FORMER Durham and England all-rounder Ian Botham last night questioned the wisdom of the England and Wales Cricket Board hosting the second Test against the West Indies at Riverside in mid May.

Less than 5,000 spectators were in attendance at Chester-le-Street yesterday as a rampant England closed on 302-2 thanks to centuries from both Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara.

The attendance is understood to be the lowest for the opening day of a post-war Test match in England, and while more than 10,000 tickets have been sold for tomorrow, today’s gate is unlikely to be much higher if the forecast unsettled weather arrives.

Botham admits it was disappointing to see so few people at his former county’s ground, but has urged the ECB to reassess the way they organise the Test schedule in the future.

“It’s a disappointingly low crowd, but I think there’s a combination of reasons for that,” said the former allrounder.

“There is a credit crunch and people will be struggling with that, but it is also pretty cold up here at this time of year. I don’t know if the most northerly ground in England should be hosting Test cricket in May.

“There are also three Premier League football clubs in the region and they have all had really important games recently because they have been struggling.

“There is only so much that people can afford to watch and the ECB have to keep that in mind.”

Yesterday’s attendance detracted from the quality of England’s display, with the hosts building on last week’s ten-wicket win at Lord’s after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Bopara became only the fifth Englishman in history to score centuries in three successive Test innings, and while the reception afforded at Riverside was more muted than the one he had received at Lord’s, the sparse crowd did little to temper his pride at his achievement.

“A Test century is a Test century,” said the 24-year-old.

“It might not have been the same noise I got at Lord’s after getting my hundred, but inside it still means a lot.

“To get a Test hundred for England anywhere is incredible.

It doesn’t matter if it’s in front of thousands or tens of thousands or just in front of ten people, the feeling is still the same. A hundred is a hundred wherever it’s scored.”

Bopara’s incredible recent run stands in marked contrast to his form in Sri Lanka, when he made his Test debut in 2007. Back then, the Londoner scored three ducks as he made just 42 runs in the space of five innings.

He was dropped for the subsequent Test series with New Zealand, and struggled to force his way back into the side as Ian Bell and Owais Shah battled for control of England’s number three spot.

His fortunes turned again when he made a century against the West Indies in Barbados in the winter, though, and yesterday’s performance will surely have cemented his place in the opening Ashes Test against Australia in July.

“Sri Lanka was probably the toughest part of my career,”

said Bopara, who made 108 yesterday before he was bowled by Lionel Baker.

“It wasn’t that I felt uncomfortable over there, it was just that I seemed to find ways of getting out.

“But not for one moment did I think that I wouldn’t play Test cricket again, or that it might be the end for me. I knew I was going to come back, and I knew I would come back a better player because of what happened.

“It drove me on. From the minute I got run out in the last Test, I went back in the changing rooms and said, ‘I know what I have to do to come back stronger’.”

Bopara shared a secondwicket partnership of 213 with his Essex team-mate Cook yesterday, resuming a relationship that began when the pair played Second XI cricket together for the Chelmsford club.

Both batsmen have been mentored by Graham Gooch, and with the former England captain having spoken to both players in the nets ahead of yesterday’s play, Bopara was quick to pay tribute to the last Englishman to score three successive centuries for his country. “I have a lot of respect for Graham,” he said. “He’s done a lot for me and a lot for England. He was a fantastic player and he’s a fantastic coach - I wouldn’t put my name in the same sentence as him.

“It’s hard for me to talk about cricket when it comes to Graham Gooch, because I have so much respect for the way he does things. He’s always telling me to keep playing straight. He’s told me that ever since I joined the staff at Essex, and he’s still looking out for me and trying to help me today.”