USA 0

A crowd of 71,000 has been announced for the game and they celebrate with a Mexican wave. Always a sign of boredom.

68 min: England 2 USA 0

A flurry of substitutions for both sides. The most notable being Peter Crouch for Defoe and Freddy Adu comes on for Wolff. Adu, you may remember, was touted as the 135th incarnation of Pele when he burst on the scene as a 14-year-old. He's playing for Benfica these days and would no doubt be glad of even a modest career after the early fanfare that surrounded him.

62 min: England 2 USA 0

Dempsey shows some of the Fulham fighting spirit to beat Gerrard with neat skill. Wolff bravely meets his cross inside the England penalty area with a diving header but the ball goes wide.

62 min: England 2 USA 0

The USA are looking ragged. It's a concern because they have road games against Spain and Argentina coming up next. Rooney nearly gets on the end of a raking diagonal pass from Bentley that splits the visitors' defence but Guzan plucks it from the Manchester United striker's feet.

58 min: England 2 USA 0

GOAL! Gareth Barry comes on for Frank Lampard and immediately plays a first-time pass into the path of Gerrard who strides forward and strokes his finish past Guzan to double England's lead.

54 min: England 1 USA 0

David James has been immaculate with his handling tonight. He plucked Beasley's corner kick out of the air with ease. The Pompey 'keeper, sporting a fine afro, was reminiscent of a 1970s basketball star rising for a cheap dunk.

51 min: England 1 USA 0

Guzan makes a sharp save from Defoe after the Portsmouth striker collects Terry's deep free-kick and rolls his marker easily before unleashing a scissor-kick that is too close to the USA 'keeper.

48 min: England 1 USA 0

Half-time substitutions saw David Bentley replace Beckham for England. The Blackburn winger looks to have gone into his local barbers and asked for a "Private Walker". Well, it's unlikely he would have said "greasy comb over".

Bob Bradley, the USA coach, has replaced Cherundolo with Hejduk and Tim Howard swaps his place in goal with Guzan.

46 min: England 1 USA 0

England are nearly caught cold as Eddie Johnson connects beautifully with a Beasley cross from the left wing. It flies wide of the England goal.

Half-time: England 1 USA 0

It has not been the greatest half of football, but England have had enough set-pieces to have increased their lead especially when you consider the deadball sharpshooters they possess. The USA side are a pale imitation of the teams that have overachieved in recent World Cups. Expect their fans to sing "Bring back Bruce [Arena]" in the second half.

45+1 min: England 1 USA 0

The last action of the half sees Rooney career into Clark. It's almost wince-inducing, but the USA midfielder gets up and shakes the striker's hand.

44 min: England 1 USA 0

Cherundolo commits a foul on Defoe on the edge of the USA area. The defender is booked. Becks is on the case ... and he hits the wall. Next time is Lampard time.

41 min: England 1 USA 0

Onyewu trips Defoe on the edge of the box and inexplicably Gerrard is allowed to smash the free-kick into the USA wall. Hello? Beckham is on the pitch. A wasted opportunity.

38 min: England 1 USA 0

GOAL! That should make Terry feel a whole lot better. The Chelsea skipper thumps a header home from Beckham's free-kick from the right after Golden Balls was flattened by Ricardo Clark.

34 min: England 0 USA 0

A much better move from England as Rooney releases Gerrard down the left wing and his low cross finds Jermain Defoe who puts it wide under pressure from Pearce. He should have done much better.

32 min: England 0 USA 0

Fabio Capello doesn't look too concerned despite taking a little stroll in his technical area. Stuart Pearce is sitting on the bench with what looks to be an Ordnance Survey map. Let's hope it is as you have to be suspicious of copious note-takers (where does it get you? Steve McClaren and Steve Coppell spring to mind)

29 min: England 0 USA 0

John Terry seems to be holding it together. I can't criticise him for his Moscow tears. I used to well up listening to the Grandstand theme tune.

25 min: England 0 USA 0

USA have their first shot on goal as Johnson and Dempsey combine neatly on the right-hand side of the England penalty area. They'd call it a give-and-go, to us it was the old one-two. Johnson shoots weakly from a wide angle and David James gathers it easily.

23 min: England 0 USA 0

Rooney manages to break away from Carlos Bocanegra after the USA defender slips down the right flank. The Manchester United forward cuts the ball back to Gerrard who has broken into the box but it is too far behind him and Clint Dempsey blocks his shot.

19 min: England 0 USA 0

Gerrard whacks a square pass across to Beckham who is loitering on the edge of the USA penalty area. The ball pops up for him and he trys to hit it on the up and unfortunately hits it over the bar. It would have qualified as a converted field goal.

18 min: England 0 USA 0

Wayne Rooney looks up for the match, but then he looks up for every match. Imagine playing against him in the garden at a family get-together? You'd earn your trifle when called in for tea.

15 min: England 0 USA 0

The hue of USA kit seems to have picked from an Airfix colour chart. We'll call it "Battleship grey". Dull like the match so far.

