|
|
Change Your Life! |
England a match away from making history at Oval |
|
News
|
|
|
August 31, 2000
LONDON (AP) - England heads into Thursday’s test at the Oval one match away from securing a series win over the West Indies for the first time in 31 years. Despite securing an unbeatable 2-1 lead, Nasser Hussain's home side is mindful that it has not won a five-match series when going into the fifth test ahead since Mike Gatting's side brought home the Ashes from Australia in 1986-87. The last two times England was poised to wrap up the series against the West Indies, in 1991 and 1995, it lost on both occasions and enabled the visitors to level the series 2-2. If England can force a draw or even stretch the series margin to 3-1, it will give the hosts a hand on the Wisden Trophy for only the third time since it was awarded to the winning team in the series between the two sides in 1963. By contrast, the West Indies has held it 15 times. Hussain, one of the new breed of leaders in world cricket, was looking forward to joining Colin Cowdrey (1967-68) and Ray Illingworth (1969) as the only English captains to claim the Wisden Trophy. "The anticipation is growing," Hussain said. "It will be good to get over and done with the five most important days of the summer. "The West Indies have got three great players - (Courtney) Walsh, (Curtly) Ambrose and (Brian) Lara. They can turn a game around in a session. We know that, they've done it against us and every test side and they are fine players. "We as a collective team of 11 players have to be aware of that, go about our job and see off that threat." The West Indies are equally determined to win the test as a fitting last hurrah for the team's legendary fast bowler duo of Ambrose and Walsh. Ambrose insists he will retire at the end of the series, and Walsh, his new ball partner over the last 12 years, is currently mulling the timing of his own retirement. There is a great deal of lobbying going on to persuade Ambrose to postpone his imminent retirement until at least after the October tour of Australia. The West Indies also face their fifth straight overseas series loss since December 1994 following defeats at the hands of Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand. The slumping squad has won just five overseas tests and lost 17 over a five-year period. When it won the series opener at Edgbaston, it ended a 10-match losing streak in away test matches. Team morale hit a new low after being annihilated by 269-run margin by a second-string Somerset side in the final tour match before the test. West Indies' predicament was further compounded when key batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul was forced to return home with tendinitis in his right arm. Fast bowler Reon King also has been ruled out of the test with a stress injury of the instep, but Franklyn Rose, who missed the two-day defeat at Headingley with a sprained ankle, is fit for selection. The West Indies will fill two places from Rose, Nixon McLean and leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo. "Everyone is pretty much aware of what's riding on this test match," West Indies skipper Jimmy Adams said. "Just not in the context of the series, but what it means to Caribbean cricket. I am pretty happy with the mood in the camp. "I am looking forward to that translating into performance over the next few days. I believe we have players capable of turning things for us. The position we are in is probably the biggest motivation." |