West Indies in easy 10-wicket win over England

By A. C. de Silva

CRICKET: The West Indies pace quartet - Marshall, Garner, Patterson and Holding were at their peak and this foursome showed in no uncertain manner that Test matches can be won inside four days.

The venue was Port-of Spain and the Windies were playing against England. Though Test matches are generally arranged for five days, this particular encounter was all over in three days - that's April 3, 4 and 6 in 1986 which gave the players two extra days rest.

The West Indies pace quartet demolished everything before it. England skipper David Gower could not believe his team could fare so badly in the match and he put the debacle of his team to the unpredictable nature of the wicket. It was pace all the while and all 20 English wickets fell to pace and not a ball was bowled by a West Indian spinner. Bowled out for 200 and 150, England restricted the West Indies' first innings to 312, which in the final analysis, saved it from the ignominy of an innings defeat.

Dujon's good work

Both innings put together, England totalled 350 runs - that 200 runs in the first innings and 150 in the second innings. The contribution of 'Mr. Extras' was 53 of which 'no-balls' accounted for 37. With the pitch not all kind to batsmen and the West Indian pacemen going full blast, one West Indian had to sweat it out behind the stumps. He was Dujon who brought off some game good catches to play a crucial role in the side's emphatic win.

Put in to bat, England were shot out for 200 on the first day, David Smith top-scored with 47 while Allan Lamb got 36, Ian Botham 38 with seven fours and applied himself to the task at hand and did a good job of staying at the wicket. Joel Garner - the fearsome West Indian paceman, who began the English slide by removing Gooch, Robinson and skipper David Gower, ended with 4 for 43. Marshall had 2 for 71 and Holding had 3 for 52.

Vivian Richards 87 runs

Came the West Indians turn to bat and there was Vivian Richards who made 87, but before that there was a fine opening stand of 58 between Gordon Greenidge (42) and Desmond Haynes (25) who didn't find any difficulty of coping with the English bowlers and make runs comfortably.

But what lent substance to the home side innings was the fourth wicket partnership between Larry Gomes (48) and skipper Viv Richards (87) who added 102 runs for the fourth wicket, taking the score from 111 for 3 wickets to 213 for 4 wickets.

In the process Richards completed 6,000 runs in Tests. Earlier Greenidge has achieved a personal landmark passing 5,000 runs during the course of his 42-run knock. England's never-say-die cricketer Ian Botham purposeful spell late in the innings to remove the Caribbean 'tail' helped him to take 5 for 71. It was the 26th time all-rounder Botham took five or more wickets in a Test innings. Off-spinner Emburey had 3 for 62 and Foster 2 for 68. However, the other England medium paceman Greg Thomas' was rather expensive and gave away 101 runs in the 15 overs that he bowled.

West Indies managed a lead by only 112 runs.

In the second innings, England made 150 with West Indian bowlers Marshall and Garner taking 3 for 42 and 3 for 15, with Petterson 2 for 36 and Holding 2 for 45. Haynes and Richardson had little difficulty in clearing the 39-run arrears to register victory. Vivian Richards who made the top score of 87 for the West Indies in the first innings was adjudged the 'Man of the Match' .