Windies v. Poms - 3rd. Test

[Donny]

Windies all out for 94.

Lara (33) and Tino Best (12) held on for a while but there wasn't a lot of fight left after Matthgew Hoggard had ripped their heart out with 4/35 including the magical hat trick.

He became the 10th. English bowler to take a Test hatty.

Harmison continued his form to take 3/34 to give him 6/76 for the Test and 22 wickets @ 11.36 for the 3 Tests. Hoggard has 13 @ 18.76.

England knocked off the runs losing only the wickets of Vaughan (32) and Trescothick (42). They have had a miserable time with the bat and both hit their top scores for the series before falling to Collymore (2/24)

Tresco had only 20 runs from 5 innings before his 42 brought his average up to 12.4 whereas Vaughan had done only marginally better with 66. His 32 brought his average up to 19.6

Brian Lara also lifted his average but it only came up to 16.66 with two 30s in this Test so his 100 runs from 6 innings would be hurting more than the painful blow to his elbow which held up play in the second over of the morning.

Although Lara's average is poor, he's not alone. His wicketkeeper, Ridley Jacobs, is second on the Windies batting table with only an average of 28 and 3 other front line batsmen average under 20.

[Donny]

England celebrate series win

From correspondents in Bridgetown, Barbados - Fox


ENGLAND beat the West Indies by eight wickets in Barbados today to win the third Test and secure their first series triumph in Caribbean for 36 years.

England, already 2-0 up in the four-match series, wrapped up victory at the Kensington Oval late on the third day when they made 2-93 in their second innings, with Mark Butcher hitting the winning runs to finish 12 not out.

Marcus Trescothick had made 42 off 61 balls before being caught by Ridley Jacobs off Corey Collymore, while skipper Michael Vaughan was dismissed in the same manner for 32.

Earlier, England had bowled out the West Indies for just 94, with paceman Matthew Hoggard taking a hat-trick in a four wicket haul.

Only West Indies skipper Brian Lara offered any resistance, top-scoring with 33 despite twice needing treatment on an injured left arm. But even he wasn't able to prevent Michael Vaughan's men from celebrating an historic triumph.

"Everyone has put so much work in, it's been one huge team effort," said Vaughan.

"We owe a big thanks to Graham Thorpe for the way he played on Friday. That century got us out of trouble and I thought in the conditions today our bowlers were brilliant.

"But the real credit goes to Thorpey. He played a gem of a knock. He got us back in the game. We could quite easily have been rolled over for 150.

"We owe a lot to him."

Vaughan also paid tribute to the whole squad.

"The team has worked really hard and we've always had individuals who have put their hands up and given outstanding displays. When the going's got tough, the tough have got going.

"I'm delighted for Hoggy as well."

Now England have their sights set on becoming the first team to clinch a whitewash in the Caribbean in next week's final Test in Antigua.

"That's the aim," said the skipper.

"We are three-nil up and we'll be going to Antigua to try to win. But we'll certainly celebrate this great series victory.

"It's been a long wait but these lads deserve all the credit they are going to get because they have put in a lot of hard work."

A devastated Brian Lara insisted his team would try and salvage some pride in the final Test.

"We have to regroup. The guys will be in shock. This hasn't happened for 36 years," he said.

Since Colin Cowdrey last led a successful England team to the Caribbean, it had been one long tale of misery.

The 1973/74 series finished 1-1, the West Indies won 2-0 in 1981, 5-0 in 1986, 2-1 in 1990, 3-1 in 1994 and 3-1 again in 1998.

The last Test will be contested at the Antigua Recreation Ground in St. John's, Antigua, from April 10, where England will attempt to become the first side to complete a Test series whitewash over West Indies in the Caribbean.

England won the first Test in Jamaica by 10 wickets and the second Test in Trinidad by 7 wickets.