Reuters BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND: West Indies captain Jimmy Adams hits a four off a ball from England bowler Darren Gough yesterday.
THE WEST Indies brought back memories of their glory days at Edgbaston yesterday.
Powered by their battery of fast bowlers, the West Indies, with Courtney Walsh as the hitman, smashed England for a mere 125 in their second innings to win the first Test of the five-match series by a decisive innings and 93 runs with two days to spare.
Final score: England 179 and 125, the West Indies 397.
In winning the Test match, the West Indies not only took the early lead in the contest, but after losing all three Test matches in Pakistan, all five in South Africa, and both in New Zealand, ticked off their first victory away from home since defeating Australia by 10 wickets in the fifth and final Test at Perth in February 1997.
Trailing by 218 runs after the West Indies, resuming on 336-7, were dismissed minutes before lunch, England were in and out in 263 minutes and 58 overs, with Walsh, following on his 5-36 in the first innings, preening himself with 3-22 off 19 overs after starting with a devastating 3-10 off 10 in his first spell.
The veteran pacer whose career tally now stands at 457 was well supported by Reon King with 3-28 off nine overs, Franklyn Rose with 2-43 off 10, by left-arm spinner James Adams with 2-5 off three, and although he finished up empty handed, also by Curtly Ambrose who, as usual, kept the batsmen on the defensive while conceding a mere 16 runs off 14 accurate and testing overs.
On a pitch off which the ball bounced a bit awkwardly, on a pitch off which the ball cut off the seam appreciably, and starting against experienced campaigners like Walsh and Ambrose, the England batsmen were like sitting ducks.
Some died playing back defensively and offering catches behind the wicket as the ball left them, and some died attacking and bowled off the inside edge or the bottom edge of their bats as the ball cut back off the seam.
Walsh started the fall when he trapped Mark Ramprakash leg before wicket with his third delivery for zero - the batsman going back and beaten by an incutter.
The great Jamaican then made it 14-2 and 14-3 in successive overs when captain Nasser Hussain, dropped at first slip by Brian Lara off Ambrose and at short mid-wicket by King off Walsh, went back and edged to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs, and when Graeme Hick, also playing back and also edging to the keeper, failed to score for the second time in the match - the first time in his career.
Rose made it 24-4 in the 18th over when Alec Stewart, who was bowled leg stump off the inside edge in the first innings by Ambrose, cut at Rose and knocked the incutter on to his off stump; and it was 60-5 when Mike Atherton, after a vigil which lasted for 116 minutes and 75 deliveries, aimed a square-drive at King, nicked the inswinger on to his offstump, and walked away for 19.
After two lovely drives, one off Rose and one off King, Andrew Flintoff became the third batsman to be bowled off the bat when he went back to King, edged a low incutter on to the off stump, and went his way for 12 at 78-6.
Three runs later the writing was really on the wall when Robert Croft played forward to King, nicked the ball on to his pad, and Wavell Hinds at short-leg dived to his left to make it 83-7.
To their credit, England fought to the end and it was left to Hinds to get rid of Andy Caddick off Rose with a magnificent diving catch at short-leg, and to captain Adams who, with the match looking like going into a fourth day, stepped in, picked up the last two wickets, and led the celebration as the happy West Indians raced off the field.
Adams, however, was not so happy in the morning when the gods deserted him.
Resuming on 66 after joining the action with his team on 136-4 and batting sensibly, Adams was on 98 and only two runs away from his seventh Test century after batting for 391 minutes, facing 299 deliveries and stroking nine boundaries when, with last man Walsh as his partner, he went on to his front-foot, drove fast bowler Darren Gough to cover and Flintoff, walking in and changing direction in a flash, snapped up a fantastic one-handed catch inches above the grass.
Gough deserved his five wickets, but it was a cruel blow by the gods, a disappointing end to a masterpiece of an innings - an innings that, along with those by Sherwin Campbell, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, laid the foundation for the victory
P>
SCOREBOARD
England first innings 179
West Indies first innings
(Resumed at 336-7)
J. Adams c Flintoff b Gough 98
F. Rose lbw Croft 48
R. King st Stewart b Croft 1
C. Walsh not out 3
Extras (b-6 lb-14 nb-6) 26
Total 397
Fall: 1-5 2-24 3-123 4-136 5-230 6-237 7-292 8-354 9-385
Bowling: Gough 36.5-7-109-5, Caddick 30-6-94-2, Giddins 18-4-73-0, Croft 29-9-53-2, Flintoff 23-10-48-1.
England second innings
M. Atherton b King 19
M. Ramprakash lbw Walsh 0
N. Hussain c Jacobs b Walsh 8
G. Hick c Jacobs b Walsh 0
A. Stewart b Rose 8
N. Knight c Hinds b Adams 34
A. Flintoff b King 12
R. Croft c Hinds b King 1
A. Caddick c Hinds b Rose 4
D. Gough not out 23
E. Giddins b Adams 0
Extras (lb-7 w-1 nb-8) 16
Total 125
Fall: 1-0 2-14 3-14 4-24 5-60 6-78 7-83 8-94 9-117
Bowling: Ambrose 14-8-16-0, Walsh 19-10-22-3, Rose 10-1-43-2, King 9-4-28-3, Gayle 3-0-4-0, Adams 3-1-5-2.
