Gallant England unable to prevent series defeat
Andrew Strauss will wonder if he declared too late
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England have given themselves a chance of winning the fifth Test against the West Indies and levelling the series. |  |
Tuesday, 10, Mar 2009 09:44
England came agonisingly close to winning the fifth Test against the West Indies, but fell just two wickets short and have lost the Test series.
The West Indies were set an improbable 240 runs in 66 overs to win the Test match. James Anderson and Graeme Swann bowled superbly and claimed three wickets apiece, but the home side managed to survive and finished on 114/8.
It was a bitterly disappointing end to a day which had promised so much for England. They started the day in desperate need of quick runs and the brilliant Kevin Pietersen was the perfect man to do this for his side. He was joined at the crease early in the day by Matt Prior after Paul Collingwood was caught and bowled by Hinds for nine.
Pietersen and Prior were in scintillating form and bludgeoned the West Indies bowling to all parts of the ground. Prior was surprisingly the more aggressive of the pair and hit eight boundaries, including three off one Hinds over, as he rattled along to 61 off just 49 balls.
Prior's fireworks meant Pietersen could be a little more watchful. But the former England captain still managed to play a number of breathtaking shots, including his trademark switch-hit for four and another when he stood in front of the stumps and played the ball behind his feet for four.
England added a 157 runs in the morning session which saw Pietersen get a deserved 16th Test century as England declared on 2437/6. It left England 66 overs to try and bowl-out the West Indies or for the home side to get 240 for a 2-0 series win.
The pitch was still very flat and wickets looked like they would be hard to come by, which has been the story for most of the Test series. But a moment of sheer brilliance from Collingwood lifted England and they had the opening they were looking for.
Lendl Simmons edged-behind off the bowling of Anderson and the ball was dying as it was heading for the slips. The ball was millimetres off the ground before Collingwood dived low to his right to claw the ball into his hands and claim as sensational catch.
Devon Smith was next to go and once again it was spin bowling which caused his downfall. The opener played an ugly looking slog sweep and the ball crashed into his thigh pad and he was given out lbw from the bowling of Swann.
Swann then claimed the crucial wicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan (14) as he was caught by Collingwood at first slip. The off-spinner almost claimed a wicket with his very next delivery as Shivnarine Chanderpaul edged the ball, which Collingwood caught but then said he hadn't taken the ball cleanly.
But Swann didn't have to wait long for the prized scalp of Chanderpaul as he got him out lbw after tea for just six. England then looked on course for a memorable win when Anderson snared Nash lbw for one.
Monty Panesar then joined in the action as he took the wicket of Hinds (20) as he was caught in the slip by Collingwood. Hinds' departure brought injured West Indies captain Chris Gayle to the crease and he came out with a runner.
After a series of huge lbw shouts against Gayle, Panesar finally got his man out lbw – but Gayle had by now taken up 14 overs and England only had nine overs left to take three more wickets.
England then put all their players around the bat and though Anderson managed to bowl Daren Powell, the West Indies managed to hold on thanks to a gutsy effort from Dinesh Ramdin, who batted 87 balls for 17 runs.