West Indies middle-order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (left) drives through the offside, while England's wicketkeeper Matt Prior looks on during the fourth day's play in the third cricket Test at Old Trafford yesterday. Chanderpaul was 82 not out at the close. - DellmarMANCHESTER, England (CMC):
Consistent batting down the order led by former captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul gave West Indies a faint, very faint whiff of victory in the third Test against England yesterday.
Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 81 and eyeing his 15th Test hundred, as West Indies, chasing a highly improbable, if not impossible victory target of 455, reached 301 for five when stumps were drawn on the penultimate day at Old Trafford.
Left-hander Chanderpaul has so far added 52 - unbroken - for the sixth wicket with Denesh Ramdin, who is not out on 26.
Chanderpaul is easily West Indies' most experienced batsman and a key figure in the visitors' batting line-up with Brian Lara now retired, Ramnaresh Sarwan back in the Caribbean nursing his injured right shoulder and Chris Gayle meandering in mediocrity.
He drew on every ounce of the experience he has gathered from 103 Tests, spread over the last 13 years to give West Indies an outside shot at drawing level in the four-Test series, especially after Monty Panesar dropped him on 18 at mid-on off Steve Harmison.
When West Indies set the world record of 418 for the highest fourth innings total to win against Australia four years ago at St. John's, Chanderpaul played a similarly unflappable innings of 105.
Chanderpaul will need to go way beyond that this time to give the Caribbean side an unexpected victory, after he spent the last 4-1/2 hours of the day steadying the ship.
He had help along the way. Runako Morton scored 54, Dwayne Bravo made 49 and Devon Smith got 42, but they were all guilty of soft dismissals, as England struggled to complete a victory that would hand them a fourth straight series win over the visitors.
WOBBLED
West Indies were again wobbled by the left-arm spin of Panesar, whose three wickets for 87 runs from 34 overs made him England most successful bowler, and Harmison, who bowled with more control and collected two for 70 from 22 overs.
West Indies tumbled to lunch on 99 for three, after England captured two wickets in the morning period.
The visitors lost Gayle for 16 and fellow left-hander Devon Smith for 42, after they continued from their bedtime total of 22 for one.
Gayle was dismissed in the first half-hour, after Harmison softened him up with a succession of short, awkwardly bouncing deliveries. The embattled left-handed opener was caught at second slip when he played defensively forward to a rare well-pitched delivery from the fast bowler.
Morton came to the wicket and carried the fight to the England bowlers with Smith interspersing gritty defence with the occasional strokes of violence.
Smith stroked the ball with his crisp assurance and looked untroubled until he lunged forward to a delivery from Panesar and he was caught at silly point when the ball flicked his glove on the way to the close fielder.
Morton and Chanderpaul resisted the England attack for most of the period between lunch and tea, as West Indies battled for survival.
Morton reached his 50 when he turned Panesar through square leg for two, but he was the only victim for West Indies in the afternoon period, when the patka-wearing spinner had him adjudged lbw for 54.
Morton added 73 for fourth wicket with Chanderpaul, which followed a 53-run stand for the second wicket with Smith.
Chanderpaul, who had taken a number of blows on the body from deliveries from Panesar that spat out of the bowlers' footholds, endured the brutality to reach his half-century, when he pulled a short ball from Harmison to deep mid wicket for his eighth four.
After taking West Indies to tea on 199 for four, Chanderpaul and Bravo sent the shivers down the spine of the England team when they added 88 for the fifth wicket.
Bravo, in particular, was severe on the England bowling, savaging Harmison, Liam Plunkett and Panesar in the opening overs after the break.
FORTUNATE
Chanderpaul was again fortunate that he was not stumped off Panesar when on 51 he waltzed down to drive, but Bravo was even luckier, when the umpires gave him the benefit of the doubt for a catch to gully off Plunkett when he was 24.
Bravo essayed a cut and the ball flew low to Paul Collingwood, who took a brilliant right-handed catch, but umpire Billy Bowden was uncertain about its authenticity and checked with Aleem Dar, his colleague at square leg and they determined that the catch was not cleanly taken.
Television replays suggested that Collingwood may have inadvertently allowed the ball to touch the ground when he completed the catch and this nullified the catch, much to the consternation of the England fielders.
Bravo put this setback behind him and soldiered on. He looked set to pass 50 until he lunged forward to Panesar and was caught at short leg leaving Chanderpaul, Ramdin and the bowlers to carry West Indies the rest of the way.
West Indies trail the four-Test series 0-1, after losing the second Test at Leeds by an innings and 283 runs - their heaviest defeat in Tests. The first Test at Lord's was drawn.
A defeat for West Indies would make Michael Vaughan his country's most successful Test captain with 21 wins.
ENGLAND 1st Innings 370
(I. Bell 97; C. Collymore 3-60, F. Edwards 3-94)
WEST INDIES 1st Innings 229
(S. Chanderpaul 50; M. Panesar 4-50, R. Sidebottom 3-48)
ENGLAND 2nd Innings 313
(A. Cook 106; D. Sammy 7-66)
WEST INDIES 2nd Innings (target: 455 runs)
| C. Gayle c Collingwood b Harmison | 16 |
| D. Ganga lbw b Harmison | 0 |
| D. Smith c Cook b Panesar | 42 |
| R. Morton lbw b Panesar | 54 |
| S. Chanderpaul not out | 81 |
| D. Bravo c Cook b Panesar | 49 |
| +D. Ramdin not out | 26 |
| Extras (b10, lb12, w8, nb3) | 33 |
| TOTAL (5 wkts) | 301 |
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Ganga), 2-35 (Gayle), 3-88 (Smith), 4-161 (Morton), 5-249 (Bravo). Bowling: Sidebottom 21-5-48-0, Harmison 22-06-70-2, Panesar 34-10-87-3, Plunkett 16-2-57-0, Pietersen 5-2-17-0. Position: West Indies need 154 more runs for victory with five second innings wickets standing. Umpires: B. Bowden, Aleem Dar, TV Replays: P. Hartley, Reserve: R. Bailey. Match Referee: A. Hurst.
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