Thorpe extends England's lead

England 300 for 6 (Butcher 61, Hussain 58, Thorpe 81*, Best 3-60) lead West Indies 208 by 92 runs
Scorecard

The old'uns are always the best, as the hundreds of England fans who spent the afternoon worshipping Sir Mick Jagger would heartily agree. On an attritional and absorbing day of old-fashioned Test cricket, Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher and Graham Thorpe each contributed an obdurate half-century as England closed on 300 for 6. Their lead is already 92, and on a mischievous surface, that might just prove decisive.

It is no coincidence that those three are England's only veterans of a previous Caribbean tour. For it took every ounce of their collective knowhow to subdue a spirited West Indian attack, which was admirably led, once again, by the irrepressible Tino Best. The day began with Hussain and Butcher clinging on for dear life (Hussain's contribution to the first hour's play was a mighty two runs), but by the close the boot had been emphatically transferred to the other foot, as Thorpe played on through the fading light to flog his way towards a 13th Test century, shrugging off an accidental beamer from Best, that hit him on the arm, along the way.

The first two sessions were gritty, but seldom pretty, as Butcher and Hussain laid England's foundations with a 120-run partnership that came at barely two runs per over. It was a carbon copy of their decisive stand in the Jamaica Test. Neither man could ever claim to be comfortable at the crease, and both could be seen cursing themselves for every false shot that they produced. But they batted all the way through the morning session as West Indies began to run out of ideas.

Corey Collymore kept things tight with a Fraserish line and length, and Adam Sanford was much improved on his wayward efforts on the second day. Best, however, was the only reliable attacking option at Brian Lara's disposal, and sure enough he eventually made the breakthrough - albeit in controversial circumstances - as Billy Bowden adjudged Butcher caught behind for 61. The replays, however, suggested that his bat had clipped the turf, but not the ball (128 for 3).

The usually mild-mannered Butcher was not impressed, and chuntered his way back to the pavilion - and probably all the way into the match referee's diary. But Best had earned his wicket. He had already clipped Hussain on the elbow with a brutal bouncer, and had suckered Butcher into such a rash shot by tucking him up with a tight line into the body.

Thorpe's arrival spurred on Best even further - he had beaten him for pace in Jamaica to claim a notable first Test scalp, and almost pulled off the same trick again as Thorpe skidded an attempted pull over the slips for four. But with Hussain finally beginning to connect with his regular flails through the covers, England consolidated their position as Lara turned to his spinners to hurry along the arrival of the new ball.

Best's first over with the new ball was scattergun to say the least - one delivery barely landed on the cut strip, a second skidded away for four byes and a third was swatted for four by Thorpe. But he got it just right soon enough, as Hussain's stumps were rattled by a good-length ball that nipped back through the gate and stayed fractionally low. Hussain was gone for 58, precisely the score he had made in Jamaica, and at 186 for 4, West Indies had a timely breakthrough.

But the arrival of Andrew Flintoff signalled a change in tempo. His innings began in bizarre fashion, as Best came haring in to bowl what appeared to be the first delivery, only to reveal at the last minute that he didn't have the ball in his hand (it was in umpire Bowden's pocket, unlike the bails, which the umpires had forgotten to bring out to the middle at the start of play). Flintoff, unusually, was about the only person not to see the funny side, although he made his displeasure known in eloquent fashion, with a brace of cracking cover-drives to take him to 10 not out at tea.

On the untrustworthy surface, 50 minutes of Flintoff could have put the game beyond West Indies' reach. But just as he appeared to be hitting his straps, Lara called on Dwayne Smith to take the pace off the ball. As if on cue, Flintoff chipped a tame return catch off the leading edge, and trudged off with 23 from 24 balls (218 for 5).

Pedro Collins had been keeping a low profile for much of the day, but he was the next to strike, producing another wonderful one-two - an outswinger followed by a sharp inducker - to trap Chris Read lbw for 3. It was an exact replica of Michael Vaughan's dismissal on the second day, and at 230 for 6, West Indies were a couple of quick strikes from getting back into contention.

But they had reckoned without the admirable batting qualities of Ashley Giles, who used his height to stretch forward to the spinners and prod away the seamers, and kept Thorpe company in his no-nonsense compact manner. They had added 70 invaluable runs for the seventh wicket, and Lara's frustration was plain to see by the close as he sensed that the series was slipping from his grasp.