England captain Michael Vaughan (left) and man-of-the-series Monty Panesar celebrate the team's 3-0 Test series triumph over the West Indies at Chester-le-Street yesterday. - Dellmar photo CHESTER-LE-STREET, England (AP):
LEFT-ARM SPINNER Monty Panesar took five wickets to lead England to a seven-wicket win against West Indies in the fourth Test and a 3-0 series victory yesterday.
Panesar took 5-46 as West Indies collapsed to 222 all out in their second innings, setting England a paltry total of 110 to win.
England lost both openers after only 29 runs had been scored, but captain Michael Vaughan, with 48 not out, and Kevin Pietersen, with 28, played glittering shots despite some valiant bowling from Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards.
Effectively achieved
The win was effectively achieved within three and a half days as Friday's first day and half of Saturday were washed out.
England regained pride that was severely damaged by an Ashes mauling from Australia, and Panesar has become the team's emblematic figure, being the best bowler in the series with 23 wickets.
"Monty produced his magic once again," Vaughan said, adding that pace bowler Steve Harmison was also returning to his best form. Harmison tied up one end for 17 consecutive overs yesterday with hostile speed and bounce.
"To force a victory in three and a half days is quite a feat."
Harmison revealed that he discovered he has a hernia that will have to be operated on.
"I want to be bowling at 90 mph, not 80 mph. I've taken some steps back up the ladder but I'm not back to the top yet," he said.
Harmison said he hoped to be able to bowl in the series against India starting next month.
The West Indies team that came to England was affected by the retirement of Brian Lara, injury to captain Ramnaresh Sarwan and continued poor form since it hosted the World Cup.
Only 32-year-old Guyanese left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul played well all series for the visitors. He scored 136 in Durham in a first-innings total of 287 in seam-friendly conditions as England's latest discovery, Ryan Sidebottom, took 5-88.
In reply, Paul Collingwood, tipped to be England's next one-day captain after Vaughan stepped down on Monday, scored 128, while Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior contributed half centuries.
The West Indies began the last day batting to save the match, but trailing with seven wickets in hand. However, this West Indies team is not capable of such application.
Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo put on 68 for the fifth wicket before Bravo fell to Panesar's guile 30 minutes after lunch, with the score on 169 and a lead of 56.
Bravo scored 44 in the first innings and took on Panesar with a lofted chip for four. The very next ball, Bravo tried another ambitious shot but succeeded only in lofting the ball to Sidebottom at midoff.
Panesar then produced two unplayable deliveries.
First a ball to Marlon Samuels turned sharply and bounced, catching the shoulder of the bat and spooning up to Collingwood at slip. The West Indies' last recognised batsman departed for two.
Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin was the next victim, clean bowled by the left-arm spinner and West Indies were 175 for seven, only 62 runs ahead. Panesar said that ball was as good as it gets.
"That's the sort of a perfect left-armer bowler's dismissal where you pitch it onmiddle and it hits off (stump). I enjoyed that wicket," Panesar said.
Vaughan said: "That's the sort of wicket they should show to young spinners."
While Panesar was taking wickets, Harmison was working up a head of steam. First he persuaded Powell to take a wild swing at the ball to be caught at midoff by Vaughan, and then he uprooted Edwards' off stump with a snorting delivery.
With England playing with a cordon of six slips, Corey Collymore and Chanderpaul put on 28 for the last wicket before Chanderpaul was bowled by Panesar for 70, the end of a stretch of almost 18 hours in which he had not been dismissed.
Chanderpaul patiently acquired his sixth successive half century while his teammates were dismissed, several of them to shots that defied common sense.
In response, Powell took the wickets of openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook cheaply, allowing Vaughan and Pietersen to put on 76 before Pietersen edged a ball by Gayle to Samuels at slip.
West Indies captain Daren Ganga had a disastrous Test as opening bat, failing both times. Ganga, who stepped in as captain after Sarwan was injured, said the 169-run partnership between Collingwood and Matt Prior on day four swayed the match.
"We just did not get it right. We lacked consistency and the depth to put good cricket together," said Ganga, who has not been selected for the one-day squad to play in England and will fly home.
SCOREBOARD
West Indies first innings 287
England first innings 400
West Indies second innings
(Resumed at 83-3)
| C. Gayle c Prior b Hoggard | 52 |
| S. Chanderpaul b Panesar | 70 |
| D. Bravo c Sidebottom b Panesar | 43 |
| M. Samuels c Collingwood b Panesar | 2 |
| D. Ramdin b Panesar | 4 |
| D. Powell c Vaughan b Harmison | 4 |
| F. Edwards b Harmison | 0 |
| C. Collymore not out | 16 |
| Extras: (2w, 1b, 12lb, 3nb) | 18 |
| TOTAL: (all out) | 222 |
Overs: 64. Batting time: 298 minutes. Fall: 1-7, 2-15, 3-38, 4-94, 5-162, 6-169, 7-175, 8-188, 9-194, 10-222. Bowling: Ryan Sidebottom 15-4-40-0, Matthew Hoggard 11-4-28-3 (1w), Steve Harmison 20-2-92-2 (1w, 3nb), Monty Panesar 16-2-46-5, Kevin Pietersen 2-0-3-0. England second innings A. Strauss b Powell | 13 |
| A. Cook c Bravo b Powell | 7 |
| M. Vaughan not out | 48 |
| K. Pietersen c Samuels b Gayle | 28 |
| P. Collingwood not out | 5 |
| Extras: (6nb, 4b) | 10 |
| TOTAL: (for three wkts) | 111 |
Overs 21.4. Batting time: 91 minutes Fall: 1-16, 2-29, 3-105. Bowling: Fidel Edwards 7-0-46-0 (6nb), Daren Powell 7-0-38-2 , Marlon Samuels 4-0-12-0, Chris Gayle 3.4-0-11-1. Result: England won by seven wickets. Series: England won four-Test series 3-0.
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