Manchester-A fascinating Test deserved better than the anti-climax
of a last day spoiled by the infamous Manchester weather, but both
teams would have been comfortable with the eventual draw. By batting
on as long as they did in the morning, the West Indies demonstrated
that they had no intention of putting their hard-earned fightback at
risk.
Jimmy Adams didn't declare until an hour and five minutes and 17 overs
in the day.
England were set 293 for an unlikely victory, a target more than 100
runs in excess of any winning total at Old Trafford, and would have
been relieved not to have had to battle through the 71 overs the West
Indies had available to bowl at them.
They only got through 33 in between the light showers that kept
umpires Peter Willey and Doug Cowie and the groundstaff busy.
More than once they brought the players onto the ground only to
immediately leave again.
There was much skylarking during the on-off episodes but it contrasted
with a rare intensity to the confrontation between Curtly Ambrose and
Courtney Walsh from one end and Michael Atherton, Marcus Trescothick
and Nasser Hussain 20 yards away at the other.
With an outright result out of the question, it was a matter of
scoring points ahead of the fourth Test, starting Thursday week at
Headingley, Leeds.
The two oldtimers worked themselves up to something nearing the pace
they managed in their youth, each occasionally touching 87 miles-anhour on the speed gun, and gave each batsman a severe examination.
There were more bouncers in the intermittent sessions after lunch than
have been seen through some entire days from the West Indies this
series.
Atherton took a couple of blows on the glove, Hussain was hit on the
body and the left-handed Trescothick had a few deliveries whistle past
his chest.
There was plenty of eyeballing and macho chat but, when play was
finally called for poor light at 5:20 p.m. with 38 overs unused,
England had lost only Atherton, caught behind off a perfect leg-cutter
from Walsh.
Hussain has endured a horrid season with 134 runs in all first-class
matches at an average in the low teens and he escaped just before the
end when Ridley Jacobs spilled a straightforward, two-handed catch off
Walsh.
Trescothick, whose Test debut has been as impressive as his initial
showing in the preceding One-Day Internationals, came through the
examination unscathed and unbeaten on 38.
But his first scoring stroke would have been a fourth slip catch off
Walsh had Adams been bold enough to attack more.
The West Indies' overall plan when they resumed at 381 for six,
already 235 to the good, was hard to determine.
Franklyn Rose was an early, predictable lbw victim (for the fourth
time in five innings in the series), moving in front of his stumps to
play Craig White to leg. But while Jacobs took his time in adding 17
to his overnight 25 and carefully playing out the final over
Ambrose hit with gusto and certainty for 36 that included a huge
straight six from off-spinner Robert Croft.
In the end, it was all immaterial and the teams finished absolutely
even on points.
The West Indies took a pummelling on the first two days, from the
hostile bowling of Darren Gough, Andy Caddick, Dominic Cork and Craig
White and the aggressive batting of Alec Stewart, named Man-of-the-
Match by Ian Bishop for his dazzling hundred in his 100th Test.
They were groggy, on the ropes and ready for the taking, but staged
such a stirring recovery, through Ambrose and Walsh, and their
consistent batting, with Brian Lara to the fore with his dominant 112,
that England suddenly found themselves on the defensive and battling
for survival.
It emphasised how evenly the sides were matched on the generally true,
even pitch that Test cricket deserves.