England should finally be upbeat

England may have missed out on victory in the final Test and therefore suffered a series defeat at the hands of West Indies, but, finally, they played positive cricket in Trinidad and will take some positives out of the match as they prepare for this summer's Ashes.

Andrew Strauss made a bold declaration, setting West Indies a makeable target to at least give his own side more of a chance, and the move paid off as the home side were at sixes and sevens on the final day.

In the end, England ran out of time, but they can take plenty of heart from the way they bowled on day five, and from the fact that apart from the first Test, they had the better of the series, but were just unable to force at least one win that they may have deserved.

As they prepare for the Ashes - and of course they play West Indies again at home first - the bowling department is still something of a worry. But if they bowl with as much heart as they did on Tuesday, then they will have a chance.

West Indies, for their part, will be hugely boosted by a home series win over a decent side - they probably can't remember the last time that happened - and it could yet help them to rebuild in the coming years.