12 min: England 0 USA 0

According to plan, Cole puts Gerrard into space, but Clark brings him down for a free-kick. Beckham whips an inswinger that flies through the USA penalty area and into touch. It needed a touch.

9 min: England 0 USA 0

Steven Gerrard is playing on the left of England's midfield, but is roaming as Ashley Cole is pushing into that area at every opportunity. They are looking to release the Liverpool captain into the channels beyond the USA defence.

7 min: England 0 USA 0

Heath Pearce is fouled by Beckham and the USA have the first dangerous set-piece of the match from the left flank. Rio Ferdinand heads the ball powerfully away.

4 min: England 0 USA 0

Beckham's first attempt at a pass goes straight into an opposition player's chest. He does better with a header back to his goalkeeper, David James. Yup, that's right. Not much is happening at the moment.

1 min: England 0 USA 0

The home side are in white with blue shorts and the visitors are wearing a dark grey jersey with white shorts.  Remarkably, 1,300 away fans have made the trip over the pond. Great effort.

Pre-match banter: England v USA

Sir Bobby Charlton is greeting the teams. He is going to make a presentation to David Beckham in recognition of the LA Galaxy midfielder's century of caps. It's Beckham's 101st start tonight for his country. It wouldn't have the same cachet if David Bentley were in the first XI, poor lad. Beckham gets a brown cap in a huge case. He'll have trouble getting that home, unless he breaks the glass and wears it.

Kelly Rowland, the contemporary recording artist, is singing both anthems. Which one will Becks puff his chest out to? Both, of course. He's transatlantic now.

England v USA: the teams

England: James, Brown, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Beckham, Hargreaves, Lampard, Gerrard, Defoe, Rooney. Subs: Hart, Lewis, Johnson, Bridge, Warnock, Woodgate, Bentley, Jagielka, Wheater, Huddlestone, Barry, Joe Cole, Downing, Young, Crouch, Ashton, Walcott, Agbonlahor.

USA: Howard, Onyewu, Cherundolo, Pearce, Bocanegra, Dempsey, Bradley, Clark, Beasley, Johnson, Wolff. Subs: Guzan, Califf, Lewis, Jaqua, Adu, Edu, Hejduk.

Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)

England v United States: live commentary from 2000BST

It's official, Fabio Capello can speak English. The national team should be in no doubt as to what the Italian requires of them after their disappointing defeat against France in their last match.

John Terry has been named England captain and the Chelsea skipper will be looking to put his Champions League disappointment behind him with a commanding display at the heart of defence.

The United States will prove a decent test at Wembley. They are unbeaten in 2008 under the leadership of Bob Bradley and have won two out of the five matches between the sides (England have won the other three).

Follow our live coverage from 8pm. You can also receive our commentary on your mobile phone by texting Times to 86626.

1740BST - stumps

Shockingly, play has been abandoned for the day.  Well, it's been an interesting opener and with New Zealand resuming on 202-4 tomorrow morning the second Test is finely poised.  And the weather forecast for this weekend is good.  Enjoy the bank holiday, and thanks for your company today.

1725BST - no play still

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that there'll be no more play today.

1700BST - no play still

"The light has got worse - that's not good news in terms of prospects of play," says David Gower. It certainly looks gloomy, though there's no precipitation at the moment.

1635BST - no play still

The studio discussion is now about the summer of cricket that's approaching - remember we have one more Test against New Zealand after this, a Twenty20 game and then five one-dayers, and then South Africa arrive for four Tests, a Twenty20 and five one-dayers.  Ooh, official news - the light has actually deteriorated out there, so no play in the immediate future.

1620BST - no play still

Not sure what's happening, because Messrs Gower, Atherton and Botham are too busy bemoaning the evil that is offering batsmen the light.  The umpires are out in the middle brandishing their light meters, and the covers are off the track.

New Zealand 202-4 (Taylor 65, Oram 22)

Jacob Oram has decided to look more competent with the bat now, taking Panesar for successive fours and a single to bring up the 200, and this partnership is cracking on.  Except they're not, because they're going off for light again.

New Zealand 191-4 (Taylor 65, Oram 13)

Broad begins the over with some decent short stuff, and then offers up a couple to Ross Taylor, allowing him to bring up the 50 partnership and bolster his score further.

New Zealand 183-4 (Taylor 58, Oram 12)

And it's Monty Panesar from the other end.  Seriously, you can't second-guess who'll be bowling in tandem today - it's just full of surprises.

New Zealand 181-4 (Taylor 55, Oram 11)

We've not lost much time, and we're ready to go again after tea. Oram gets a run from Stuart Broad, but otherwise it's a steady and uneventful resumption.

New Zealand 180-4 (Taylor 55, Oram 10) - rain stopped play

It's raining!  It's dark!  Umpires Hair and Taufel are deep in conversation, and Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor say, "Thank you very much."  England look irritated as the covers come on, and that'll be an early tea.  I'll keep you informed.

