MANCHESTER, England CMC - Recovering from a stuttering start with a self-confidence and determination that has become their hallmark in recent months, England strolled to a seven-wicket victory over West Indies just over an hour after tea on the final day of the third cricket Test, yesterday.
Confounding the records which showed the previous highest winning total in a Test at Old Trafford as just 145, the hosts reached the target of 231 thanks to unbeaten innings of 93 from Robert Key and 57 from the hugely popular Andrew Flintoff.
The pair’s unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 120 drained whatever desire and enthusiasm were left in the visitors, who, to their credit, fought better than at any other time in the series.
Yet they did not help their cause with occasionally defensive tactics while the ineffectiveness of the specialist spinner and a plethora of no-balls from the fast bowlers only compounded their woes.
This triumph, coming on the heels of similarly emphatic wins in the first two Tests at Lord’s and Edgbaston, gives England the series 3-0 and keeps them on course for a first Test series whitewash of West Indies for 76 years going into the fourth and final Test, starting on Thursday at The Oval.
The win also extended their winning streak to six Tests - the best by England for 46 years - and also matched the record of the team under Mike Brearley in 1978/79 that won nine of 10 Test matches.
Graham Thorpe was named man-of-the-match for his gutsy 114 that lifted the home team from 40 for three in their first innings.
He has been named in the 13-man squad for the fourth Test, but it is likely that the fractured finger sustained during the innings will rule the 35-year-old left-hander out and result in a Test debut for the prolific Ian Bell.
If Thorpe took the official accolade, the credentials of Key and Flintoff were no less impressive.
Key, who has struggled for runs since opening the series with a monumental 221 at Lord’s, played what was probably a more important innings in the circumstances.
Coming to the crease when Corey Collymore bowled Marcus Trescothick for 12 at the start of an impressive spell, the pudgy right-hander displayed admirable composure, technique and restraint in guiding his team to victory.
He lost Andrew Strauss with the score on 27 when the opener dragged a short ball in Pedro Collins’ first over to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at first slip.
A palpable sense of dread descended upon the ground at that point, especially as Thorpe was unable to occupy his regular position in the batting order because of the injured finger.
But increasingly urged on by a good last day crowd in excess of 10 000, Key and Michael Vaughan added 84 runs either side of a sharp shower that extended the lunch interval by 35 minutes.
The England captain played with extreme care at the start of his innings, taking almost half-an-hour to get his first run and then escaping when a top-edged hook off Fidel Edwards fell just out of the reach of wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh running back to short fine-leg.
Skipper Brian Lara turned to Dave Mohammed for the first time just after lunch, but the left-arm wrist-spinner failed to maintain the consistent line and length required to pose a threat on a helpful pitch.
It was left to Chris Gayle to make the breakthrough and breathe life back into the West Indian effort, if only briefly.
Looking to guide the off-spinner’s first delivery to backward-point, he offered a straightforward catch to Lara and at 111 for three with Vaughan gone for 33, another quick wicket would have tilted the balance of the match.
Striding in purposefully to the usual rousing ovation for their hero, Flintoff quickly dispelled any notion of vulnerability. The all-rounder resisted the temptation to go for his trademark big hits, and with Lara spreading the field, kept the scoreboard ticking over effectively.
With Key reaching his 50 and the score 146 for three at the tea interval, the West Indies were not yet out of the contest. But it was not long after the resumption that it became clear they were a beaten side once again.
Key, on 57, edged Collymore to Sylvester Joseph’s left at second slip and the debutant grassed the chance. The lapse seemed to draw the life out of the visitors, and the writing was on the wall by the time Flintoff smashed Ramnaresh Sarwan for six to reach a half-century for the seventh consecutive Test.
The only question then was whether Key would have the opportunity to complete a deserved second Test century.
Another six from Flintoff off Sarwan ended that chance, although it hardly appeared to bother the phlegmatic batsman, who cemented his place in the England middle-order with an innings of real character.
With the exception of the early loss of both openers, everything had gone to plan for England on the last day, down to the threatening weather generally staying away from the precincts of Old Trafford.
The West Indies’ last-wicket pair survived just 11 deliveries in the morning before Steve Harmison forced Edwards to fend a lifting delivery to Flintoff at second slip, completing the demise from 88 for one the previous evening to a paltry 165 all out.
Harmison emerged as the leading wicket-taker with four for 44 as once again, the West Indies’ vaunted batting line-up had failed to deliver in the second innings, even after their bowlers - a generally young and experienced bunch - had given them a first innings advantage.
For the third time in 16 months, the once proud kings of cricket will be motivated only by trying to avoid suffering a Test series whitewash when they get to The Oval.
WEST INDIES 1st innings 395 for nine declared (D. Bravo 77; M. Hoggard 4-83)
ENGLAND 1st innings 330 (G. Thorpe 114; D. Bravo 6-55)
WEST INDIES 2nd innings (overnight 161 for nine)
C. Gayle c Hoggard b Giles 42
S. Joseph c Vaughan b Flintoff 15
R. Sarwan c Trescothick b Harmison 60
B. Lara c Strauss b Flintoff 7
S. Chanderpaul c Vaughan b Flintoff 2
D. Bravo c Flintoff b Giles 6
C. Baugh c (sub.) b Harmison 3
D. Mohammed c Key b Giles 9
P. Collins b Harmison 8
C. Collymore not out 5
F. Edwards c Flintoff b Harmison 0
Extras: (b-2, lb-4, w-1, nb-1) 8
Total: (all out) 165
Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-88, 3-95, 4-99, 5-110, 6-121, 7-146, 8-152, 9-161.