England v West Indies

At Sharjah, December 13 (day/night). England won by four wickets. Toss: West Indies.

Dougie Brown bowled Wallace with the first ball of the match and had Lara lbw with the third, but thereafter England had to work hard. Hooper grafted his way to a century from the final ball of the innings. This was England's second match on a pitch growing ever slower: runs were at a premium against disciplined bowling. All their bowlers did well, especially Ealham, and Fleming again showed skill at the death. England found batting equally uncomfortable against tight bowling and some inspired fielding (Chanderpaul's full-length dive and direct hit to run out Hick, after a full-blooded carve to extra cover, verged on the supernatural). At 123 for five, they appeared in trouble. There are few players more pragmatic than Thorpe, however. He hit only two fours in his 57 but added 50 with Ealham, who finished the job with Brown's help; they had 25 balls to spare.

Man of the Match: C. L. Hooper.