New Zealand 178-4 (Taylor 55, Oram 10)

Oram is just contrarily continuing to face up to the quicks, and in return he's being struck in the stomach and the glove and wherever else Stuart Broad can find a target. 

New Zealand 178-4 (Taylor 55, Oram 10)

Ian Smith confirms that Daniel Flynn is in one piece.  Well, two pieces - most of him, and then that front tooth which, thanks to that freedom-fighter Jimmy Anderson, made a break for liberation - but suffice to say he's well enough to bat later should he be needed.

New Zealand 175-4 (Taylor 55, Oram 9)

Here's Stuart Broad, then, replacing Jimmy Anderson who's probably worn himself out with all this violence.  Broad has an impressive variety of deliveries on offer here - short, full, bouncer - and keeps Ross Taylor subdued.

New Zealand 175-4 (Taylor 53, Oram 9)

As Jacob Oram attempts to get to grips with Ryan Sidebottom, and does so by placing a full one through midwicket, here's Ross Taylor's spider (click the thumbnail to enlarge).

New Zealand 171-4 (Taylor 53, Oram 5)

Taking advantage of some stray Anderson bowling, that's a fourth Test 50 for Ross Taylor after 87 minutes at the crease and just 52 balls, with a strike-rate of 101. 

New Zealand 163-4 (Taylor 45, Oram 5)

A maiden for Sidebottom, bowling to his bunny.

New Zealand 163-4 (Taylor 45, Oram 5)

Oram is being peppered by Anderson.  He's standing face on to the bowler, and then wondering why he's getting smacked on the glove and the shoulder and the helmet when the short ball bounces up to him. He's happy to get off strike, and Taylor decides he's had enough of his partner looking foolish and hooks Anderson away for six. This is terrific aggressive stuff.

New Zealand 149-4 (Taylor 32, Oram 4)

The Oram-Sidebottom duel resumes. Nasser Hussain is nodding wisely and speculating that Oram is struggling with the bounce and finding it difficult to manipulate his bulk out of the way of the quick bowlers' trajectory.

New Zealand 144-4 (Taylor 27, Flynn 4 ret hurt, Oram 4)

Daniel Flynn takes a Jimmy Anderson bouncer right in the face.  OUCH.  A tooth has been smashed out, and there is blood all over the place.  The England players rush round to see if he's OK, Ross Taylor takes one look and turns swiftly away, and the physio comes out to attend to the injury.  Obviously he's going to have to retire hurt and get that tooth put back in as soon as possible, but he doesn't seem to be concussed or anything, so he should return later. Anderson's not perturbed, though, and continues bowling aggressively, clonking new man Jacob Oram firmly on the helmet, and that runs away for four leg byes. 

New Zealand 136-4 (Taylor 27, Flynn 4)

Guess what?  It's May, it's Manchester, so it must be raining.  Just drizzle, for the time being, but don't be surprised if light deteriorates or the heavens open in the next hour or so.

New Zealand 132-4 (Taylor 23, Flynn 4)

The ball has indeed been swapped, prompting David Lloyd to reminisce about the good old days, when this newfangled nonsense about replacing damaged equipment wasn't even entertained.

New Zealand 131-4 (Taylor 22, Flynn 4)

Flynn's off the mark, picking Panesar's shorter ball and playing through gully for a stylish first scoring shot.  And now we'll have a delay in play while the umpires examine the ball, which seems to be out of shape.

New Zealand 127-4 (Taylor 22, Flynn 0)

This is some quick bowling from James Anderson. Ross Taylor tries to give as good as he's getting, and manages to belt a four down the ground, but apart from that he's doing well just to stay in and keep his skull intact.

Wicket! McCullum 11 c Collingwood b Panesar (New Zealand 123-4)

And after Brendon McCullum begins to wheel out his shots, hoicking Panesar for a four then a six, the spinner gets the best kind of revenge by tempting him to flick behind.  It seems to have been deflected by Tim Ambrose's glove, but it eventually finds its way into the safe hands of Paul Collingwood, and it's time for a celebratory jig.

New Zealand 113-3 (Taylor 18, McCullum 1)

Consecutive fours for Ross Taylor, taking James Anderson around the park with power if not a great deal of finesse.

New Zealand 105-3 (Taylor 10, McCullum 1)

Panesar is back on now, and new batsman Brendon McCullum has donned an armguard.  What a genius plan. It's a good over - neither man at the crease wants to take on the spin as How did earlier - and it ends with a loud appeal for lbw against McCullum, complete with a little dance up the track from the bowler, but his nemesis umpire Taufel thinks it would miss leg-stump.

Wicket! How 64 c Ambrose b Anderson (New Zealand 102-3)

Fundamentally another failure to convert from Jamie How, who is faced with a ball that seams and straightens, and can only nudge it back to the wicketkeeper.

New Zealand 101-2 (How 64, Taylor 7)

Sidebottom's still going round the wicket seeing as he can't get any swing from the ball. A wideish one gives Jamie How the chance of another boundary, played through the covers, which brings the New Zealand total into three figures.